Agni

THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

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I don’t know about you, but this summer seems to be the hottest that I remember in a long time! People’s emotions are hot and prickly and we could all use a few new ways to cool down both our physical body and to squelch the mental heat and anger that seems to be pervading through society.

If you are easily irritated, you might have some congestion in your liver and could use a little cleanse or nutritional support. I might try either some milk thistle, dandelion or other bitters to cleanse and nourish this hard working organ. I would also cut back on eating fried foods and meats favoring a lighter diet that helps to keep the liver and blood cool.

If you are fortunate enough to live near Asian markets or a well stock green grocer, try adding burdock root (Arctium lappa) to your diet. It is both bitter and cooling and has an affinity towards the kidneys and liver. It acts as an alterative, diuretic and diaphoretic. I love to make Carrot and Burdock Root Kimpira as a light meal and serve it with basmati rice and freshly chopped cilantro.

To cool the physical body I would include hydrophilic fruits and vegetables such as cucumber and watermelon.

Cucumber acts as a refrigerant, alterative and diuretic. Cucumber counteracts the summer heat, clears the skin and promotes fluid elimination.  

Watermelon is a diuretic and refrigerant and helps to treat the discomfort from the heat, mental irritability and helps when retaining fluid.

Both are great for keeping you hydrated when sweating in the heat. They are wonderful just to chop and eat or blend them into a popular drink Aqua Fresca, that we enjoy here in New Mexico.

Some cooling teas for you to make and try: lemon verbena, mint, lemon grass and the gorgeously red and tangy hibiscus.

Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora) is cooling, acts as a digestive soother and is nerve calming.

Mint (Mentha x piperita) Care should be taken not too consume too much as it can lead to adrenal fatigue. It is cooling and can provide a nice pick me up in the afternoon either as a cool or hot tea.

Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus) is a lovely herb that is both a diaphoretic (makes you sweat) and a refrigerant (reduces body temperature.

Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa sinensis) Being beautifully red in color, it has an affinity towards the blood. Acts as an alterative and refrigerant.

If you enjoy eating raw vegetable salads, it is best to have them at lunch time when your digestion is at its strongest.

While ice cold beverages and ice cream treats are delightful this time of year, enjoy them in moderation as you can put out your digestive fire which can leave you feeling heavy and dull after a meal. Remember that food should always make you feel energized to fuel you for your day and not groggy and ready for a nap.  If your digestion is feeling a bit weak, you may want to take a look at my post on how to rekindle your digestive fire (Agni)

During the summer you will always find rosewater spray in my bag I use to cool myself off after being in the hot desert sun. A lovely mint hydrosol is also a nice remedy to have with you when your temperature starts rising from the hot sun.

Step away from media – not just the news, but also social media that we all get sucked into which just aggravates our minds.

Let go of what you cannot control. It will calm your mind and elevate the aggravation that you are feeling.  If you have trouble, try to learn some mindfulness techniques to help calm the mind.

Experiment with pranayama techniques. There is a beautiful easy cooling breath exercise called “Shilali Breath” which is done curling your tongue like a tube and inhaling your breath to your belly, close your mouth, hold for a few seconds and exhale through your nose.

Until next time BE WELL!

What to Eat?

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We are living in the age of designer diets. There are diets for every ill and every belief. I have yet to meet one person on a designer diet who, before commencing that new diet, had eaten a high-quality, balanced diet of traditional foods. ~ Steve Gagné, Food Energetics.

We are bombarded with different diet recommendations that lead us to believe that it will be beneficial for everyone. We are all unique beings and with this each of us has a unique constitution and requires different nutrients to thrive.

Some people do well as vegans or vegetarians. Others must eat meat to feel grounded and nourished. You just need to listen to what your body tells you, there is no perfect diet for everyone and we should not judge a person on their food choices. Just make sure that your diet is made up of whole unprocessed foods.

I do not do well with dairy. It is something that has been an issue my whole life. I can tolerate a small amount in a cup of chai, but give me a bowl of cereal with milk or an ice-cream sundae and I will feel the effects very shortly, starting with the rumbling in my belly, increased phlegm in my mouth and congestion like I am coming down with a head cold. This feeling lasts for about a day or until my body has eliminated the dairy from my system.

Whatever dietary choice that you make, please make sure that it is balanced and you are eating real foods and not food like substances. Shop the perimeter of your grocery store focusing on good quality organic fruits, vegetables, free range grass fed beef, pasture raised chicken and eggs. Limit your shopping on the isles with boxed foodstuffs that are packed full of ingredients that you cannot pronounce. Experiment with different grains and dried beans from the bulk bins. Try new fresh herbs as well as spices to bring new flavors to your meals.

Maybe you were lucky enough to have grown up with parents or grandparents who had a garden and grew some if not all of their own food. Remember that connection and time spent in the kitchen preparing the food that was harvested fresh from the garden. This food was clean and organic before those terms were hip and current buzzwords.

If you find that you have indigestion after eating your meal. Check in with yourself. Were you distracted or rushed and not chew your food well? Was there a new food introduced during the meal? Are eating vegetables or other fibrous foods new to you? Become a food detective to see how your body reacts to what you eat.

I find my clients who see me for indigestion have a weakened digestive fire. Here are a few recommendations that help rebuild that digestive fire (Agni) in your stomach. Reduce your caffeine consumption and replace it with a ginger tea that is made from taking a few slices of fresh ginger and steeping in boiling water for several minutes. 

Ginger is one of my favorite herbs that I use as a tea as well as part of my cooking. It is a powerful helper for digestive issues such as nausea, diarrhea, dispelling gas from the gastrointestinal tract and don’t forget that ginger pickle to stimulate your appetite.

Eat simpler foods that are easier to digest such as a slow cooked soup that you can even puree so your body can more readily absorb the nutrients. Use spices that help build up your digestive fire.

If you have been on antibiotics for a long time, you need to re-establish the good bacteria in the gut. Try adding fermented foods to your diet such as sauerkraut, kimchee, miso, plain yogurt or kefir to help rebuild that gut bacteria. This should only be done once you have completed your antibiotics and your infection has cleared up.

Take time to see what your body likes. If eating whole foods is new, allow yourself time to adjust how whole vegetables and grains fill you up. Soon you will be able to see what type of foods energize you to help you return to vibrant health.

Rebuilding your digestive fire

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Wouldn’t you love to have more energy, no more bloating, gas, diarrhea or constipation? It all ties into the foods that you consume. Your body is trying to tell you that it does not like what you are feeding it. I hope to provide you with some tips so you can relearn the signals your body is sending to you.

The food that you consume can be nourishing and healing or a toxin that will slowly poison you.

Time is needed to digest our thoughts and emotions. We should refrain from eating when angry, upset, preoccupied or rushed.

The typical western lifestyle does not really allow for people to be able to take a proper lunch break. We grab something quick, eat it mindlessly or while trying to respond to emails, catch up on work, run errands or participate in conference calls. No time to pause, to eat something nourishing or even get a breath of fresh air. We have been trained to live in a world of being on a schedule that does not necessarily connect to what our bodies need. We eat because it is time to eat, not because we have hunger. We find making decisions about our food is all about what hits those pleasure sensors within our mouth – sweet, salty, greasy, processed foods with little to no nutritional value.

Simple carbohydrates give you a quick boost of energy and then you crash and need an afternoon sugar / caffeine fix to get you through the rest of your work day. You leave work exhausted with no energy to go home and make a balanced dinner – again grabbing take out that hits those pleasure zones. By bedtime, you may be taking some OTC (over the counter) or prescription remedy to deal with the indigestion, heartburn, bloaty feeling that you have and maybe taking something to knock you out from being overly stimulated and caffeinated during your day.

Importance of Agni, the body’s digestive fire

Agni = Digestive Fire. According to Ayurveda, our digestive fire is the strongest between 10am – 2pm. Just as the sun is strongest during this time, so is the body’s capacity to digest and absorb nutrients. Hence, the largest meal of the day should be consumed during this time. Digestive fire diminishes as the sun goes down and it is harder for the body to break down and digest foods.

Ideally, we should eat at the same time every day. This helps the body to reset its hunger signals. Dinner should be light and something easy for the body to break down – for example a simple clear vegetable soup without any dairy, grains or pasta. I enjoy making miso soup with vegetables for dinner. For me, it is satisfying without taxing my body’s digestive energy.

The size of our meal is also important to help us build and maintain digestive fire. Look at the size of your fist, which is the size of your stomach. What you eat for a meal should be no larger than two handfuls of food.

Not hungry for breakfast? You probably ate too much for dinner or ate too late and your food has not completely digested. Try making your evening meal lighter so that you feel hungry in the morning.

The best thing is start the day with a cup of hot water after brushing your teeth and scraping your tongue. This will re-hydrate your cells and help flush out the remaining toxins from your system. Do remember to eat before you have your morning tea or coffee. Having tea or coffee first thing on an empty stomach is setting yourself up for adrenal fatigue.

The weather and seasons play an important role when making choices for meals. On a cold snowy day, eating a cold salad is not as satisfying as a nice stew or hearty soup. Same thing on a hot summer day you would not want to eat a bowl of chili. A cool crisp salad would be more welcomed.

There should be mindfulness when eating. Start a ritual of lighting a candle, setting the table, giving thanks, turn off the TV and put away your phone. This sets the space for you to begin to reconnect to your food. Chew slowly, savor the flavors and textures on your tongue. Notice how you feel.

If you really do not have any hunger at mealtime there could be several causes. Your last meal has not been digested by your body. Your last meal was too large or you have low digestive fire within your body.

Signs and Symptoms of Indigestion: constipation, diarrhea, tiredness, blocked vata, abdominal distention, heaviness, dizziness. These are signals from your body that it does not want the food that you eaten or you have not provided yourself with a calm space to eat your meal.

Remedies to rebuild your digestive fire and aid with digestion:

As you start to pay attention to what you eat and how you feel you will instinctively be able to make changes to your diet. It really is not all that complicated. Stiff and achy – maybe too much processed foods and sodium; congested – maybe you cannot process sugar, flour or dairy; hot and sweaty – maybe too spicy for your constitution or your body is struggling to breakdown what you have eaten and your digestion is not strong enough to do a proper job.

I hope that these suggestions help you feel more comfortable in your body. Until next time, I wish you peace and much love.

What is Health?

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According to Sushruta, who was an ancient Ayurvedic Indian physician, health is defined as:  

“The one who is established in self, who has balanced doshas, balanced agni, properly formed dhatus, proper elimination of malas, properly functioning bodily processes, and whose mind, soul and senses are quiet and content is called a healthy person.“

Ayurveda literally means the science of life. It is an ancient healing science that originated in India over 5000 years ago.  To be extremely basic, Ayurveda teaches us how to correct disturbances in the body through eating a seasonal diet, performing cleansing and rejuvenation treatments, getting exercise and practicing mindfulness all appropriate for your individual constitution.

The body and mind are controlled by the Doshas aka Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The Doshas are made up of the elements of Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth.  Vata is the combination of Ether and Air which is the energy of movement. Pitta is the combination of Fire and Water which are important for digestion and metabolism. Kapha is Water and Earth, which give the body stability and strength.

Agni is our digestive fire to transform both food and information into energy. If we are lacking in appetite or feel that we are mentally cloudy, we need to work on our Agni through the use of herbs, the type of food that we eat and breathing exercises.

Dhatus are the tissues of the body and relate to plasma / lymph, red blood cells, muscle tissue, adipose tissue, bones, bone marrow, nervous tissue, connective tissue, reproductive tissue. The tissues of the body are created from the foods we eat. We have the ability to create healthy or weak tissue depending on the foods we eat and our mental state while eating. Poor quality food will create deficient tissue which is more likely to create a defective space within the body for disease to move in.

Malas are the waste products of the body – feces, urine and sweat

To maintain or correct health, daily routines known as Dinacharya (deena-char-e-ah) and seasonal routines known as Ritucharya (rit-u-char-e-ah) should be performed to both the body and the mind. Daily routines include proper rest, eating seasonally, performing exercise, and practicing mindfulness.

From a western perspective, if we are not presenting symptoms of illness, we are healthy. There is no consideration of the state of the mind – is it calm? Or emotional state – is the person truly happy and content?

Eating healthy foods and not exercising, or living in a destructive environment can also lead to disease.

Take time to reconnect to your body ~ mind ~ spirit to ensure that you are both physically and mentally healthy.