Mercury levels in songbirds

From The NY Times

A biologist studying wild songbirds in New York State has found that all 178 woodland birds he tested last year had unusually high levels of mercury in their blood and feathers, a sign that the toxic chemical has spread farther in the environment than previously thought.

Winding down and taking stock

I had my one-on-one with Dr. Gregg last week and re-evaluated my goals for the TLC. My original cleanse list from 4 weeks ago included the purgation of toxic people and "family vendettas" (as written in my notebook, but "family dysfunction" as documented in an earlier blog entry). I signed up for the TLC because I was/am facing a total life crisis - my family in California is coming apart and there's not a whole lot I can do about it - I suppose one could say it is outside the plan.

Dr. Gregg says the core of my... issues... is largely existential. I strive for the answers to the questions that no one can answer. The greater truth. I come from a family of skilled liars who are descended from generations of liars. My great grandmother was a shaolin master and my grandfather went blind from grief. The stuff of epic poetry and personal mythos. We lie to ourselves about the abstract concept of "happiness" and "health" and we lie to each other. I have never believed the lie and refuse to be controlled by it.

My father was very sick this past weekend and physically and emotionally alone in struggling with his recovery. I dispatched a friend in nursing in California to get him everything on the liver detox list - triphala, vitamins, probiotics and pitta foods and to do a medical intake. As I sat in class on Saturday, I thought a lot about how we pass on the wisdom. Knowledge comes through patient education. Wisdom comes thru integration, faith, and practice.

The questions that I contemplate this week as I try to cleanse the emotional toxins of 31 years are these:

If we should only be concerned with "our own business" how does this translate into the decisions and processes of family members and loved ones? How is detachment possible?

What is idiot compassion?

What is the role of an older brother? Mentor, tormentor, bear baiter?

It is possible to be a "good" (*compassionate*)/well-adjusted/happy person and never speak to your mother or sibling again?

Why does my own internal compass care so much about what I think or what other people think family should look like, versus how the heart feels?

The Wonders of Triphala: Ayurvedic Formula for Internal Purification

by Dr. Michael Tierra L.Ac., O.M.D.

The most popular herbal remedies in the health food industry are those which promote bowel movement. The reason is quite simple since the most common problem of so many individuals is constipation and bowel irregularity. Consider how tremendously valuable a formula is that not only regulates bowel movement but at the same time does the following:

improves digestion,
reduces serum cholesterol,
improves circulation (potentiates adrenergic function),
contains 31% linoleic acid,
exerts a marked cardio-protective effect,
reduces high blood pressure,
improves liver function,
has proven anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties,
expectorant, hypotensive.
Sound like a panacea? Well, it is practically just that.

Triphala, as it is called, is the most popular Ayurvedic herbal formula of India, since it is an effective laxative which also supports the body's strength. The constitution of vegetarian Hindus cannot tolerate harsh laxatives anymore than vegetarians in other countries. Because of its high nutritional value, Triphala uniquely cleanses and detoxifies at the deepest organic levels without depleting the body's reserves. This makes it one of the most valuable herbal preparations in the world.

How is Triphala different from other kinds of laxatives? There are two primary types of herbal laxatives. One is called a purgative and includes herbs such as senna, rhubarb, leptandra, buckthorne and cascara. These often contain bitter principles in the form of anthroquinones which work by stimulating the peristaltic action of the intestinal lining, either directly or by promoting the secretion of bile through the liver and gall bladder.

The second type of laxative is a lubricating bulk laxative, including demulcent herbs such as psyllium and flax seed. This is more nutritional and usually does not have any significant direct effect on either the liver or the gall bladder. Rather, these work like a sponge by swelling and absorbing fluid, thus acting as an intestinal broom.

Triphala combines both nutritional as well as blood and liver cleansing actions. It has little function as a demulcent or lubricating laxative, however. It possesses some anthroquinones which help stimulate bile flow and peristalsis. The nutritional aspect is more in the form of its high vitamin C content, the presence of linoleic oil and other important nutrients which it makes more of a tonic.

People who are in need of purgatives are those whose bowel irregularity is caused by liver and gall bladder congestion usually accompanied by some degree of blood toxins. Those in need of demulcent laxatives are those with intestinal dryness caused by a variety of metabolic factors including a nutritional deficiency as well as a condition of excess hypermetabolic energy. Triphala will prove useful for all kinds of constipation except that caused by a lack of vital energy or chi. Even for the latter type, it will not further deplete such an individual and can be made to work well if it is combined with other chi, blood or yang-warming tonic herbs such as ginseng for chi tonification, tang kuei for blood tonification and prepared aconite for yang tonification.

Herbal healing is largely a matter of strategy. One approach may emphasize tonification while another emphasizes elimination. The problem with overemphasizing tonification is that it can lead to further stagnation and congestion in an excess condition. Emphasizing elimination through the overuse of purgatives in an already deficient individual can further deplete the body's store of minerals and essential B vitamins as well as imbalance beneficial intestinal micro-organisms. The result is weakness with a likely tendency towards chronic fatigue and anemia. Since the body is always simultaneously involved with maintaining and gaining strength through good nutrition as well as eliminating waste, Triphala is unique in that it is naturally able to support both vital processes simultaneously.

Because of its high nutritional content, Ayurvedic doctors generally do not regard Triphala as a mere laxative. Some of the scientific research and practical experience of people using it down through the ages has demonstrated that Triphala is an effective blood purifier that stimulates bile secretion as it detoxifies the liver, helps digestion and assimilation, and significantly reduces serum cholesterol and lipid levels throughout body. As a result, it is regarded as a kind of universal panacea and is the most commonly prescribed herbal formula.

A popular folk saying in India is, "No mother? do not worry so long as you have Triphala." The reason is that Indian people believe that triphala is able to care for the internal organs of the body as a mother cares for her children. Each of the three herbal fruits of tTriphala takes care of the body by gently promoting internal cleansing of all conditions of stagnation and excess while at the same time it improves digestion and assimilation.

We herbalists believe that the longevity and innate power of herbs such as those of Triphala are, when ingested, energetically absorbed and imparted to our reserves. This belief exists with herbs such as wild ginseng, where specimens that have "weathered" decades of climatic stress have been found to contain the highest concentration of ginsenosides. The Ginkgo tree is another of those long lived plants whose evolution extends back over millennia to the time of the dinosaurs.

The three fruits of Triphala (Harada, Amla and Bihara) each correspond to the "three humours" or "tridosha" of Indian Ayurvedic medicine. According to Ayurvedic theory, the body is composed of three doshas or humours. Vata is sometimes translated as "wind" which corresponds to the mind and nervous system. Its nature is dry, cold, light and activating. The second is pitta which is also translated as "fire" or "bile." It is responsible for all metabolic transformations including the digestion and assimilation of food as well as assimilation and clarity of thought and understanding. The nature of pitta is primarily hot, moist and light. Kapha is sometimes translated as the "water" or "mucus" humour and is responsible for all anabolic or building functions such as the development of muscle and bone tissue. Its nature is cool, moist and heavy.

Harada, having a bitter flavor, is associated with the vata humour as well as the air and space elements. It treats imbalances and diseases of the vata humour. Harada possesses laxative, astringent, lubricant, antiparasitical, alterative, antispasmodic and nervine properties. It is therefore used to treat acute and chronic constipation, nervousness, anxiety and feelings of physical heaviness.

Among Tibetans, Harada is so highly revered for its purifying attributes that it is the small fruit that is depicted in the hands of the "medicine Buddha" in their sacred paintings or tankas. Of the three fruits, Harada is the most laxative and contains anthroquinones similar to those found in rhubarb and cascara.

Amla has a sour flavor and corresponds to the pitta humour and the fire element in Ayurvedic medicine. It is a cooling tonic, astringent, mildly laxative, alterative, antipyretic. It is used to treat fire imbalances that include ulcers, inflammation of the stomach, intestines, constipation, diarrhea, liver congestion, eruptions, infections and burning feelings throughout the body. In various studies, Amla has been shown to have mild anti-bacterial properties, pronounced expectorant, anti-viral and cardiotonic activity.

Amla is the highest natural known source of vitamin C. Having 20 times the vitamin C content of an orange, Amla is also uniquely heat stable. Even when subjected to prolonged high heat, as in the making of the Ayurvedic tonic formula called Chyavanprash, Amla, as the primary herb comprising 50% of the formula, hardly loses any of the vitamin C that is present when it is freshly harvested off the tree. The same is true of Amla that has been dried and kept for up to a year. This age and heat stable form of vitamin C in Amla is due to the presence of certain tannins that bind and inhibit its dissipation.

Bihara is astringent, tonic, digestive and anti-spasmodic. Its primary flavor is astringent and the secondary is sweet, bitter and pungent. It targets imbalances associated with the kapha or mucus humour, corresponding to the earth and water elements in Ayurvedic medicine. Specifically Bihara purifies and balances excess mucus, treats asthma, bronchiole conditions, allergies and hiccoughs.

Ama is a term denoting a substance associated in Ayurveda with chronic disease patterns and symptoms of aging. It is described as a kind of sticky buildup of material that clogs the circulatory channels. In many ways it is nearly identical to the accumulation of excess cholesterol and blood lipids described in the West. Both conditions seem to contribute to a wide variety of circulatory disorders ranging from senility, rheumatic conditions, cancer and heart disease. It is interesting that in Traditional Chinese Medicine there is also a pathological condition associated with the heart called "invisible mucus" that is similar to the descriptions of both excess cholesterol and ama in Ayurveda.

One of the body's reactions to coping with stress is to increase the production of corticosteroids. The accumulation of these stress hormones can also contribute to the formation of cholesterol. Internal stress and the resultant buildup of cholesterol can be caused by the abuse of stimulants, spicy, hot foods such as garlic and cayenne, excessive aerobic exercise and repression of the emotions. It is interesting that an excess of some of those very substances and activities that lower cholesterol in some, when not utilized in a holistic, balanced manner, can act as a stimulant and add further stress that would precipitate the further accumulation of cholesterol. Triphala is one of two Ayurvedic formulations that are specific for eliminating Ama and cholesterol from the body.

Triphala is a completely balanced energetic formula, being neither too cold, nor too hot. When taken regularly over a long period, it gently effects the elimination and purification of Ama from the tissues of the entire body. The three fruits have been scientifically studied and confirm some of its known traditional benefits. These include the lowering of cholesterol, reducing high blood pressure, benefiting circulation, improving digestion and regulating elimination without causing any laxative dependency.

One Indian study reported by C.P. Thakur, demonstrated the enormous value and effectiveness of Amla, reducing serum, aortic and hepatic cholesterol in rabbits. In another study, extracts of Amla fruit were found to decrease serum free fatty acids and increase cardiac glycogen. This helps to prevent heart attacks by providing significantly greater protection and nourishment to the heart muscle.

Studies of the fruit of Bihara[8] found that it contains up to 35% oil and 40% protein. The oil is used in soap making and by the poorer classes as a substitute cooking oil for ghee. The sweet smelling oil is 35% palmitic, 24% oleic and 31% linoleic. Linoleic oil is an essential fatty acid important for increasing HDL cholesterol, associated with a healthy state and reducing LDL cholesterol, considered to indicate a higher-than-average risk for developing coronary-heart disease.

One of numerous studies of Harada[9] demonstrated its anti-vata or anti-spasmodic properties by the reduction of abnormal blood pressure as well as intestinal spasms. This confirms its traditional usefulness for heart conditions, spastic colon and other intestinal disorders.

With all the virtues of the three individual herbs, Triphala has many wide and varied uses as a therapeutic herbal food. Before considering pathological indications for which Triphala would be appropriate, we should never ignore the value of taking it on some regular basis whether once daily or once or twice a week simply for health maintenance. Triphala, having great nutritional properties, will help to prevent sickness.

I remember meeting a yogic master who was in his late eighties and staying in Santa Cruz for a few months. Being clear of mind and body, he could out walk anyone, both in terms of speed and distance. Besides his practice of meditation, he considered the fact that his remarkable fitness and health was primarily due to the fact that his diet consisted primarily of Kicharee (mung beans, rice, ghee and spices, i.e., cumin, coriander, turmeric and salt) and a daily dose of Triphala as the primary herbal tonic.

I have numerous reports of individuals with chronic constipative tendencies who were able to regulate their bowels with the use of Triphala. One patient with a history of bowel irregularity was suffering from pyorrhea. After taking Triphala twice a day for three months, she was completely cured. Another patient who was at least 40 pounds overweight began taking Triphala and lost 20 pounds in a month with hardly any modifications in her diet. The reason is that such severe obesity is usually accompanied by congestion of the internal organs of elimination, including the liver and bowels. As a result, digestion is compromised with the poorly assimilated food contributing to the organ congestion. For such conditions, Triphala can be highly effective in removing stagnation of both the liver and intestines.

Regardless of any other herbs used, Triphala can be prescribed singly or adjunctively whenever there are symptoms of inflammation, heat, infection, obesity and other conditions of excess. Because of its combined tonic and eliminative properties, it is generally quite safe to give even for deficiency diseases including anemia, fatigue, candida, poor digestion and assimilation. Unlike other eliminative and cleansing herbs, Triphala is safely taken for symptoms of wasting heat that frequently accompanies diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and AIDS.

There are two ways to take Triphala, as a powder or tablet. Traditionally Triphala is taken as a churna or powder. One would stir in two or three grams of the powder with warm water and consume the entire amount each evening or divided into three doses throughout the day. Since for most it does not possess a flavor that one would look forward to experiencing, it is convenient that Triphala is available in tablet or capsule form. Generally the dose is from two tablets 1-3 times daily or four to six tablets one time daily. Children may only require one or two tablets in the evening.

The larger dose is more laxative while the smaller dose tends to be more gradually blood purifying. A smaller dose might be one or two tablets three times daily. One should increase or decrease the dose according to one's bowel movements. Since there are no problems in using Triphala, the dose can be adjusted upwards from the suggested amount.

Triphala is also widely taken for all eye diseases including the treatment of conjunctivitis, progressive myopia, the early stages of glaucoma and cataracts. For these conditions, it is taken daily both internally as described above, as well as externally as an eye wash. Steep one tablespoonful of the powder or six tablets in an 8 ounce glass of water overnight. In the morning, strain the infusion through a clean cloth. The resultant tea is used to sprinkle over the eyes or used in an eyewash in an eyecup that can be readily purchased at most drug stores. One can drink the remainder in one or two doses, morning and evening. Taken in this way for at least three months, Triphala becomes an herbal eye tonic.

As stated, there can be different reactions to the same dose of triphala. For some it causes too loose bowels while in others it may have little or no effect. As a result, it may take two or three days to regulate the dose that is best. After the constipative tendencies are removed, usually within 15 days of daily application, it will no longer cause loose bowels.

Presently Triphala is distributed and available in the US from a few different sources. The powder can be purchased in most Indian food import stores in larger cities. Tablets are currently manufactured and distributed by Planetary Herb Formulas as well as a few other companies.

I have used Triphala as a regular part of my clinical practice for at least ten years. I know that other Ayurvedic doctors both here and in India also regularly prescribe Triphala for most of their patients to be taken at least once each evening. For centuries, Triphala has been known and used as a standard household health supplement much as vitamins are in the West. In many households, Triphala is taken on a weekly basis by all family members to prevent disease and maintain health.

In India, Triphala is considered the greatest and most versatile of all herbal formulations. With the presence of such a vitamin C rich herbal food as Amla, it possesses unique nutritive tonic and eliminative properties. Both the public and therapists of all disciplines should be able to benefit from its unique therapeutic virtues.

Planetary products was the first to introduce Triphala to the US herb market. It is no wonder that it is one of the best selling formulas in the entire line. Triphala is traditionally taken and works best when taken as a powder. The average dose is from one to two teaspoons of the powder in a little water once in the evening or three times daily for blood and general body purification. It can also be taken regularly once a week with great benefit since it promotes balanced cleansing and detoxification. The tablets are for convenience since many find the powder too have too unpleasant a flavor for the more spoiled tastes of westerners. Triphala has been found to be very effective for helping to control weight gain, chronic constipation and as an adjunctive treatment for many chronic degenerative conditions.

On ghee

Vedic seers considered milk to be the most sattvic (peace-producing) food for humankind. From this salubrious nourishment, choice butter, buttermilk, yogurt and ghee are made--that is, when the milk's quality has remained pure and untampered with. Throughout the ages, milk has been used widely but not wisely. Because of the corruption prevalent in today's animal husbandry, we are in danger of losing this sacred food of the earth. The cruel practices engaged in minding the animals, as well as the arsenal of poisons, chemicals and hormones which are used in their feed, all contribute to the misery of this beneficent animal, the impairment of her life-sustaining milk and the dimming of her natural Divine Light. But when butter, yogurt and ghee are made from milk produced by conscious organic dairy farmers, they are considered to be our most nourishing and healing foods. Among them, ghee stands out as the elixir for excellent health.

Sushruta, an ancient Ayurvedic seer, regarded ghee as an intelligence-building principle that fosters the body's confidence and virility. Another ancient, Charaka, praises ghee's ability to promote memory and immunity within the body. From the perspective of sadhana, spiritual discipline, ghee is associated with the body's element of love. Its dominant action allows it to soothe our vital tissues. In Ayurveda, ghee is used as a primary vehicle for conveying herbal powders, essences and medicines into affected tissues because it penetrates them and enlivens vital tissue memory, soothing the body, mind and spirit of the patient.

Ghee also builds ojas, the body's primordial immunological force, thereby reducing fatigue and stress while aiding the body to let go of its toxicity. Ghee may be used in cooking to reduce fatigue, emaciation, loss of appetite and stress from time to time throughout the year. Since the nature of ghee is usually peaceful and nourishing, it accommodates all metabolic types, restoring agni, digestive fire, and allowing the body to adjust to its newly attuned state of revitalization.

A few stories may best serve to illustrate the vast healing powers of ghee. Lynn had a severe strep infection in her throat. After one week of gargling with ghee, turmeric and warm water, her throat infection was gone. Eric, who had a chronic case of psoriasis, treated his condition by applying a poultice made from ghee and neem powder. One month later, Eric's skin ailment was completely cured. Gita had suffered from years of nervous exhaustion, constipation and insomnia by the time she came to me for help. Along with dietary help, I recommended a simple tea made from hot water, ghee and triphala which she took for three months every evening after dinner. Her condition is now vastly improved.

For centuries ghee has been used as a remedy during the seasonal junctions when diseases tend to become more prevalent. At the onset of spring, a tablespoon of ghee may be taken with a few pinches of turmeric every morning for a week or so. Similarly, a tablespoon of ghee can be taken for a week at the commencement of summer with a teaspoon of unrefined brown sugar; at the onset of the rainy season combined with a few pinches of rock salt; at the arrival of autumn with a teaspoon of honey and as winter sets in, mixed with a teaspoon of molasses.

Ghee is made by boiling sweet butter, thereby ridding it of enzymes that could encourage bacteria. The quality of the ghee depends on the quality of the butter, as well as the means of making it and how it is stored. Stored in the right conditions, ghee not only lasts a long time, but its medicinal value increases as it ages. Used in small quantity, ghee is ideal for cooking as it does not burn unless heated excessively. It blends with food nutrients without losing its medicinal quality and therefore soothes and nourishes bodily constituents. Ghee is good for persons of all doshas (constitutional types) and is a specific for pitta. It requires no refrigeration, should be kept covered, away from direct sunlight or heat and protected from any contaminants.

from the Hinduism Today website

Like the Tibetans....

To make the ghee shots more palatable, Kort mixed the butter into the dandelion milk thistle tea this morning which made the aftertaste much less severe, and drunk hot, goes down a lot easier. Hold your nose of course. Here is a recipe for Tibetan butter tea. Is anyone else smelling like ghee?

New link

Kort (aka Markus) and I added a new link in the sidebar to AyurBalance which gives a thorough overview of the three body types - pitha, kapha and vata.

Reclaiming American lawns

The New York Times has an excellent article on a movement to reclaim and transform American lawns into organic gardens. Read it here. And be sure to visit the Tree Hugger website which is hyperlinked in the NY Times artcle, a lifestyle blog on new products, trends and articles of interests to those in involved with the TLC.

Fueling up

We went on a roadtrip to San Antonio this weekend, and while I was there, I picked up a copy of the alternative newspaper there, the San Antonio Current. Go here for a great article on a simple way in which you can reduce environmental pollution by rescheduling when you fill up on gas for your car.

Organic farming in DFW

This week's Dallas Observer includes a great story on pg 15 on organic farming/community-supported agriculture (CSAs). Consumers pay a monthly fee or provide labor in exchange for getting a share of the weekly crop, sometimes hand-delivered to their doorstep. D-FW area CSAs include Akin Farms in Terrell.

Week Two

Symptoms: sharp chest pain coupled with shortness of breath, bone-numbing right-arm pain, popping and painful ears (as if filled with fluid). Intense anger and resistance to this week's practices related to right speech. Most commonly repeated phrases in the last two days include "_____ is stupid." And, "I hate ______." Frustration with work. Other people. My own irritation. The anger is coming from the inside, vs. the outside, and is in this way inescapable.

Media fast week

I get some of my best poem ideas from the news. Ezra Pound said that poetry is "news that stays news." During the media fast week, I encourage others to read a book of poetry.

Here's a quote from Thoreau:
"I have not time to read newspapers. If you chance to live and move and have your being in that thin stratum in which the events which make the news transpire - thinner than the paper on which it is printed - then these things will fill the world for you; but if you soar above or dive below that plane, you cannot remember nor be reminded of them.