Oil in your Ayurvedic Diet

During the eight days of Hanukkah, fried foods are traditionally eaten, out of respect for the Hanukkah miracle. When the temple, which had been desecrated, was being reconsecrated, there was only a little oil to light the menorah. Miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days, while a new batch was being prepared. Remembering fondly my Mum’s delicious latkes, I’ve decided to take a look at oil today.

So, who should eat oil, how much, and when? In Ayurveda, two factors influence our dietary choices—our constitution and the season.  Let’s talk about constitution first. And if you’re totally new to Ayurveda, check out my video, Ayurveda Basics: Vata, Pitta and kapha.

Thinking about vata first: vata is dry, and needs plenty of oil. Ghee, butter, olive oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil—go ahead and enjoy them to your heart’s content. Everything in moderation, however. Stir some ghee into your kichari, drizzle olive oil on your vegetables, slather your winter squash with butter…but, just like Mum’s latkes, deep fried foods should be more of an occasional treat, rather than your daily diet. Although vata loves oil, the vata digestion is finicky, so don’t overtax it with heavy fried foods. And especially avoid trans fats, found in all kinds of greasy bagged snacks.

Moving to pitta, you need to be judicious in your use of oil. Pitta is sasneha, meaning its fieriness is mixed with an oily quality. Because of this, fried foods should be taken rarely and oil used in modest amounts, just enough to make your food tasty. If you consume excess oil or greasy foods, you may well experience loose stools. Among healthy fats, ghee is considered particularly good for pitta, as it has the opposite qualities to pitta. Pitta is hot, sharp and light, and ghee naturally balances those properties. Stir ghee into your kichari, but not as much as your vata friend is using. Enjoy extra virgin olive oil and sunflower oil and relish cooling coconut oil.  

For kapha, oil is not really your friend. Kapha is snigdha, or oily, in its inherent nature. Use ghee in small quantities, just enough to simmer the spices, but don’t add that extra spoonful to your food. And among vegetable oils, mustard oil is the best choice for you, due to its heating property. Keep your diet low in fat, and try to stay away from doughnuts, French fries and the like, tempting though they may seem.

 In terms of season, as winter comes, all of us can adopt a heavier, more vata-soothing diet, richer in oil. The Ayurvedic texts say that our digestion is stronger in winter, and foods that have more fat are necessary. It’s a good time to make use of ghee, sesame oil and mustard oil. So there really is something to the Hanukkah fried food tradition! It heralds our winter diet change.

Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now!

Health tips for the day after Thanksgiving

Watch this on YouTube: Health Tips for the Day After Thanksgiving

What to do when you’ve eaten too much? You really shouldn’t have had that second slice of pumpkin pie. But it’s too late now. So, what do you do? Today you have a headache and low appetite and feel sluggish and ‘blah.’ Here are a few tips. If you’re totally new to Ayurveda, check out my four minute video, Ayurveda Basics: Vata, Pitta and kapha.

 Ginger tea is your best friend today

Start your day with ginger tea. It will kindle your appetite, as well as helping your headache or stomachache. If you are a vata or pitta type, make some fresh ginger tea. Grate a teaspoon of fresh ginger root and simmer for a few minutes in a cup of water. Strain, add honey and or lemon if desired, and sip. If you are a kapha type, ideally use cut and sifted dry ginger in place of fresh ginger. But if you don’t have cut and sifted ginger, fresh ginger tea is fine, or a tulsi-ginger teabag.

Support your digestion

Once you are ready to eat, have half a cup of digestive tea after eating. We recommend cumin, coriander and fennel tea.  Add a third of a teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and fennel seeds to a cup of water, boil until the seeds sink and strain. This will help your meal to digest and burn toxins as well.

Don’t eat until you feel hungry

A little bit of fasting is good after a feast. If you’re not hungry for breakfast, it’s okay to skip eating and just continue drinking ginger tea. For a vata type, it might be good to do a twenty-four hour fast. Have some soupy kichari with ghee for supper. Coax your appetite by eating half your usual quantity.  If you are pitta, and don’t feel hungry all day, just keep drinking fresh ginger tea. Have soupy kichari for breakfast on Saturday and a thicker kichari or a soup for lunch. But if you do get hungry on Friday, have some soupy kichari whenever you get hungry, but try to eat less than your usual quantity. As for kapha; it might take longer for your appetite to return. Even if you don’t feel like eating until Saturday early evening, that’s okay. Just keep kindling your appetite with ginger tea. When you do get an appetite, have some soup or soupy kichari.

Get fresh air

Fresh air, known as maruta seva, is an important component in regaining your appetite. Tempting as it might be to stay at home and curl up with a good book when you feel sluggish, try to get out to take the air and blow away the cobwebs. Growing up just twelve miles from the North Sea, I was used to getting sea breezes, walking along a sea wall or crunching down Shingle Street (which is not a street, but a really long shingle beach). Nowadays, I get mountain air instead. And if sea or mountains are not an option, take a walk in your local park, or by a lake or river, go to your nearest state park for pleasant breezes or a brisk wind, as the case may be.

Get some exercise

There’s nothing like a brisk walk to stimulate your appetite, get your circulation going, and clear brain fog. Vyayama or exercise is essential for recovery from a day of indulgence. In fact, try fitting in a walk after your Thanksgiving meal. Walking 1,00 paces or half a mile after a meal will improve your digestion. Then plan a good walk in a pleasant environment the next day. For kapha, try to do something a bit more strenuous on Friday, like a half-day hike.

Reach out to someone in need

Finally, exercise your all-important compassion muscles by reaching out to someone who may be lonely this holiday season. Knock on the door of an elderly neighbour, give a phone call to someone you know is alone, help serve a meal for the hungry.  Spread the love and good cheer and feel the happiness that brings.

Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now!

Self Care for Plantar Fasciitis

Yesterday I was out for a walk on a sunny October day when I ran into my neighbour, walking her Australian Shepherd. She explained that she was hobbling along because of heel pain, which she thought was due to plantar fasciitis. It was frustrating because she enjoys walking her dog and seeing the beautiful autumn leaves.

Now in Ayurveda we consider three doshas, vata, pitta and kapha. Vata is airy, pitta is fiery and kapha a combination of earth and water. As the season changes from hot to chilly and the leaves dry up and blow away, the dry and windy properties of vata become predominant. It’s the perfect time for a vata condition to develop. And all pain conditions are vata in nature. In fact, padashula, or foot pain, is second on a list of eighty vata conditions listed in the Ayurvedic texts.

So in terms of Ayurveda, one thing we have to think about is the dosha involved in the condition. Another thing is the cause. We can’t treat anything effectively without removing the cause. With plantar fasciitis, one cause could be obesity. If we’re asking our feet to carry too much weight, they may have problems. Losing weight could help, although that’s easier said than done. But also make sure that if you’re heavy, you wear sensible shoes that are kind to your feet. In fact, especially for women, fashionable footwear could be the cause of plantar fasciitis. You only have one pair of feet and they need to last you for a lifetime of walking, hiking, running and dancing. So save the elegant footwear for special occasions and make sure you walk in well-fitting, supportive shoes.

The third cause we often see for plantar fasciitis is work-related. If you have a job such as kitchen work that involves a lot of standing, heel pain may be an occupational hazard. And as they told us in surgery class back in medical school, rest is the first principle of healing. Stay off your feet until your pain improves; then look at ways to avoid standing.

Where home remedies for plantar fasciitis is concerned, castor oil is your best friend. It’s naturally anti-inflammatory. Take a teaspoon of castor oil in a cup of ginger tea twice a week, early in the morning. The first time, just try half a teaspoon of castor oil because some people may be sensitive to it. If that goes fine, then you can increase the dose to a teaspoon next time.

 Externally, soak your heel in warm castor oil every evening. After oiling, heat and cold may be applied alternately. Make a mustard seed tea by boiling a tablespoon of brown mustard seeds in three cups of water, until the seeds sink. Cool the tea until it is hot but not scalding and dip your heel in it. Then dip your heel in ice water and continue alternating between the two. And as this is a vata condition, look at soothing vata by eating warm, well-cooked soups, dals and khichari. You can find plenty of recipes on our website.

Yoga therapy or physical therapy may be helpful in stretching out the plantar fascia, calf muscles and Achilles tendon. And an Ayurvedic practitioner can help you with many wonderful anti-inflammatory and vata soothing herbs.

Happy walking!

 Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now!

COVID19 Tips

This is an unprecedented time that has aroused great anxiety and overwhelm for many of us. Some of us are working at home while parenting our restive children, others of us are suddenly without work. The only people whose lives are better are dogs. They must be so happy that we are staying home with them!

In times of plague and pestilence, knowledge is power, rumours are rife. Please follow the guidance of your county, state and federal public health officials with regard to personal hygiene and social distancing. The purpose of such measures, drastic though they may seem, is to flatten the curve of illness so our hospitals and ICUs don’t become overwhelmed. Doctors in Italy were faced with the heart-wrenching task of choosing who should live and who should die. If we flatten the curve with strict measures now, we may avoid that same situation.

 We of the boomer generation are active and involved, we tend not to see ourselves as elderly or vulnerable, yet to this virus, we are. So are healthcare workers, people with HIV, transplant recipients, cancer survivors, rheumatology patients, diabetics, individuals with high blood pressure—the list goes on. All of us need to pull together to protect the vulnerable among us.

One rumour I have encountered—and most likely you have as well—is a viral post/email purporting to come from ‘Japanese Doctors’ or ‘a friend who works in the CDC’ or some such ‘reverse plagiarism.’ This post makes a variety of claims that might seem plausible to those without medical training. For example, it indicates that if you keep sipping water, you won’t get infected because ‘your stomach acid will digest the virus.’ If viruses were vulnerable to stomach acid, there would have been no polio, no Hepatitis A, no viral encephalitis…the list goes on. Many viruses are transmitted by the fecal-oral route, and novel coronavirus is thought to be in this category. Viruses, bacteria and parasites figured out human stomach acid millennia ago.

This same viral post also claims that you can self-check for novel coronavirus by seeing whether you can take a deep breath and implies that the virus is silently fibrosing your lungs. Some severe cases of COVID19 do get pulmonary fibrosis but it is not the norm. And the only way you can check for COVD19 is to take a test. Since testing is not ramped up, please stay home if you are sick. This advice should always be in force during ‘flu season!

Another meme of disinformation I have encountered is that only 20% of those who get the virus will get sick. Correction: as far as we can see, 80% get a light case (still often quite a nasty illness), while 20% will need to be hospitalized. And as many as a third of these will need to be in ICU. This is how the healthcare system gets overwhelmed.

And no, it’s not just ‘flu. True, there is a high annual death toll from ‘flu each year, largely because we don’t stay home when we are sick. But about 30-40 million annually get ‘flu in the US. If 40 million got COVID19, we’d have a massive death toll and a collapsing healthcare system. It is much more dangerous and much more infectious.

As for the theory ‘catch it now to build herd immunity,’ well, the UK government just did a U-turn on this notion. Nobody even knows if we can get permanent immunity the way we can to measles. Quite likely not, because the virus will keep on mutating.

So keep social distancing—if the French and Italians can do it, surely we can. And take your information from trustworthy sources such as this blog, the (actual!) CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html, and the WHO https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus.

The most important Ayurvedic health advice—when hungry, eat; when thirsty, drink; when tired, go to sleep.  Get fresh air, exercise and rest and stay connected, albeit virtually, with those you love.

 Let’s reach out to the lonely and isolated. There’s every danger that in trying to fight novel coronavirus we could cause a spike in elder suicides. Instead of hoarding, let’s give to food banks, so the most vulnerable can eat. And remember, we are only as healthy as the least-served among us.  As long as nations like the DRC or Chad can scarcely provide healthcare to their populations, we are all in danger. As long as refugees live in unsanitary conditions in overcrowded refugee camps, none of us is safe. All they are asking for is a chance for safety and a better life. As long as a million Syrians live in the most inhuman circumstances on the Turkey-Syria border, our efforts at enhancing global health will be seeds sown on stony ground. Please donate to charities such as https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/. And if you can, help us in our effort to raise $1,000 for the Syrian American Medical Society. https://www.sams-usa.net/ You can go ahead and donate directly and let us know by email.

 Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now! 

Pandemic Preparedness

Pandemic Preparedness

Although the WHO has not as yet declared a global pandemic, at this time we should move into preparedness mode. Fear and panic won’t help, but resourcefulness and preparedness will. Here are some helpful tips.

What’s the big deal; don’t more people die of seasonal flu?

COVID19 cannot validly be compared to the flu for the following reasons (and more):

•     It is far more infectious.

•   There is as yet no vaccine.

•   The mortality rate is around10-20x that of seasonal flu.

•     About 20% of infected people develop a severe illness requiring expensive hospital care, often in ICU. Left unchecked, it would completely overwhelm the healthcare system.

•       Seasonal flu is an enemy we know. COVID19 has many unknowns.

  Isn’t it mostly old and sick people who die or get gravely ill?

Millions of people living with diabetes, heart disease, chronic respiratory conditions, or who are immunocompromised, are particularly at risk. These people are your friends, family, teachers, neighbors, coworkers, etc. Your actions can help protect them.

 How do I protect myself and others?

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Maintain at least 3 ft distance.

• Wash your hands frequently

• Maintain at least 3 feet distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

• Stay home when you are sick.

• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using soap and water or household cleanser

  How do I prepare?

•    It is recommended to have a two-week supply of food and water for yourself and your pets. However, panic buying is not helpful. And standing in long queues with people who might be infectious is counterproductive. Therefore, stock up judiciously.

•     If you take a prescription medicine, try not to allow it to run too low. The same applies to birth control supplies and similar essentials. There could be supply chain issues, or you might be quarantined.

•    Similarly, try not to run too low in essential household supplies.

Do I need to wear a mask?

•     If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected COVID19 infection

•    Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing.

•    Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.

•    If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly.

   See the video below for correct use of a mask

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ded_AxFfJoQ&feature=emb_logo

For more on this topic: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/main-focus-preventing-coronavirus-spread-should-be-hand-hygiene-not-n1144346

 What about hand sanitizer?

Hand hygiene is the best way to protect yourself and others. By far the best way to practice hand hygiene is washing your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water. Soap destroys the lipid envelope of the virus. Hand sanitizer is helpful when you are out and about. I recommend Cleanwell brand for a non-toxic hand sanitizer. But I’ll also note that there has been panic buying of hand sanitizer; Cleanwell is out of stock locally and overpriced on Amazon. So here are a couple of links on making your own hand sanitizer:

https://wholefully.com/homemade-hand-sanitizer/

https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/make-your-own-diy-hand-sanitizer

Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now!

Should I take digestive enzymes? An Ayurvedic view

Here at Alandi Ayurveda Clinic, we ask our patients to bring in their medications and supplements so we can see what they are taking. Many of our patients have digestive concerns and we see that a number of them are taking various over-the-counter digestive enzyme supplements. But do these supplements really work and are they the best way to support digestion?

First, not all enzyme supplements are created equal. Rarely, an individual may suffer from Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI), a condition in which the pancreas is unable to make the enzymes needed to digest food. Autoimmune chronic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis are two conditions that may cause EPI, a condition that affects roughly 8 per 100,000 men and 2 per 100,000 women. Patients diagnosed with this condition are in danger of severe, chronic malnutrition. These patients are treated with special prescription pancreatic enzymes that are 'enteric coated'--that is, they have a special coating that prevents them being digested in the stomach and allows them to work where they are needed, in the duodenum. On the other hand, OTC 'enzyme supplements' are not enteric coated and relatively little of what is taken will actually be active in the duodenum.

According to the teachings of Ayurveda, agni (your digestive fire) is at the root of health. As the seminal Ayurvedic text, Charak Samhita says in discussing malabsorption issues:

Longevity, complexion, strength, health, enthusiasm, muscle-mass, lustre, immunity, energy...all these depend on agni. One dies if this fire is extinguished, lives long free from disorders if it is functioning properly, gets ill if it is deranged, hence agni is at the root cause of all. (CS, chi xv, 3-4).

So rather than trying to prop up a weak digestive fire by consuming digestive enzymes, it is more effective and helpful to turn that weak agni into strong agni. This is a process that has several steps: remove the cause, improve your diet, use herbs and home remedies to strengthen agni.

Remove the Causes

Remove the causes of your digestive disturbance by following these simple Agni Rules.

• Eat food at room temperature or slightly above

• Allow three hours between meals to allow digestion to be complete before adding new food to the system

• Don't drink and eat at the same time. Drink half hour before or two hours after eating.

• Use proper food combining.

• Relax after eating to allow for proper digestion.

• Don't eat and then sleep--wait two hours.

• Don't eat and then exercise--wait two hours.

• Don't eat and then meditate--Leave one hour.

• Follow the diet appropriate to your constitution and the season.

Improve Your Diet

Improve your diet by focusing on warm, soupy and well-cooked foods such as soups, stews, kitchari and dal. Using spices such as ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, cardamom, fenugreek, cinnamon and clove in your food will enhance digestion. Studies show that these spices help improve our body's natural secretion of pancreatic enzymes. Rosemary, sage and oregano are beneficial too.

Use home remedies and herbs

Use home remedies and herbs to convert a weak digestive fire into a strong one.

CCF Tea: At Alandi we encourage our students and patients to drink CCF tea. Mix one-third teaspoon each of cumin, coriander and fennel 'seeds' in a cup of water, boil until the seeds sink and strain. Drink after meals to aid digestion or to relieve colic. This tea is also a great way to help get adequate iron and calcium in your diet. You can also use this tea to bring down a fever.

Agni Kindler: Grate fresh ginger and fresh turmeric, add a squeeze of lime and some salt. Eat half a teaspoon a few minutes before meals to improve digestion. If you can't get fresh turmeric root, you can make the remedy with ginger, lime and salt.

Chewing Spice (like in an Indian restaurant but minus the sugar and colouring): chew ½ tsp. roasted fennel and cumin seeds after each meal.

If you continue to have issues such as gas and bloating despite using these remedies, your agni issues may be more complex, or there may be underlying causes such as parasites or food intolerances. An Aurvedic Practitioner will help unravel the underlying cause and provide individually tailored remedies to improve your digestion.

Alakananda Ma M.B., B.S. (Lond.) is an Ayurvedic Doctor (NAMA) and graduate of a top London medical school. She is co-founder of Alandi Ayurveda Clinic and Alandi Ayurveda Gurukula in Boulder Colorado, as well as a spiritual mother, teacher, flower essence maker and storyteller. Alakananda is a well known and highly respected practitioner in the Ayurveda community both nationally and internationally.

Enliven your holistic health! Visit Alakananda Ma in Alandi Ashram’s ayurvedic clinic to support the overall rejuvenation of your body, mind, and spirit. In-person and virtual appointments available. Book now!