SAVE SYMPTOM
Got a gassy gut? Frequent farting and flatulence isn't just embarrassing, it's also unhealthy. Prompt action is necessary. Passing gas is an important warning sign your body has weak digestion, metabolism, and compromised immunity. Gas is considered a...
Fatigue generally comes from congestion, deficiency, excessive activity, or poor mental health. Tired Due to kapha Hypothyroid Thick blood (Kapha) Eating a large meal Lack of...
Modern psychology seeks to conquer fear and anxiety in all its forms. However, some amount of fear is natural and healthy. In Ayurveda, unhealthy anxiety must be transformed into healthy anxiety that is natural and appropriate for health. We suggest...
Low energy can come from either depletion (Vata) or excess (Kapha). At 4pm, the adrenals may be exhausted in a Vata individual. Vata people need rest by 4pm. They need less stimulation, activities, and thinking in order to reclaim their vital energy....
If heavy foods like cheeseburgers, burritos and ice cream trigger acid reflux, your stomach acid is probably too weak. Most acid reflux is triggered by...
Fat should be equally distributed around your body. When fat is dispersed across the arms, back, breasts, stomach, buttocks, and thighs, it is healthier than disproportionate weight or fat. When one of your body parts gains more weight than another, it...
If you run your hand along the front of your neck starting right below your chin, you'll eventually hit a slight bump - that's when you know you've hit the thyroid gland. Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located along the mid-line of your neck,...
Candida treatment changes radically for each constitution or dosha in Ayurveda. Candida is a fungus present in everyone's body. Usually the presence of candida is beneficial. They are a part of your normal flora and assist you in digesting glucose,...
How often should you poop? Ayurveda suggests that one bowel movement in the early morning followed by a possible second bowel movement later in the day is appropriate. Your stool should be more or less the shape and texture of a ripe banana, easy to...
Bloating and distension can come from trapped gas, stagnant stools, uterine swelling during menstruation, or other causes. The gas becomes trapped if the muscles of the abdomen are too tense, if bowel tone is too lax, if peristalsis is asynchronous, or...
Stress is reputed to cause many health problems - but does it? Actually, the effects of stress are highly dependent on your response to it. Stress can actually be healthy for those that enjoy facing a challenge. For those who are easily...
Is your nose constantly drippy? If you are one who can't leave the house without tissues on hand, you probably have post nasal drip. The nose is one of the body's pathways to eliminate toxins, and a major site of immune system activity. Post nasal...
When stools are soft, you lose vital fluids and electrolytes. When stools are soft, there is often poor absorption of foods. You may feel drained & tired. The longer your stools are soft, the more your ojas will be depleted. Stools become soft for...
Vertical lines on nails indicate digestive disturbance in the colon, possibly constipation, gas, and bloating. Ayurveda recommends restoring electrolytes, minerals, and digestion.
Auto-immune disorders happen when your immune system attacks part of your body. The protocol for autoimmune disorders is similar to the protocol for allergies. Follow tips to...
If you are easily insulted or hurt, it may be a sign that the liver is sensitive. Shame is generally stored in the solar plexus and as well pelvic floor. A person who is easily insulted might have upper GI pain or tenderness, as well as anxiety,...
Small, hard stool indicates either dryness in the colon or that the stool is sitting in the colon for too long. Hard, dry stools are considered to be a sign of constipation. When stool sits in the colon too long, it begins to rot. The rotting stool...
The kinds of food you crave can give you clues as to what's going on internally When you eat, are you truly hungry for food?...
Ayurveda classifies pain into several types - inflammatory, tension related, and ama related (toxins), although the underlying cause of pain could be virtually any injury, disease or sickness. General aches & pains are often a sign of ama or toxic...
Nerves and muscles, which function similarly, are highly sensitivity to changes in blood chemistry. These tissues are irritated by toxins, often arising from fermentation in the digestive tract, or other pathogenic factors including...
Anemic blood is weaker than non-anemic. Blood that lacks umphh may leave you feeling cold, your skin pale, and your digestion weak. In fact, all blood intensive activities may be affected. Some of the types of anemia include iron-deficiency,...
Although spaceyness comes from Vata dosha in the nervous system, any one of the doshas may be an underlying cause.
Past injury, gravitational stress, auto-immune disorders, and candida or other infections lodged in the joints can cause joint pain. Hip pain is a sign of high vata dosha. Generally, Ayurveda treats joint pain with cleansing. Yoga teachers...
Coffee is like a metabolic credit card. By suppressing exhaustion, coffee prevents you from learning how to build and restore vitality naturally. It enables people to live at a superhuman pace for years, and by stimulating the mind can even prevent...
Hair loss or balding may happen when hair follicles are starved of blood, a cold condition in the capillary beds. Capillary beds of the skin tend to constrict when skin temperatures are cool as in hypothyroid. Herbs that increase micro-circulation...
The liver is a very sensitive and self conscious organ. Feeling unliked can undermine our ability to trust others. Since trust is at the core of human relationships, feeling unliked can become a self fulfilling prophecy. Relationships work best when we...
Night-time urination and indigestion can cause some people to wake up in the middle of the night. If you have trouble falling asleep, stay in bed. Avoid reading, watching TV, or otherwise exposing the eyes to light during the night.
Depression is a common and serious mental illness that is, fortunately, very treatable. It is characterized by feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities generally. These feelings can decrease your ability to function at work and at...
Gallbladder removal surgery is called a cholecystectomy. When bile gets thick, heavy, and sticky, gall stones from. Since Kapha people tend to have thicker fluids than the other doshas, they are prone to gallstones and the most likely candidates for a...
The skin is the cream of the blood plasma, reflecting it's properties. Thin, dry skin often reflects depletion or insufficient fat intake (Vata). Ghee and oil massage are useful for Vata type dry skin. In some case, dry skin is related to...
Gas is a sign of toxicity in your body. When you eat food and it doesn't digest well, it ferments in you gut. As the food rots it starts to smell. When food is poorly digested, toxins enter your bloodstream. This heavily taxes your liver and kidneys-...
Acne is considered a hot, oily pitta condition in Ayurveda. When oils build up in the skin and clog your pores the small pustules known as pimples appear. Acne represents a small local infection of the skin. Acne due to...
A thick coating on the tongue indicates excess of Kapha dosha in the blood (sweet, thick blood) or Vata toxins in the colon due to fermentation of fecal matter.
Bladder infection arises from stagnant urine in the bladder, blood that is too sweet, or auto-immune disorders like interstitial cystitis. Infections are generally a sign of 'sweet, toxicity, heat, and stagnation.' Sweetness of the blood feeds the...
Low metabolism is a Kapha condition often appearing with hypothyroid, anemia, and poor circulation. Exercise, spicy foods, and avoiding foods with gooey, oily, and sweet qualities often helps in this type.
Nasal passages become blocked when either swollen or filled with mucus. Infections, as well as dryness in the air can irritate passages, making them swollen. Electric and gas heat are very dry in nature. Cold air causes the nasal passages to swell as...
The emotions we have are the body's natural holistic way of appreciating the meaning of events that happen in our lives. The intensity of our emotions, however, correlates to imbalances in the blood. Kapha people naturally experiences more terror,...
The body doesn't make foul odors. As blood sugar levels rise, saliva becomes sweet, feeding bacteria in the mouth. Thus, sweet foods cause bad breath. These bacteria produce waste products that have a foul odor. Bacteria will also feed on a thick...
On Joyful Belly, we've created an extensive categorization of food so you can easily match food to your imbalanced biocharacteristics. By eating an optimal diet that balances your biocharacteristics, your whole body is strengthened and the conditions that created the disorder are removed. Once the root causes of the disease are removed, the disease lessens in strength or disappears altogether. Additional remedies - such as herbs and lifestyle practices - focused on the specific disorder, can greatly enhance your healing.
Founder of Joyful Belly Ayurveda, John Immel, answers the question ‘What is Ayurveda?’
