Love your Guts
healing a gassy, bloated gut
Gas and bloat are an imbalance of the elements of air and ether in the body, also known as vata dosha. This imbalances causes irregular metabolism referred to as vishama agni. Read on to learn more about this and how you can balance your metabolism.
When vata (the elements of air and ether and the energy of catabolism) become dominant in the body, vishama agni (irregular digestion) takes place. Air and ether form bubbles of air in the body and they move in all different directions. The cold qualities of the air slow down digestion and the mobile qualities make it move all around and the result is irregular appetite, variable digestion, abdominal distention, indigestion, gases, constipation, and colicky pain. Even tiny bits of food can turn into gas. Vishama agni can also lead to diarrhea, a feeling of heaviness after eating, or a gurgling of the intestines. Other physical characteristics of imbalanced vata dosha are dry skin, insomnia, popping/achy joints, constipation, hard stools, cold hands and feet, lower back pain, twitching, nerve disorders, chapped lips, dry mouth, malabsorption, and more. The psychological effects of vata imbalance are fear, anxiety, insecurity, and more. Ama is produced and when this ama accumulates other vata diseases such as delirium, seizures, arthritis, emphezema, pneumonia, and more can start to form.
choosing a balanced lifestyle
Routine and rhythm are the main factors to help stabilize vishama agni. Because digestion is so irregular, it is crucial to create stability with routines. These routines are best supported by following circadian rhythms. Lifestyle suggestions for vata imbalances:
- Stay focused on one thing at a time. Finish one of your many projects.
- Cultivate a regular morning and evening routine that helps you ground down.
- Slow down. Take time out to chill out and appreciate all the little things in life.
- Stay warm. Soak up the sun. Dress warm. Sometimes even sleeping with a hat/scarf can help you stay warm. Wrap yourself up in warming colors.
- Hydrate with hot water, decaf chai, and teas.
- Gentle exercise. Walking, qi-gong, restorative yoga, etc.
- Try abhyanga, self-massage with sesame oil or get a massage.
- Listen to soothing, calming music.
- Try a diffuser with sweet, heavy, warm aromas such as basil, bay, cinnamon, citrus, cloves, frankincense, lavendar, pine, sage, and vanilla. You can cook with many of these too.
- Try nadi shodhana for pranayama and restorative yoga.
nutritional guidelines for balance
- Favor foods that are oily, warming, or heavy with tastes that are sweet, salty, and sour. Minimize pungent, bitter, or astringent tastes.
- Create a routine around your eating, eating at the same time each day with lunch as the biggest meal. Include some fat and protein in your lunch to help you feel grounded and carry you through the day.
- Rice and wheat are the best grains for vata. Sweet heavy fruits. Dairy (low-fat milk) is easier to digest when warmed. Beans can aggravate vata. You may prefer tofu or mung beans. Proteins: chicken, turkey, seafood, and eggs
- Cook your vegetables in a generous amount of olive oil or ghee. Favor roots, minimize raw.
- Spices that pacify vata: cardamom, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, salt, cloves, mustard seed, basil, asafetida, cilantro, fennel, oregano, sage, teragon, thyme, and black pepper.
- Keep the colon and digestive system lubricated and healthy. Consider basti (oil implants, contact Suzanne for more details).
- Eat the last meal at least 3 hours before bedtime making bedtime start at 9:30pm the latest.
recipes for pacifying gas and bloat
Enjoy some recipes by Dr. Vasant Lad for pacifying gas and bloat. These are band-aids, they do not get to the root cause of the dis-ease. To get the root cause and heal, please follow the lifestyle guidelines above and the guidelines for indigestion.
Grate 1 tsp of ginger pulp and add 1 tsp of lime. Take immediately after eating.
Stir 1 tsp of lemon juice and 1/2 tsp of baking soda into 1 cup of cool water. Drink it down quickly, right after meals for best results (it forms carbon dioxide, which facilitates digestion.)
Prepare a mixture of 1 part cumin, 1 part fennel, and 1 part ajwan (indian cellery) seeds. After each meal ,take 1/2 to 1 tsp of this mixture, chew well, and swallow with 1/3 cup of warm water.
These can be bought at most health foods stores. Swallow two tables after lunch and dinner. the charcoal absorbs gases.
Steep 1/2-1 tsp of triphala in a cup of hot water for 5-10 minutes then drink it. These can also be bought as capsules.
recipes for constipation
Constipation is a vata condition. It is caused by insufficient fiber in the diet, dehydration, lack of exercises, lots of meat eating, and a number of other factors. The dryness of air and ether create hardness in the body and this can create the discomfort of flatulence, pain, headaches, bad breath, and malabsorption. These remedies are to be used in tandem with the vata balancing lifestyle techniques. They are a bridge to dis-ease. The lifestyle techniques are the cure.
Steep 1/2-1 tsp of triphala in a cup of hot water for 5-10 minutes then drink it. These can also be bought as capsules. *If this causes frequent urination throughout the night, take it first thing in the morning. Best around 4 or 5 a.m.
Eat fruit inbetween meals. It will be digested easier if the fruit is cooked. Ghee will also help it slide down more.
- bananas
- chew a raw apple
- pineapple juice
- raisins
- prunes
- peaches
- Wheat bran
- oatmeal
- oat bran
- fruits
- veggies
- whole grains
1-2 tsp of ghee in a cup of warm tea like milk at bedtime. Great for vata and pitta, too kapha aggravating for kaphas to use regularly.
Castor oil when you are really clogged up. At bedtime make a cup of ginger tea and then add 2 tsp of castor oil to the tea and drink it. If these don’t bring elimination, then do it again the next night increasing to 3, then 4 if necessary. Adjust according to what works. Only use in severe cases. The castor can also be combined with warm milk.
Boil 1 tbls of flax in a cup of water for 2-3 minutes. Drink the whole cup.
3 figs soaked in warm water
Plain warm water or triphala, or dashamoola tea instead of plain water. Contact Suzanne for more information.
fasting
Fasting is a method to heal indigestion. It stimulates autophagy, allowing the body’s natural detoxification systems to do their job. Different types of fasts are recommended depending on your body type, the season, your lifestyle, and current needs and wants. Join Suzanne for the Healthwise 1 Week Ayurvedic Intermittent Fasting Challenge to learn about how to fast for your body type. The next 1 week challanege starts on April 10th. Register here it’s totally FREE. If you want to dive deeper, try the upgrade for a 3 week cleanse.