From an energy science point of view the IC bladder pain syndrome( interstitial cystitis, vulvodynia, chronic prostatitis, IBS, GERD, and fibromyalgia) is a Vata and Pitta provoked disease, that is, too much hot and mobile qualities in the urinary tract - an imbalance created by the foods consumed. So the obvious first step is to reduce those foods that are Pitta and Vata provoking. When first getting started to get some relief from the burning sensation you can begin with just a Pitta pacifying nutritional format as at icdiet.com but as you progress using a format that is appropriate for you energy constitutional makeup can be found at foodsheal.com after taking the test. One particular thread that I have seen come up is the question about IC and yogurt. How should it be used and whether it is safe in IC, that is, whether it is Vata and Pitta provoking, causing bladder pain. Yogurt is an amazing food and many ethnic cultures on the planet use fresh yogurt and kefir as health promoting foods in their nutrition. And there are very good reasons for doing so but due to the Pitta aggravating nature of yogurt, freshly made is the only way to go in moderation.

Helping Restore Imbalanced Agni

The value of yogurt is that it serves when freshly made a rich source of probiotic which is a population of "good bacteria" that reside in the bowel. "Bad" bacteria at times overgrow the gut flora leading to poor digestion, absorption, and assimilation so it's important that the good flora flourishes and the bad are kept in check. As I've alluded to in the past, bacterial growth is a major part of our digestive strength that needs to be nourished. This is particularly important if you have GERD, IBS, and fibromyalgia associated with IC since the digestive fire is significantly compromised in these dual conditions. Regular use of freshly made yogurt insures that the "good" bacteria are consistently replenished. Agni is always compromised in these conditions and since the bacterial flora is part of agni it's important to supplement with probiotic foods such as yogurt. SIBO(small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) is commonly thought of as the root cause of many bowel diseases but from an energy science perspective it's just saying that agni is disturbed. You may have heard of yeast overgrowth and this is yet another factor that can lead to poor digestive fire(eliminating yeast laden bread products is a good idea in that it gives us more than we need so flatbreads are best or at least toasting yeasted products). This candidal imbalance in bowel flora much like SIBO is a result of poor agni. So building up agni is one of the central therapeutic themes in the management of the IC bladder pain syndrome. Bowel flora is important in the concept of digestive fire and aids in bowel digestive function as well as providing important nutrients for our nutrition. Pasteurized yogurts should be avoided as pasteurization kills off the beneficial probiotic component of yogurt.

Making Digestion Easy By Predigestion-Optimizing Digestive Strength

The value of yogurt comes in the predigestion of lactose and casein which we talked about a couple of days ago. Hence the bacteria during the incubation phase of creating yogurt use the sugar lactose and break down the protein casein. The lactose then doesn't bother the lactose intolerant and the casomorphin derivative from casein digestion can be less, hence affecting us less. Why freshly made? From an energy science view the build up of acidity occurs with aging yogurt even if refrigerated becomes inflammatory and thus Pitta provoking. You also get the maximal amount of probiotic in the yogurt(some bacteria die off after 4-5 days). Even though fresh yogurt is not very acidic(sour taste) it still can be Pitta provoking if used daily. Hence home made yogurt has its consumption limitations. By Dr. Bill Dean via DrBillDean.com