Strategies for Allergies (+ cold and flu symptoms)

Welcome to the Holistic Inner Balance podcast with Dr. Nicole Cain and Happy healthy Hadley.

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Hi everybody. Welcome to Holistic inner balance.

I'm Dr. Nicole and I am Happy healthy Hadley.

We're so happy to be here today. And you may be noticing that my voice sounds a little bit different. And you also might notice with time that Hadley doesn't quite sound like herself. And our mutual ailments have inspired this conversation and we're really happy that you're here to join us.

Yeah, we are very excited to chat about this topic today, which is allergies, colds, all of the things that tend to happen a lot of times in the transition between seasons. But this can be listened to at any time because we're going to talk about how, how this kind of comes to be and what to do when we have the common cold. When we have allergies, we're going to kind of take an Ayurveda approach and a naturopathic approach and it's going to be really fun.

Yeah. So if you are going to be traveling, listen to the travel podcast and then listen to this one for sure. If it's cold and flu season, listen to this podcast because it's going to be helpful for you. Or if you are noticing season changes and you just want to prevent yourself from getting sick or having allergy attacks or if you're dealing with allergies, this is going to be the conversation for you. We're going to be talking from personal experience and these strategies really work and so let's dive in. So, Hadley, what do you have going on, my friend?

Yes, So I am dealing with some seasonal allergies that I have not dealt with since, well, since the last time I lived in Michigan. I, like, I thought that I outgrew them and I guess I actually just moved away, so I haven't been having to deal with them. Apparently they're pretty bad in like, apparently the pollen is pretty bad. This, this week of the year is like this, the peak week. And it is, you know, it's also pretty bad in Michigan. So I've been talking to people who are like, yeah, oh my gosh, this is like the worst it's been. So it's also been really interesting because Ayurveda has a really interesting approach and perspective on allergies and that is that we, it's not really like that normal for Us to be allergic to our environment. Now it is normal for us to be allergic to toxins and chemicals and wildfire smoke. If you are experiencing that anywhere. That all is more like, yeah, our bodies are not made to, to handle that. But things like dust, things like I'm allergic to cats, things like pollen, all of that kind of thing. We can actually improve our reaction to those things by reducing inflammat, doing some different things to balance the doshas so that we don't actually experience those things anymore. So I want to talk a little bit about that today. And then the other thing is that. So I've been dealing with that. And then yesterday I, yesterday I went and got ice cream with my sister and her husband and my husband and I was like, oh yeah, like I'm already feeling pretty stuffy. I don't know that I super want to get ice cream. And then I just got a really like a junior sized cone and I was like, oh, it'll be fine. And then this morning I just woke up and I was, it was like the, the, the mucus was like solidified.

It's concrete.

You are not breathing out of your nose.

Yeah, yeah.

And I was like, yep, that's the cough up. Yep. Needed to learn that lesson again. All right, cool. So we're good with that. And it's just another lesson learned. But it was kind of a funny like exact correlation of what was what I knew would happen and then did.

It's always so nice when you can have a cause and effect like that. Like, oh, I'm noticing like I may be a little bit more inflamed. Allergies and the environment. And I know that if I eat this food it's probably going to aggravate me more. And so you tried to find a good balance. You ate less. You did choose to eat the food anyway. But you're like, I'll just take a little bit less. And you have the consequence. And but the sense is this personal sense of power where you made a conscious choice.

Right. And it used to be that I would beat myself up for that choice. And like, oh my gosh, I knew and I should have done better. And now it's like, well, it's a lesson that I needed to learn again, even though I've learned it before because we just sometimes we forget. And also like I made the conscious choice and that's empowering too. So it's all good. Yeah.

The other thing that I want to add to the conversation is when you are immunocompromised which oftentimes goes back to the gut, that we can have poorer pathogen surveillance. And so we're going to talk about how that can predispose you to getting colds and flus and things like that. And so that's part of my story.

I just had food poisoning, like, two weeks ago, and I think that that set me up perfectly for the inflammation that made it so that I had this, like, crazy reaction to the pollen, so. Exactly.

So maybe we can start with the traditional perspective because they preceded our understanding of leaky gut. We could talk about what Ayurveda teaches and you can teach us about the vata pitta kapha you mentioned. This is a very kapha state. And then we can move into what more modern science is validating and what they're teaching us about leaky gut and inflammation in the immune system. Gut.

Yeah. Let's do it. First, I want to hear what. What's going on for you too, I think. I think everyone will want to hear it.

Well, I traveled and I feel like right now. So we're filming this, it's the September of 2022, and traveling right now is you just have to accept the fact that you're probably going to get sick traveling. And so I just went to Walt Disney World and did all of the things that I thought was a good idea in terms of, like, masking, but I wasn't taking any of my immune support. I wasn't taking my probiotic. I had a couple of fermented beverages and yelled a lot on the rides. And so you're hearing it in my voice. I have this, like, very sexy voice, I'd like to say.

Oh, yeah.

So I got back from my trip and had lots of kind of laryngitis and, like, coughing mucus and things like that. But because I have access to great integrative tools, I'm bouncing back really, really quickly. And I'll teach you guys the hacks that I'm using and that. What I wish I would have done. What was my version of having the ice cream while I was on my trip that you shouldn't do.

I love it. Yeah. Amazing. All right, let's dive into it, then. So I think it might be helpful to kind of break allergies into butter pitta kapha. Allergies, slash, like, cold and flu symptoms, because there are different. Different things that show up when we have different doshic imbalances, which is really interesting because we. Obviously there are, like, certain pathogens, but we might be more susceptible to those different pathogens. Based on whatever doshik imbalance we might currently have. So it's really interesting how that works. And the different. The same pathogen might have different symptoms for different people. Right. Like Covid. Totally different symptoms for so many different people. Right. And so. And that all plays into the imbalances that we. That we currently have. So. And we can kind of look at this also from the seasons perspective. And I won't go super into, like, the details of each dosha, if you want to learn more about that. We have an episode about the dosha, so definitely go back and listen to that. But let's talk a little bit about what would be the. What would be the. The types of allergies and colds and the symptoms of sicknesses in the springtime. What do you think, Dr. Cade?

I'm imagining lots of rain and flowing water and melting things in the spring.

Yeah.

And so I'm imagining. I actually have no idea, all y'.

All.

I'm learning with you, but I'm imagining that if your nose was a faucet, that the mucus would probably be, like, a flowing spring in spring. Rain. Runny. Yeah, Watery.

Yep, exactly. Yeah. So that. So.

And what dosha is that spring is.

Well, what's a watery running? Yeah, yeah.

Kapha.

Yes, exactly. Yes. So, ding, ding, ding. You've got.

I'm learning stuff from Hadley, y'. All.

Yes. And I want everyone to be able to, like, figure this out intuitively rather than memory. Like, this is this season. This is the season. So. So, yeah, kapha is the, like, congestion. It's all of the. It's the mucus that's in your sinuses and also can show up in your lungs as well. This is really common in the springtime. Right. And it's also common when you eat ice cream when you're already stuffed up, which is what's happening.

It's cold and damp, and then you add cold and damp.

And the elements of kapha are water and earth. And so I had been experiencing some of the water symptoms. I was having, like, runny nose, and then I ate the ice cream, and now it's earth, and it's just stuck. It's just, like, totally solid. So. So that's kind of what happens with during kapha season. And then also, like, if you have. If you create a kapha imbalance in your life or if you have life circumstances that create a kapha imbalance at any time of year. So that's kapha.

Can we classify kapha real quick? So that.

Yeah, yeah, let's do that.

They're like, oh, that's me. What do I do? Okay, we'll do the next one. What do you do?

So, okay, cool.

In terms of pacifying that. So, like, what are you. What is your plan of attack? Because you're describing this as, like, you basically have a kapha imbalance, a concrete in your face. Like, what is your plan of attack? And then I'll give you the naturopathic one.

Yeah, yeah. So. So my plan. So the way to prevent it. So if you feel it coming on, doing neti. So if anyone has heard of, like, a neti pot, it's becoming more of a thing in, like, the mainstream, I feel like. But it's an ancient Ayurvedic technique, which is you're. It's just a. It's a saltwater flush. So you use this, like, little. It looks kind of like a teapot. And you use it and you put it in your nose, and it, like, kind of runs up and then down out through the other side of your nose and into the sink, and that flushes some of the mucus out. However, I cannot use it now because my nose is completely solidly stuffed up. So I can't use it anymore. It would just, like, get. It would just get stuck. And it actually might, like, get stuck in my sinuses. And then it can breed, like, bacteria and stuff. So you don't want to do it if you're, like, solidly stuffed, but if.

It'S, like, juicy flowing.

Exactly, yeah. If it's, like. Right, yes. If you're, like, feeling like, oh, yeah, I'm starting to get a little bit, like, of that flowy whatever, then that's the time to do it. But it's after it's fully stuffed up. You're. Yeah, it's not great to do it. And then the other thing is. Is nausea and that. I'm going to talk a little bit about that when we talk about vata as well. But it can be helpful for all of the doshas, because nausea. I have it with me.

How do you spell it?

Literally? N A, S, Y, A.

She's Nausea oil, for those who are listening, by Banyan Botanicals. It's in a blue bottle with a white label.

Yes. Yeah. So I. You can also just use normal sesame oil. I usually. I get it from banyan, and then sometimes I'll just refill these things with sesame oil. But this one's medic. Like, it has, like, some really good. Really good essential oils and herbs and stuff in there. So it's Even more helpful. But what you do is you literally take a dropper, dropper bottle like this and you put it in your nose and you like snort it. You literally snort this oil.

How much of it squeeze?

I usually do like a, like half and half. So like I'll have like a full squeeze and then do half in one one and then half in the other nostril. Yeah, yeah. So and then you literally like, you.

Snort the oil right up your schnoz.

Yes. So what that does is it can be really helpful if you have dry sinuses, which is more of the vata. We'll get into that. But it can also help to break up some of the mucus as well, because sometimes also we start to create mucus if we are feeling really. If like our sinuses are too dry, then our body protects itself, which is a really amazing thing, by creating more mucus. And so using the nasty oil can be really helpful for that. So I can use that a little bit right now if I'm not completely stuffed up. Because if I am, then it will just like run back out. I can't smell, actually. So those are like the things that are not like ingest ingesting things, but ingesting things wise. I'm going to do more of a kapha pacifying food. Foods which are going to just basically be staying away from like dairy. Dairy is really kapha inducing and staying away from actually like smoothies and different, like cold, wet qualities. Food with cold wet quality. So I'm going to be eating a lot of kitchari in the coming days. Kitchari is an ayurvedic meal that is really, really great for. It's basically like their chicken soup. So like chicken noodle soup that we all grew up. Maybe we didn't all grow up, but you and I probably grew up eating that. We're both from the Midwest and if we got sick, we would have chicken noodle soup. Well, kitchari is basically the like, food that's super easy to digest. It's the one that is warming and it's. It's tridosic. So you can eat it for. If you have a kapha imbalance or a pizza imbalance or a vata imbalance. And you can kind of tailor it to whichever ones. The other thing I'm going to do for kapha is using kapha balancing spices in that kitchen. So that's going to look like more pungent, which is like spicy herbs and more heating herbs with like a heating quality. Now I also, before this, I Had a pizza imbalance. So I'm not going to go like cayenne pepper, like super intense heating, but I am going to go more like cumin, which is heating, slightly heating, but can also. It's like sort of a magic herb where it can be cooling when it's needed to be cooling, and it can be heating when it's needed to be heating. So I'm gonna do spices like that that are really good for both pitta and kapha, coriander, cumin, fennel, even cardamom and that kind of thing. So I'm gonna add those and then more vegetables that are kapha and pitta pacifying as well. That's my plan of attack.

And to add to that naturopathically, is we would want to add N acetylcysteine. And that's abbreviated nac. And so for those who are listening to the audio, I'm holding up a bottle by a company called Integrative Therapeutics. I have no relationship with them. It's just what I happen to have. And because I had this kind of mucus coffee stuff going on, I've been taking nac. And it's. It's a really great antioxidant. It has infinity for the lungs. And it's also mucolytic, which means that when you have that concrete mucus, really thick, tenacious stringing mucus, either you're coughing it up or you're not able to get it up because it's so stuck, or it's in your nose or in your sinuses. N acetylcysteine can make a big difference. And so I'm going to be taking 600 milligrams three times a day for that. And that's an adult dose. It's also, it's also appropriate for kids. And so, you know, obviously talk to your pediatrician. But like a kiddo, you would do a quarter of that dose, probably three times a day.

Perfect. Yes. I need to take some. I'm very excited. Yep.

I have a bottle of it for you here. The other thing that I might do for you as a naturopath is buffered vitamin C. Really high antioxidant. It stimulates your immune system cells to do their job. And then it also can be very immunoregulating in that we're talking about histamine release and inflammation. And are you reacting to environment that already predisposed you to maybe getting a little something from that milk is. Vitamin C can be really immuno regulatory. And so the best way to Do Vitamin C is to bowel tolerance, which is where you start with a low dose vitamin C. So I have here buffered vitamin C, it's by Integrated Therapeutics also. And that's got a thousand milligrams in one capsule. And so I would start as an adult dose. I'd start you with a thousand and then a few hours later take a thousand more. If at any point you get a little loose stool or a little bit more gassy, then we dial the dose back. And so then maybe at 2000 you notice that, well, then you're going to stick with 2000. But if you keep taking it every few hours and nothing's happening with your gut, then you really need it and you're tolerating that and so you can continue taking it every few hours.

Totally. Yes. Awesome. And as you were saying that too, I thought of the other spice that I am going to be using religiously, which is turmeric. Oh my gosh. Like I was going to ask you.

If you're going to have your golden milk.

Yeah, I'm going to have my golden milk. Yes. And with my golden milk, because it's, because I have kapha going on, I am going to add honey instead of maple syrup, which I would, if I, if it was pitta, I would add maple syrup because it's, it's kapha. I'm going to add some honey because honey is a little bit more heating and has like a more of a scraping quality to it in Ayurveda and so it can kind of scrape some of the mucus and anything that's like going on in my digestion that might.

Be more like sticky, I think that's brilliant. So as you're listening to this, think about what if you resonate with any of these kapha symptoms and you could try out these solutions for sure. If you have the mucus component, try the nac. Always vitamin C is the general go to. We'll also talk. We haven't even gotten to the gut barrier thing. We'll do that at the end. And then at the end also I'll give you my. Some of my favorite herbs, especially if you think that it might be cold or flu. So stay tuned for that. We're going to finish up with the last three doses. And so we talked about kapha. What is the next one?

Yes, so the next one is pitta. And so I alluded to this a little bit with what was happening before and that was that I had a lot of inflammation going on. And so the kapha is sort of layered on top of that. So it's a little bit. And the thing is, like, a lot of times it's more complicated than just one dosha, and that's totally fine. It just means that there's like, you know, some things that we gotta kind of work with and tweak. But the inflammation piece is pitta, right? Because pitta is fire. And so fire is, if you think about, like, any redness or heat or burning sensations, that's all related to fire. And so the inflammation that's going to be happening is it might show up on your skin. You might have, like, skin rashes, eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis, all of that kind of thing. Even, like rosacea, even acne actually can be. Acne can be influenced by all of the doshas. But if it's like really red acne, that's going to be more pizza. And so what happens is that. So pitta is going to show up in your skin. It's going to show up in your. In your gut as well as, like, might have more acidity, that kind of thing. And then the other piece of it is that you might have, like, an itchy eye thing going on. So, like, this, a lot of times happens at the end of summer. At the end of summer, we. Which is right now for us, but as we're recording this, the end of summer, you've got this, like, culmination of pitta throughout the whole season. And then right now is like, this is like it. This is like where it all comes to a head. And it's also when pollen is like the highest level. Right? And so this is why we tend to get more allergies this time of year. We've. Because it's. Pitta has accumulated in our body, more and more inflammation has built up over this over the summer. And that's fine and that's normal. And there's stuff that we can do to alleviate this. Hopefully throughout the summer, we've been like, cooling our body down as much as we can and trying to, you know, trying to do that. But if not, that's okay. We still. There's still stuff that we can do. So pacifying pizza is going to look like doing some cooling things. It's gonna look a little bit different from when we were at the beginning of the summer when we wanted a lot of, like, cooling and drying things. Right now we want cooling and also, like, more unctuous is kind of the word that comes to mind for me. So hydrating foods, hydrating like vegetable eating, more like rose tea is the thing that comes to mind for me that's going to be really soothing to the body. Anything with like turmeric is going to be more. It can be really good for inflammation. Saffron is another thing that's really, really great for pitta as well. And so any, any pitta pacifying foods, any pitta pacifying herbs, all of that kind of stuff is going to be really helpful this time of year. You just don't want it to be too, too drying. Because we also, we're coming into the vata season right now and so that can be a little bit, a little bit tricky. But so pitta, pitta pacifying and also more Mata pacifying is what I would say.

Homeopathically. There's a remedy that comes to mind when you're describing pitta. And so these are great first aid remedies. First of all is allium sipa and allium sepa is where you have this burning acrid nasal discharge. Like have you ever had a nasal thing going on where the mucus like is red and irritating under the nose?

It's.

Is that right?

Oh, yeah. So you have the, you have the, like. Yeah, the red under the nose and then the, the itchy eyes is huge with that. Yeah, totally.

So you like actually called out the second part. You're brilliantly intuitive. So allium sipa is excoriating acrid burning discharge out of the nose. But your eyes are really watery and the tears are bland. On the other hand, Euphrasia homeopathic Euphrasia has burning tears. So the eyes are really watery and irritated and it's burning acrid very pitts of tears and your nose is running and it's bland. So if you're having these pitch of symptoms, it depends homeopathically where the pitch is predominating. See, the thing is with symptoms is your body. When you get sick, when you have symptoms, it's not just the cold is the same for everybody. Your unique presentation symptoms is telling you how you're out of balance and how to heal that. Is it a Pitta type imbalance? Is it a kapha pitta imbalance? Is it a kapha? Whatever it is, is it an allium sepa imbalance? Is it a Euphrasia imbalance? Right. And so your symptoms will tell you what you need. And so homeopathically, like paying attention to what actually is happening in that pitch of state, if it is, can give you the remedy that will get you better.

Yes. Oh, so good. I Love that. Yeah, yeah, it's really interesting. We want to kind of identify what is the dosha underneath the. The dosha that's kind of like, driving the show. So a lot of times by the end of summer, the pitta. It's pitta. And then there's vata underneath that because it's becoming more dry, and that's just kind of the season. Whereas, like, allergies in the springtime are like kapha, and they might have a little bit of pitta underneath them, because pitta is starting to happen at the beginning of the summer slash the end of spring. And so being really aware of, like, okay, what are the symptoms and what are, like, the predominant symptoms, but then what are the symptoms that are going on underneath that, too? And then we want to balance both.

Brilliant. Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. Because you don't want to try to solve one part of the problem and then aggravate the other.

Aggravate, yes.

Yes, exactly.

Yeah. And you would. You totally can. I used to do that all the time. I used to be like, okay, I'm going to, like, kill the kapha. And then, like, it's going to be totally. And then I would have a wild pizza imbalance, like, and, like, I would. I would have no mucus. But then, like, I would have, like, rashes all over my body. Right. And be stressed. Yes. So let's. You want to dive into vata?

Let's dive into vata. I so resonate with that. And I feel like for me, it's always vata.

Yeah.

Because I'm in air conditioning all day. And so I'm thinking about, like, cold and homeopathically. And even in traditional Chinese medicine, we have ailments from cold drafts. So, like, if you. If your little one goes outside and they're running around in the snow, but they didn't put a hat on, and then they come in and then they get a fever. They had a cold draft to their head. They didn't have a hat on. And so homeopathic belladonna is really good for that. It's good for cold wind on the head. And traditional Chinese medicine, they call it cold wind invasion. And so they think about the surface of the skin as that protective layer. And so then if that cold can permeate through the skin and actually get invade, you get into your body, that's when you get sick. And so I think about feeling of.

Being, like, chilled to the bone. It's like, we've all had that experience where it's like, okay, you know, you can feel a chill on your skin, but it's like once you're like really cold, that's when it's. That's when your immune system starts to just get a little like, oh, no.

Yes, yes. You gotta immediately heat that, that body right back up.

Yes. Yeah, totally.

So tell us about vata. How will if I'm listening, if I'm sick and I'm listening to this conversation, how will I know that it's at vata? Primary balance.

Yes. Okay. So, so vata is the, the elements that govern vata are air and ether. So what do you feel like might show up in the body when you're sick? If you have air and ether going on when you're sick or when do you have allergies?

Air and. Well, I mean, I have some people when they get super sick, they literally feel like their head is floating away. Which, yes, is a really interesting fever symptom of like this like floaty, feeling disconnected.

That's. The other piece is feeling feverish. And not like the hot feverish, but like chills, you know, like feeling the like chill, the achy, achy, feverish. That is vata because it's. Yeah, we've got this, this air inside of us, right? We've got this like wind inside of us. And so, so that, that happens. And then the other piece for sinuses is the dry sinuses. Right? And I definitely living in, in Seattle. I lived in Seattle for a few years and then I lived in California that in the fall it was like, oh, it is vata season now. It was like very dry. Once it turned, once it was like September. And so this nausea oil was my best friend. And a humidifier, like. Yes, humidifier, humidifier, humidifier.

And let's pause on the humidifier piece is using a humidifier. You have to be really mindful about mold. And yes, it's a really big problem. And then mold is disease causing mold. Can they call it the great mimicker? And so, yes, get a humidifier. But you got to be really mindful. Like wash that puppy out every single day. Make sure that you clean it with vinegar and soap and make sure that you have your filter on there. Be really mindful about your humidifier, listeners.

Yes, please do. I've had mold exposure and it is absolutely horrible.

Yes. Yeah, I have another podcast on. I have an interview with Dr. Jill Christa. So if you all haven't heard that you're wondering more about mold, then check that out.

It's a really good one, guys. Definitely listen to it. Yeah. Yeah, that was very helpful for me.

Thank you. I'm glad to hear that. But I'm sorry that you had to hear that. Actually, when we met, you were a mold warrior, and you were in recovery for that. And so we'll have to do, like, a whole separate conversation about that, but we should.

Yeah, yeah.

So you were suggesting. So vata. You were talking about the fever, the chills, the dryness, those body aches, and then especially that sinus dryness is just really different than the kapha concrete and then the vata drippy faucet or the.

Yeah, the pizza.

Yeah, the pizza drippy faucet. And we have this dryness.

Yes. And so sometimes people think that they have a kapha. They have kapha allergies, and they're like, I'm doing all the kapha balancing things. But really they just have that dryness in their sinuses, and their body is creating more kapha, creating more mucus to protect them from the dry air. So be really mindful of that. Once you start to pay attention to it, you. You can start to see, like, oh, yeah, the air is really dry. I feel like it is a different type of mucus where. Versus, like, having the kapha, like, very wet or very solid mucus. That's the. That's the. More kapha. And then you can kind of tell, oh, yeah, it's because it's dry. And so you can use the nausea oil I literally used in the fall when I was having these. These symptoms in Seattle and California and stuff. I literally use nausea, like, multiple, multiple times a day. So, you know, don't just use it once and think you're. You're good to go. You can use it multiple times. And it's so, so, so, so helpful.

That's awesome. And so supplements. We talked about tridosic, which is really awesome in one of our other conversations. Try doshik immune support. And so triphala can be really good. Yes. And, you know, so trifola is a tridosic. Beautiful. Banyan botanicals makes it. I like the powder form because you get that immediate feedback on how your body is responding to it, where if you really need it, it'll be super, super bitter. And then as you heal, as your body gets more balanced, then it'll be like sawdust. And then when you're done with it, and it's actually sweet and enjoyable, that's when you're done. So I'm thinking of an ayurvedic, you know, kind of trifola Is a good balancer. Also, since we're on the topic of triphala, triphala is also really healing for the gut. And so this might be a good segue into talking about the gut health and the immune system. Is that okay?

Yeah, let's do it.

Let's do it. So when we have inflammation in the gut, and so inflammation can be due to food intolerances, it can be due to psychosocial stressors, it could be due to toxicity. It could be due to antibiotics, other medications, steroids, all sorts of things can cause inflammation in the gut. It could be drinking Pepsi. It could be eating carbohydrates in way too high of doses. It can be all of the things that we ate at Disney. It could be having alcohol.

It's all of the modern. All of the modern things that we do. Yeah.

Standard American diet is basically a gut inflammation diet. You want a gut inflammation diet, Eat a standard American diet. So that's what we were doing in Disney. I tend to actually, I'm not as bad, but I did have some alcoholic beverages because that's how I survived Disney. And so. And so when there's inflammation in your gut, and if the inflammation becomes chronic, what can happen is that the inflammation starts to build up in the gut, and then that can compromise the cell wall of your gut. And so instead of it being a nice solid tube with receptors that pass things back under a controlled environment back and forth, now we have these gaps. We call them gap junctions or leaky fenestrations. Now, proteins, pathogens, toxins, they're able to leak out of the lumen of the gut into the bloodstream. Two main bad things happen as a result of this. One is that now these pathogens are able to go up through the circulation. They can get in the brain, and the brain is going to respond by sending out correct cortisol. So the brain's like, oh, my gosh. Inflammation, pathogens, bad things are going on. We need to send out cortisol. So now your cortisol is up, and you feel anxious and you feel wired, feel aggravated. Cortisol is trying to suppress immune health. Right. Because it's our checks and our balances. So we have all this immune system inflammation in the gut. Body's responding by releasing cortisol. The cortisol suppresses inflammation. And now you have poorer immune system surveillance. And so now your warriors of your gut, your immune system cells have been cut by numbers. They're not running around and doing their job. And so now you get on an airplane or you go into a restaurant or you, your kid comes home with a sneeze because you have poor immune system surveillance, you're going to become exposed and not immediately eradicate that critter. And sex, that's one of the things that the brain is doing in response to it. And of course, like chronic inflammation, chronic pathogens leaking through the brain compromises the blood brain barrier. And now we have psychiatric symptoms coming up. Chronic inflammation in the brain, we know is really underlying a lot of neurological issues. So what we want to do, the first step is to start healing the gut. So at any time that you're noticing a little bit of an imbalance. So Hadley, you were talking about. I'm noticing a little bit of something going on that's an invitation to like, really lean into your gut healing protocol in addition to your dosha pacifying protocol. And when I was on my trip, I was noticing I was really tired. I was just like exhausted. By the end of the day, I'm, like running around and I'm, you know, do making some suboptimal choices. What would have been a better thing for me to do is to immediately get on my probiotics, which I didn't because I was traveling and I didn't bring them, and to immediately take some triphala, which is great when you're traveling in your vata anyway, because it's just great for traveling constipation, gut, right? So take your probiotics, take your triphala, and then immediately get on your immune support to help your immune. So I'm going to work on my gut and I'm going to help my immune system. And so I'm thinking like zinc, 35 milligrams. I'm thinking vitamin C like we just talked about. I'm thinking vitamin D, 40,000 IU a day. I'm thinking elderberry syrup or elderberry gummies, if that's more tolerable for you. And then I also have an antimicrobial tincture, and thank goodness I had that because I think that's what saved me from getting like, fully ill. And so that has some really, really good plants in it. So it's got osha, it's got or, and grapefruit. It's got goldenseal, echinacea, elderberry, and a couple of other really wonderful herbs that supports in the clinical literature, supports immune system health. So in addition to balance your doshas, focus on healing your gut, support your immune system. That can be a real supportive ticket to preventing you from either getting sick or getting really, really sick. And Helping you back up faster.

Totally. Yeah. I would say for the, for the dosha balancing, I'm thinking about how we might be able to package like, something together that would be helpful for all the doshas. If you're feeling any of these things. And I feel like, like there are a couple things. Is it okay if I, if I.

Yeah, I want that. I'm opening my notepad, some writings down.

Wonderful. As you say it. Yes. So the, the number one thing that I would say is kitchari is really helpful, which is basically, it's just, it's rice and mung beans. So if you haven't heard of mung beans, it's a traditional bean that is used in Ayurvedic cooking. But it is, it's the easiest to digest bean. And so even if you have a hard time digesting beans or legumes, it is easier. I will say that not everyone can digest them super well, depending on your ancestry, depending on if you grew up eating legumes. So, you know, use them if they're easy to digest for you or, you know, don't use them if they're not. But if you soak them for long enough, a lot of times they're easier to digest. Split mung beans are also easier. So making Kitchari, you can look up a Kitchery recipe and you, you'll find it, like anywhere else on the Internet. And so Kitchari bone broth is so beneficial for all of the doshas. It's tri doshik. So is kitchari. You can also make kitchari with bone broth. You can hear my kapha coming in. And then golden milk is going to be really helpful as well. And gold milk, for those of you. We didn't really talk about what that actually is. It's. You maybe have heard of it as like a turmeric milk or turmeric latte. It's basically got turmeric and ginger and maybe cinnamon, cardamom, spices in there. And you have like honey or maybe maple syrup. You can add ghee to it if you have. If you want to. But with you can just. The easiest thing to do is just use milk or milk alternative, add the spices, maybe add a little bit of honey or maple syrup, and then you're good to go. Those are all going to be tri doshik. So if you have any of the symptoms, all of these things are going to be helpful for you when you're sick or when you have allergies or whatever. So kitchari bone broth and golden milk are the things that I just come back to anytime I'm, like, out of balance. I'm like, okay, back to that.

How do you spell Kitchery?

So there are actually a couple different ways of spelling it. There are also a couple different ways of pronouncing it. Some people pronounce it kitchity. And so I think the most common way you're going to find it spelled on the Internet is K I, T, C, H, A, R, I.

Awesome.

Yeah. Yeah.

So for those who are listening who, like me, was, like, tripping over that, like, what? Yeah, that's helpful.

Yeah, I love kitchen. Yeah, yeah. So those are the three things. Yeah. And you can. You can tweak them. Like I was saying, with golden milk, you can add, like, add things or take things away. Same with kitchen. You can add spices or. Or certain vegetables to the Kitchari, like, based on your dosha and stuff. But that's. Those are the basics. Six, I would say.

So today we've been joining each other in our solidarity of immune system compromise. Colds, allergies, flu, you know, anything where the immune system is just feeling a little bit funky. This is the conversation for you. Hadley taught us about the doshas and how being unwell can present differently. And I talked about some good naturopathic principles. And I think that ending on a tridosic healing kind of protocol is really valuable for everybody. And I definitely am going to try the Kitchari. I think that for the everybody else listening, you can just get online, like Hadley said, and just Google it. And there's some really good quick recipes that you can try. And so if you're listening and you have a hack that works really well for you. So share it with us, let us know, send us a message, leave it as a comment, send us an Instagram. We would love to learn about the things that have helped you and you've been feeling out of balance. And so, Hadley, is there anything else that you could think of before we sign off?

The only other thing would be if you can't find mung beans. There are. You can. You can buy them on Banyan botanicals online or there are other places online that you can find them. They have, like, just whole kitch kits that make it really easy, too. So, you know, you can find those as well, because sometimes people are like, what the heck are mung beans?

I love that. I think a Kitchery kit sounds like an awesome thing. So if you're. If you're a three on the Enneagram, listener. Then you should make us Kitchery kids.

Yes. Yes, please.

Awesome. All right, my love, thank you so much for listening. We so love you.

Yes, we love you. We hope you feel feel better.

Yeah, same if you're listening to this, you're not feeling well. Yeah, you can feel better, my friends.

Yes, absolutely. Much love, much love. Bye bye.

The recording you just listened to consists of the personal opinions of Dr. Nicole Cain, a naturopathic doctor with a master's in clinical psychology, and Happy Healthy Hadley, an Ayurveda expert with a master's in health behavior and health education. While these opinions are based upon literature, counseling, education, medical training, and clinical experience, this content should not be viewed as the definitive opinion on these subjects. Listening to this podcast is not a substitute for any sort of medical, psychological or other form of treatment. If you are in a Crisis, please call 911-OR call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255. If you are in need of counseling, don't hesitate to make an appointment with a counselor in your area. Dr. Nicole and Hadley are passionate about you becoming the expert of your own emotional and physical well being. If this resonates with you and you think this podcast would help someone you love, please share it with them. We look forward to seeing you on the next episode of the Holistic Inner Balance Podcast.

Sam Sa.