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Clinical States of Agni / Digestion – A Self Assessment and Remedial Guidelines
Answer Yes or No to the following:
- Appetite changeable
- Appetite changes with travel or some disruption of routine
- Sometimes can skip a meal with out noticing or without needing to eat
- Strong appetite usually but sometimes not
- Appetite good and sometimes weak
- Coating on tongue
- Energy comes and goes
- Tendencies for flatulence
Results: If more than one “Yes” answer in this category then digestion is vishama / variable and vata is affecting it.
- Appetite is always strong
- Need to eat three meals per day
- Can not skip any meal
- Need to snack between meals
- Excess thirst
- Hypoglycemic tendencies
- Irritable if meal comes late
- Can eat heavy foods any time of day
- Can eat large meals any time of day
- Can digest anything
- Tendency to diarrhea
- Raw / undigested food in stool
- Can eat much and often and can’t / don’t gain weight
Results: If more than one “Yes” answer in this category then digestion is tikshna / sharp and pitta is affecting it.
- Appetite is dull
- Digestion takes 5-6 hours per meal
- Can skip a meal easily
- Don’t eat breakfast or other meal(s) regularly
- Heavy foods are hard to digest
- Large meals are hard to digest
- Heaviness, dullness, lethargy after eating
- Tendency to weight gain
- Rarely snack
Results: If more than one “Yes” answer in this category then digestion is manda / dull or slow and kapha is affecting it
Results for this survey--circle one: variable sharp slow/dull
Remedial Guidelines for Disturbed Digestion
Result from survey Clinical States of Agni / Digestion – A Self Assessment: variable sharp slow/dull
For the Result: digestion is vishama / variable and vata is affecting it consider the following:
- Daily Routine Rx: regularity of major features in the daily life is primary
- Yoga: alternate nostril breathing; forward bend, spinal twist, etc., shavanasana
- Dietary Rx: Eat only if hungry; avoid skipping meals when hungry; strictly follow all other Eating Guidelines; favor sweet, sour, salty tastes; favor unctuous, warm, cooked meals
- Specific Digestive Aids: All pungent spices in moderation (ajvain, allspice, asafoetida—hing, basil, bay leaf, black pepper, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger (especially fresh), marjoram, mint, mustard seeds, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, parsley, peppermint, pippali, poppy seed, rosemary, saffron, salt (saindhava), savory, spearmint, star anise, tarragon, thyme, wintergreen); salt; lemon, lime, orange, pineapple during or after meal as appropriate; warm bitter spices such as turmeric, fenugreek; other bitters: Angastora Bitters, etc.; draksha or dasham³larishtha a.c. or p.c.; fresh ginger pickle (slice of ginger, lime juice, salt) 15’ a.c., etc. , hot water with meals.
- Herbal Teas: ajvain, bancha, chamomile, clove, comfrey, elder flower, eucalyptus, fennel, fenugreek, ginger--fresh, Hawthorne, juniper berry, lavender, lemon grass, licorice, marshmallow, oat straw, orange peel, pennyroyal, peppermint, rosehips, saffron, sage, sarsaparilla, sassafras, spearmint.
For the Result: digestion is tikshna / sharp and pitta is affecting it consider the following:
- Daily Routine: avoid direct mid-day sun and exercise during this period
- Yoga: breath
- Dietary Rx: favor heavier foods, avoid skipping meals; favor sweet, bitter, and astringent tastes; cooling foods including some raw foods are beneficial; Bhela’s Rx includes many animal proteins, dairy, sweets, and oily substances (Vi. III.7-9)
- Specific digestive aids: limited amount of black pepper, cardamom, and cumin; coriander, dill, fennel, mint, peppermint, spearmint, turmeric, saindhava (rock salt), wintergreen; special dosing of ghee
- Herbal Teas: alfalfa, bancha, barley, blackberry, borage, burdock, catnip, chicory, comfrey, dandelion, fennel, hibiscus, hops, jasmine, kukicha, lavender, lemon balm, lemon grass, licorice, marshmallow, nettle, oat straw, passion flower, peppermint, raspberry, red clover, sarsaparilla, spearmint, strawberry, violet, wintergreen yarrow
For the Result: digestion is manda / dull or slow and kapha is affecting it consider the following:
- Daily Routine: avoid day sleeping; arise before dawn; one-two day fasting each week
- Aerobic exercise daily
- Yoga: breath of Fire; forward bend, spinal twist, etc.
- Dietary Rx: favor light foods in smaller quantities; favor bitter, pungent, astringent foods
- Specific digestive aids: all pungent spices—especially fresh ginger
- Herbal Teas: alfalfa, bancha, barley, blackberry, burdock, chamomile, chicory, cinnamon, clove, comfrey, dandelion, fenugreek, ginger, ginseng, hibiscus, jasmine, juniper berry, kukicha, lavender, lemon balm lemon grass, Mormon tea, nettle, passion flower, peppermint, raspberry, red clover, sarsaparilla, sassafras, spearmint, strawberry, wintergreen, yarrow, yerba mate
- Note Bhela’s Rx: Dhanvantari ghritam (or other ghritams) orally, emesis, purgation to follow; pippali fruits in progressive dose; takram, etc. (Ci. XI.18-20)
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