http://www.care2.com/greenliving/cure-your-inflammatory-condition.html
Cure Your Inflammatory Condition
By Shannon Sexton, Yoga+
Do you have arthritis? Fibromyalgia? Ulcers? Bursitis? Colitis? Your allopathic doctor may have told you that your condition is incurable, but don’t despair. Ayurveda classifies inflammatory conditions as derangements of the pitta dosha (the fire principle) that can be cooled—and even cured—with simple adjustments to your diet and daily routine along with herbal supplements.
Fire is one of the principle metaphors in Ayurveda; it is an essential ingredient to good health. In the form of metabolism it digests our food, generates life-sustaining energy, and incinerates waste. But when metabolic fire burns too hot or flares up in the wrong places we end up with chronic inflammation, and a host of disorders arises. Here are a few tips for redirecting your metabolic fire.
A Cooling Diet
If your internal environment is overheated, watch your diet. Red meat, caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco all increase inflammation. Avoid them and instead follow a pitta-pacifying diet of cooling, slightly dry, low-salt foods. Eat plenty of whole grains (especially barley and basmati rice), vegetables (especially bitter, leafy greens), and protein. Beans, tofu, egg whites, soft cheeses, and milk are great for you. You can also dine on organic poultry or freshwater fish on occasion if you’re craving more substantial fare.
Good Fats vs. Bad Fats
In today’s low-fat/no-fat obsessed society, we have forgotten that some fats are good for us. Healthy fats are the kind that melt in your mouth—like fresh organic butter or the cocoa butter in high-quality chocolate (in moderation, of course!). Unhealthy fats, on the other hand, taste like candle wax—margarine, crisco, and overprocessed, refined oils that are unstable under heat, like canola oil. To maximize profits, manufacturers chemically alter these products so they have a longer shelf life. In the process, however, they become indigestible and burden the liver, thus inflaming pitta. They also irritate mucus membranes and predispose us to heart disease.
Generally speaking, from an ayurvedic point of view, oils aggravate pitta. Of the cooking oils, for example, only ghee (clarified butter) and coconut oil have a cooling effect on the body; the rest are warming. The exceptions are Omega-3 oils, which quell inflammation. You can get your Omega-3s by incorporating flax oil and coldwater fish into your diet.
Rx: herbs
Turmeric and Ginger
These herbs can reduce joint pain, muscle pain, gastritis, or cystitis. Like all astringent herbs, turmeric cools inflammation by tightening and strengthening tissues, reducing swelling and congestion. Ginger is more enigmatic. A pungent herb, it assists digestion and so theoretically should aggravate pitta conditions. However, it has constituents that are cooling and calming for irritated tissues—hence its traditional use as an anti-inflammatory.
Spiced Milk
Here’s an anti-inflammatory recipe you can try at home. Bring half a cup of water to a boil and add:
1⁄2 tsp. ground turmeric
1⁄2 Tbsp. freshly shredded ginger root
1⁄2 tsp. ground green cardamom
Let the mixture simmer for 2 minutes, then add
1 cup of milk. Boil for 3 minutes, strain, and serve. Stir in sugar or maple syrup to taste (optional). Makes one serving.
Drink this mixture twice a day—early in the morning and just before bedtime—for 40 days.
Brahmi and Ashwagandha
Inflammation often begins in the mind, for when we create a hard-driving, goal-oriented mental environment and begin to ignore our body’s need for good food, rest, exercise, and a regular yoga practice, we start overworking—and overheating. We know the warning signs but stubbornly ignore them, listening instead to the inner critic that commands us to accomplish more. Brahmi and ashwagandha are herbs that can help. According to ayurveda, they calm the mind without sedating it, leaving it clear, grounded, and inspired. And ashwagandha is a tonic that keeps the body strong and counters overexhaustion. It also treats a variety of ailments that result from depletion: arthritis, nerve pain, and infertility.
Doses • Homemade extracts are generally superior to store-bought ones. Put 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 teaspoon of each herb (in powdered form) into 1 cup of milk, add 1 cup of water, stir, and gently boil the mixture down to 1 cup of liquid. Let it cool off slightly and then drink it.
If you’re short on time, take 1–2 droppers (40–80 drops) of each herb in extract form twice a day. In capsule form, take 2–4 pills of each twice a day. Best taken with warm water or milk for 2 to 12 months.
Where to find Ayurvedic Herbs
Wellspring Homeopathic Pharmacy, 570-253-5650,
whpklein@epix.net (Organic, Biodynamic)
Banyan Botanicals, 888-829-5722,
www.banyan-botanicals.com (Organic)
Bazaar of India, Inc., 800-261-7662
www.bazaarofindia.com
Shannon Sexton is the Editor at large for Yoga + Joyful Living
Yoga+ is an award-winning, independent magazine that contemplates the deeper dimensions of spiritual life–exploring the power of yoga practice and philosophy to not only transform our bodies and minds, but inspire meaningful engagement in our society, environment, and the global community.
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add your comment »There is a cactus in the Sonoran Desert that produces all 24 betalains (Nopal Cactus) that has been proven to reduce inflammation (over 278 scientific studies). You have to get the cactus from the Sonoran Desert because that desert has the most extreme environment so it forces the cactus to produce all 24 betalains (which are powerful antioxidants). I have a juice that is made from the cactus that you can also try if you'd like and I can send you a bottle for free. You can go to: www.trivitacactus.info.
Kathy
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My heart also goes out to Past Member. I sincerely hope that you continue your quest for good medical care and diagnosis for your son. Keep fighting and advocating and getting second opinions. Doing that helped me with my ovarian cancer to avoid it spreading. Unfortunately, with this "best health care system in the world," many patients do not get the care they need and deserve. All the best to you both.
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Nice Post Robyn
i am a great believer of herbal Power. i do use it a lot. I use to buy it from http://www.healthherbsandnutrition.com as they are providing timely delivery. Thanks for providing such a great information.
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This is to Past Member
My heart goes out to you.
I too hope you find out what is causing your son to be so sick.
Afew years ago, the son of a friend of mine,he was 20y.o. as well, was having similar symptoms.He saw many doctors and had many tests done.He finally went to a well known hospital and a doctor there took exrays/mri of his stomach and upper torso.He had Tumors throughout his body which were cancerous.The one in his stomach was the size of a basketball.The others were scattered around his upper body.He spent the rest of his days in the hospital.PLEASE! Keep bugging every doctor/hospital you can and make someone listen to you so to get him help.His life depends on it.
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Fruits and vegetables have the only 'good' fats that I am aware of, animal products cause cancer, heart disease and diabetes according to well-respected studies. Milk, grains, animal products - meats, etc., are difficult to digest and provide very little nutrition - in fact, consuming them have negative health consequences. If you are serious about your health then go Vegan!
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To Past Member:
I highly recommend that you take him to the best teaching/University hospital in your region. If Stanford has failed you then definitely try another one. Take him straight to the emergency room. He needs to see a doctor of internal medicine.
I can't disagree more with what the author of this article has written. I have had Crohn's disease for two decades. It took 5 years of doctors visits before I was finally diagnosed (and near death) by the head of Internal Medicine at John's Hopkins.
I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis and am hypothyroid.
It is extremely important for everyone - but especially people with bowel diseases to eat highly nutritious meals. I highly recommend to everyone to read 'Eat to Live' by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Dr. Fuhrman recommends a vegan diet and tells you in simple language how to do this. I cut out all sugar, processed foods, meat and fowl. I eat a 100% vegan diet at home, eating lots of smoothies, 'green' smoothies, fruits and vegetables. When I eat out I try to eat as many dishes made of fruit and vegetables. I do eat some seafood, but I know it certainly isn't good for me given all of the toxic chemicals in seafood, and hope to eventually become 100% vegan.
Not only have I lost weight, I feel better, look better, think more clearly - have better reading comprehension, need less sleep, and surprisingly I no longer have any pain in my gut! I almost 100% raw food. Eating smoothies makes them easy to digest.
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To Past Member: I am sorry to hear about your son. I hope he can find some relief and a diagnosis and hopefully a cure soon. :(
I have an undiagnosed pain/fatigue issue. I'm in the process of going through various tests/doctor visits/you know the drill. I'm also going to try the spiced milk (soy milk.)
I CAN tell you (the general audience) that ginger helps my stomach a LOT. So do oatmeal, bananas, and yellow mustard.
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Not everything works for everyone, there is no need to jump on the author; I desperately read every article like this in my quest for a cure for my son. As is the case with most people like him, his tests all return as "normal", while he continues to weaken and lose weight (90lbs to date, in the past 18 months); one doctor at Stanford said, you can see he was too overweight before anyway, so this weight loss is not a bad thing. He is nauseated from the moment he awakes till he finally is able to sleep again; he never has an appetite unless he uses marijuana (the Stanford doc did not like that); so I am going to try the spiced milk (using soy), to see if that helps. We have cut out almost all dairy, eggs, red meat, fast food, fats, everything, to no avail. One poster here recommends the book "Breaking the Vicious Cycle", and I am going to buy that today. This ordeal is breaking my heart, watching my 20 year old spiral downward. His quality of life is at about 2% from a year ago, with disinterested or baffled doctors all around who can do nothing but more blood tests. All your responses here have helped me a lot and given me new ideas, so I thank you all.
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My mother's friend cured her rheumatoid arthritis by going on a program of fish oil supplements. She read about it in John E Eichenlaub's "A Minnesota Doctor's Home Remedies for Common & Uncommon Ailments".
The longer I live the more I think many food "allergies" are the body's rejection of unnatural refining & processing, stripping out goodness and living enzymes, and adding unnatural ingredients that nature never evolved us for.
I am pleased to view all the intelligent comments added to this article. Thank you all.
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Check out watersofhealth.com to learn about a special kind of water which can reduce inflammation and has helped people with Crohn's disease, ulcers, arthritis and more! Most tap and botted water is overly acidic and is detrimental to our health.
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