Dear Dr. I have been your follower for many years and have  been using your wonderful creations.  I have a question which I’ve been wanting to ask you for a long tome. I am 45 year old female well balanced with normal weight. I wanted to ask which supplements I can use for severe constipation. I eat healthy but nothing helps. My stool is heavy and sticky. Please help.

Alexa

Vaidya replies:

Dear Alexa: looks like you might be eating something which is enhancing absorption in your column; or it could also be that stress in your daily life is disturbing the communication between prana vata that governs the mind, and apana vata that governs the colon. So first step would be for you to find out if you are using too much cumin or pomegranate in your diet? Or any other dry or drying foods – too many salty snacks would be a good example for this. If you are, then   stop doing so.

Then:

• Add more vegetables to your diet, specially zucchini squash and yellow crookneck squash. Make sure you have them in some form with at least one meal a day.
• Make a drink with 20% yogurt and 80% water, mix in well and drink with your lunch.
• Eat on time! Never delay or skip your meals.
• Use balanced tri-doshic spice blends such as Mum’s Masala.
• Soma Salt will be best for you, switch to use only that, because common table salt can increase absorption and may cause constipation.
• Make sure you have enough water during the day.
• For you condition, instead of giving you a powerful purgative, I would first try to gently initiate changes that can restore your body’s natural ability to discharge your bowels normally. So I would recommend using my SVA Prakrit Transdermal cream on your lower spine at bedtime, to improve the communication between your apana vata and prana vata. Then, apply the SVA  Anushudhi cream on your lower abdomen. This will further support the downward flow of apana vata.
• Adding prune and tamarind chutney to your dinners at night. This chutney will enhance the balance between absorption and elimination. Finally, you can also take one or two tablets of SVA Prakrit, to re-ignite the intelligence of elimination in your colon. Do all these things and let us know.

Dear Vaidya,

Thank you for this beautiful summer recipe! All of your continued efforts in sharing Ayurveda are greatly appreciated. I am wondering why you selected carrots as a base over say a cucumber which is such a soma rich food?

Respectfully,

Traci

Vaidya replies:

Excellent question Traci. Other easily available fruits or vegetables are widely used in Summer smoothies and juice drinks. Both carrots and cucumbers are rich in vitamins and nutrients: carrots are a very good source of biotin, vitamin K, dietary fiber, molybdenum, potassium, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. They are also a good source of manganese, niacin, vitamin B1, panthothenic acid, phosphorus, folate, copper, vitamin E, and vitamin B2; while cucumbers have vitamin K and molybdenum; pantothenic acid; copper, potassium, manganese, vitamin C, phosphorus, magnesium, biotin, and vitamin B1. They also contain the important nail health-promoting mineral silica. But there is a reason why, in ayurvedic terms, we can elect one over the other, as I did, in my recipe.

I chose carrot because, unlike cucumber, it has both soma and agni – water and fire! It is not as cold or somagenic as cucumbers. In addition, in this specific recipe where I use orange, it helps balance against the sharpness and acidity of the orange juice. This recipe was made and meant to be cooling – but not freezing. The greatest error that is made all the time when trying to cool off pitta or heat is to freeze it. The greatest skill and in-depth knowledge is illustrated when one is able to cool off pitta without totally freezing it and then further aggravating it due to that freezing. Pitta is a very delicate dosha to balance, it needs the exact amount of coolness but also needs to maintain some heat. Remember that pitta is made up of fire and water. It is not fire through and through.

In general, however, when I give out recipes, I want to make sure that they are tridoshic. For example, if someone is experiencing a mild kapha imbalance, they should also be able to use the recipe without suffering further kapha aggravation. Pitta pacifying recipes should not be freezing for the channels and tissue agnis.

This juice recipe is very balanced but it also tastes good. Using cucumber instead of the carrot will alter the taste and it may not taste that great. This is a time-tested recipe from my family that has received a lot of recognition, because it does not cause any bloating after drinking. In general, drinking raw juices dilute your digestive enzymes and can immediately result in bloating and/or gas. Some people will experience this earlier than others based on the strength of their digestive system. This recipe carries a balanced ratio of some and agni ingredients so it rehydrates from the heat, stokes digestive agni, and maintains and supports soma for further cooling. But it is a great favorite because it also tastes great! Enjoy it!