Pitta, liver and skin

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

I am a person with pitta-vata prakruti and pitta-vata vikruti. I am very

enthusiastic about ayurveda and I am studying this fantastic system

daily. I am looking forward to complete BAMS in India in near future.

 

Before finding ayurveda I was trying several ways to get around my

multiple problems. I was diagnosed with IBS and had intolerance for

gluten grains, and sugars caused enormous bloating. I had enormous

cravings for sweets: ice cream, cinnamon rolls and candy. I managed to

get over that by following Eat Right 4 Your Type -diet (low carbs, high

protein), but my mind became numb on diet rich on red meat, so I wanted

to skip that.

 

I had also been suffering watery blisters on my hand that I could relate

to eating sugars and fruits. Following ayurvedic diet made everything

much better, pacified my bowels and made the skin better. When I had a

consultation with a well reputed vaidya, I got some neem and other

preparations together with diet recommendations. I was suggested to live

on pitta-reducing diet and favor milk, wheat, ghee, sweet fruits and

aloe. This was perfectly fine, except I still had cravings for sweets

and white-flour bakings.

 

In some emotional turndown I re-gained the craving for sweets and as my

health was much better I could again have some ice cream and other

overly sweet things without much problems. Everything was fine until I

got travelling and got persistent watery diarrhea that lasted for almost

three weeks. It was very difficult to follow strict diet while on travel

and dependent on food cooked by other people. Finally I was so sic I

decided to take some allopathic to kill the campylobacteria (lab), so I

got eritromycin. The diarrhea was over.

 

But still, I was not feeling good. During next weekend we had food with

lots of cabbage, in almost every meal. I started feeling really sic, my

skin turned yellow as well as my eyes. My urine was dark yellow. I was

instructed to clean my liver with a tea containing dandelion and other

liver cleaning herbs, but it did not help much. I got worse, went to see

a doc and get lab tests. I suspcected a-hepatits. In the labs ASAT, AFAS

and bilirubin figures among some others were over the roof and I was

taken to hospital, where I was given fluids through IV drip. In two days

I was much better and got home after five days.

 

In hospital I was studying on my own pulse. On the first days I got

kidney- liver- gallbladder- bladder- pericardium- while other organs

were fine. After third day liver gave +, kidney was ok but gallbladder

and bladder remained on -. Apana/Samana vata, Ranjaka/Pachaka pitta were

imbalanced. This was a great learning experience!

 

I have been trying to understand the processes behind it and now finally

I think I have managed to grasp some kind of idea. I have had lots of

blocked emotions in my liver. I have been trying to fill in the

emptiness and lack of love by eating lots of sugar and causing lot of

strain for my liver. From time to time my pitta has got high and while

travelling, my apana vata was imbalanced preventing normal purgation of

excess pitta through stool, so pitta was build up in my rakta dhatu and

circulated around my body causing skin rashes. Finally blocked pitta

concentrated in my liver. Eritromycin diminished the functions of liver

and lot of cabbage was a final hit for it causing me to have this

alarming condition and turn yellow.

 

It seems that not many vedyas know the relation between sugar and skin

rashes through imbalanced functioning of liver.

 

Now I am having mary thistle (Carduus marianus or Silybum marianum)

drops to support the functioning of liver and help to cleanse it, having

no sugars or fruits in my othervice pitta-reducing diet and avoiding too

much of bread and croissants. In his book herbalist A. Vogel emphasizes

to avoid all fats, but ayurvedic approach suggests using ghee. I feel

fine with ghee, seems to be good for me, so perhaps butter on a bread is

fine too.

 

In my area it is very difficult to find ayurvedic herbs except for

limited selection of expensive maharishi products. I have some contacts

in India so I can have some herbs sent for me.

 

What would be best approach to support my liver, cleanse it and balance

my doshas?

 

1. What herbs should I take?

2. How about diet? (Currently daily kichadi, rice, dal, lots of endive

and celery)

3. How long should this process to cleanse liver and balance my body

take?

 

I'm also practicing some asanas Surya namaskara, pawanmuktasana,

matsyendrasana, yogamudra.

 

Ossi Viljakainen | ossi.viljakainen