5 Ways to Improve Digestion and Heal IC

It’s of no surprise to anyone who has the IC bladder pain syndrome or is involved with an IC support group that bowel symptoms are as common as the flares  As a matter of fact if I were a betting person I would say that there are often more common than the flares that occur

But the bowel symptoms are often overlooked because our tendency is to focus on the organ causing us the most problem, namely the bladder and pelvic symptoms

Step Back

As you have read in some blog posts all disease begins in the GI tract according to the Ayurvedic or energy science model

When you focus too much…..I know that’s hard since the bladder is screaming for attention…. you may lose sight of the fact that the bowel symptoms are there but the bladder is claiming the attention  At least 50% of people with IC have acid indigestion(heartburn) and/or reflux of acid into the lower esophagus and they resort to all kinds of different OTC(over the counter) remedies

It’s estimated that at least 50% of people with IC have IBS and I would say in working with patients that if you counted all their symptoms that it’s more like 100%  The reason I can go that far is that most people walking on this planet have unhealthy digestion

How the Bowel Gets Sick and Symptoms

The reasons for this unhealthy digestion are 2 fold  First the food choices made bring about imbalance of qualities in the GI tract and hence symptoms

But the second reason is probably more important  Poor digestion of food leads to unprocessed undigested food that clog the lymphatics of the gut and cover the surface of the internal lining of the gut interfering with proper digestion, absorption, and assimilation of foods ingested

Due to this “poor digestion” symptoms occur  Gas, bloating, feeling of heaviness lethargy or fatigue after eating, fever, irritability, alternating diarrhea/constipation, loud noises coming from the stomach, poor appetite, congestion in the sinuses, mucoid vomiting or mucous in the stools, having an underactive thyroid, and overall depression….who wouldn’t be with these kinds of symptoms?

Getting Your Digestive Strength Back

Getting your health…..particularly bowel health back….is a challenge but it’s at the heart of dealing with IC  Puzzling isn’t it?  Here you have this bladder problem but you’re being told that you need to really focus on the bowel  Well, it’s actually both BUT you must put some attention on the your bowel function if you’re ever to deal with this problem labeled as IC

Since poor digestion is at the heart of the matter here are four things that you can do  Remember don’t use dry ginger….only fresh

1 Use ginger appetizer to help clear the undigested debris hanging around in your gut  Thirty minutes before eating your biggest meal of the day at noon take a slice of ginger with rock salt, lime juice, and a little honey   (To peel the ginger use a spoon for taking the skin off..and slice an inch long piece of fresh ginger and place into a small container  It’s helpful if the container is small enough to carry in your pocket or purse so that you can take it out to eat with you or to work  Small jars can be purchased at health food stores or you can reuse glass supplement jars  To save time make enough for 2-3 days

2 Use agni tea  Quart of water with 2 handfuls minced ginger root pinch of cayenne (for Pitta disorders, a speck or omit entirely), 2 Tablespoons Sucanat or Maple syrup, and 1-2 teaspoons Rock salt   Bring all of the above ingredients to a boil  Boil for 20 minutes  Take the pot off the burner and cool for a few minutes  Add the juice of ½ lime   Do not boil the lime juice  Pour into a thermos and enjoy throughout the day!

3 Use CCF tea  see prior blog post

4 Chose one day a week to fast  This gives the GI tract a well deserved day off…..you get days off from work – why not do that for your ailing gut?  This fast can be with juice(don’t mix fruit with veggies) or for overweight people, water but some kind of restriction from having to digest  Why?  Because just like a campfire it gets stronger when you don’t put so many logs on the fire  Remember though that predominantly Vata people should only do light eating once every four weeks or they will weaken themselves even more

5  Explore digestive aids such as Betaine HCl or pancreatic enzymes but recognize this as a bandaid and not a fix for the gut  As you can see, relying on something externally forever to help with your digestion is not a long term solution

Best of luck in your journey  DB