Re: reaction to apple cider vinegar?

Hi J, sorry you are not making more progress with improving your digestion. Sounds like the two of you have very similar problems as far as low stomach acid and decreased motion in the bowels. My be a little psychological but I really think it is mostly physical coming from energetic imbalances. Regarding the ACV, I would not take it if it gives you stomach pains, the ACV is basically mimicking stomach acid that is why you feel better but your stomach lining may not be resilient enough to handle this, you could do permanant damage, the road to true health and balance is slow and steady and takes time. As far as the ayurvedic viewpoint, there are two things going on, fire is too low in the body and air is too high. Low fire means digestion will be weak and increased air (cold, dry energy) will make it impossible for even what little fire is there to do much of anything. In my case, my fire is quite high but also my air is very, very high so my digestion will still be somewhat impaired until the air energy is brought more into balance. Also the air energy is what controls motion in the body, but when it is way to high motion becomes very sluggish, with regard to digestion this refers to peristalsis, bowels don't move and you feel sluggish and heavy. I recently visited an ayurvedic doctor and it was very enlightening and he also prescribed some herbs that I am hoping will be beneficial. If you want to follow the ayurvedic approach it is probably best to visit a certified ayurvedic practitioner so you can really get the proper advice otherwise you will just be guessing about most things. I have recently started eating meat again and I do seem to feel better with at least some meat in my diet (this was just on my own not because of anything the doctor said), I think generally vata types will need at least some meat of course if you are already feeling heavy this can add to those problems. There is an ayurvedic herbal mixture called chayanvaprash which can be very beneficial in correcting vata imbalances but probably for either of you two, you will need an additional boost with other herbs. Also my visit to the ayurvedic doctor made me realize that it is very important to get an accurate pulse diagnoses so you can know for certain what you need to get into balance. For example, it is pretty easy to diagnose when vata is out of balance but you also want to know specifically what type of secondary imbalances there are. For example if you have a primary vata imbalance but with a secondary earth imbalance, you will need a very different diet and herbs than someone with a secondary fire imbalance, or someone who just has a pure imbalance of one dosha and needs to increase both of the other doshas. I have enrolled in Sai Ayurvedic College located in Miami, Florida and will be starting the program the middle of May, I am very excited to learn all the details of this ancient science.