The 185-Year-Old Yogi & His Exact Longevity Protocol!
Summary
TLDRIn this podcast, Dr. Chiti Parikh, an integrative medicine physician, discusses the ancient science of Kayakalpa and its detoxification process, Panchakarma. She shares her personal journey of recovery from COVID-19 using these practices, which led to her writing 'Intentional Health.' The conversation explores the 28-Day Reset program, the importance of diet, and Ayurvedic principles for optimal health and rejuvenation.
Takeaways
- 😃 Dr. Chiti Parikh, an integrative medicine physician, shares her experience with COVID-19 and the subsequent long-haul symptoms she faced.
- 🌟 The ancient science of Kayakalpa, which translates to 'body transformation', was used by yogis to extend or reverse their physiological age and was the inspiration for Dr. Parikh's recovery protocol.
- 📚 Dr. Parikh's book, 'Intentional Health: Detoxify, Nourish, and Rejuvenate Your Body into Balance', incorporates elements of Ayurvedic medicine and her personal journey with Panchakarma, a detoxification ritual.
- 🧘 Kayakalpa involves intense practices such as complete sensory deprivation, meditation, and prolonged fasting, mimicking the womb environment to stimulate stem cells and the vagus nerve.
- 🌿 Panchakarma is a more accessible detox program that Dr. Parikh underwent, which includes a mono diet, ghee consumption, oil massages, and enemas to mobilize and purge toxins.
- 🔄 The 28-Day Reset program in the book is a simplified version of Panchakarma, designed to bring the body back to balance through four stages: preparation, detoxification, easing out, and rejuvenation.
- 🍵 Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes the importance of diet and lifestyle synchronization with the body's circadian rhythm for optimal health and digestion.
- 💧 Dr. Parikh advises against drinking excessively cold water or too much water during meals as it can dilute stomach acid and impair digestion.
- 🌱 The use of adaptogenic and rejuvenating herbs like amla (gooseberry) is highlighted as a key component in the rejuvenation phase of the 28-Day Reset for its high antioxidant content.
- 🌐 Dr. Parikh discusses the integration of Eastern and Western medicine, noting the growing acceptance and research into practices like acupuncture and herbal medicine within Western healthcare systems.
Q & A
What is the significance of the 185-year-old yogi mentioned in the conversation?
-The 185-year-old yogi is significant because he is an example of someone who underwent the Kayakalpa process, an ancient science of body transformation used by yogis to extend or reverse their physiological age, allowing them to continue their spiritual pursuits without the body being a barrier.
What is Kayakalpa and how does it relate to the discussion with Dr. Chiti Parikh?
-Kayakalpa is an ancient science that involves a process of body transformation, which includes intense practices like sensory deprivation, meditation, and fasting to rejuvenate the body. It was discussed in relation to Dr. Parikh's exploration of Ayurvedic medicine and her personal experience with a detox ritual called Panchakarma, inspired by the yogi's practices.
How did Dr. Chiti Parikh become interested in Ayurvedic medicine and the Kayakalpa process?
-Dr. Chiti Parikh became interested in Ayurvedic medicine and the Kayakalpa process after contracting COVID-19 and experiencing long COVID symptoms. Conventional medicine provided no answers, so she turned to alternative practices and discovered the story of the 185-year-old yogi and the Kayakalpa process, which inspired her to try the Panchakarma detox ritual.
What is the Panchakarma detox ritual, and how is it connected to Kayakalpa?
-The Panchakarma detox ritual is an Ayurvedic practice involving a series of treatments to cleanse the body of toxins. It is connected to Kayakalpa as a more accessible and less intense version of the process, designed for 'mere mortals' rather than highly spiritually advanced yogis. Panchakarma can be seen as a preliminary step before undertaking the full Kayakalpa process.
What are the key components of the 28-Day Reset program that Dr. Parikh discusses?
-The 28-Day Reset program is inspired by the Panchakarma detox and consists of four stages: preparation, detoxification, easing out of detox, and rejuvenation. It involves simplifying the diet, following a mono diet, using herbs for detox support, reintroducing foods gradually, and incorporating rejuvenating herbs.
How does the mono diet fit into the 28-Day Reset program, and what is its purpose?
-The mono diet is a part of the first week of the 28-Day Reset program, where individuals consume one type of carbohydrate, protein, and fat to simplify digestion and conserve metabolic energy for detoxification. It prepares the body for deeper detox processes in the following weeks.
What role do herbs play in the Panchakarma and Kayakalpa processes?
-Herbs play a crucial role in both Panchakarma and Kayakalpa processes by aiding in detoxification and rejuvenation. They are used in oil massages, consumed as teas, or included in enemas to mobilize toxins, support liver function, and promote overall health.
Can you explain the concept of dosha as mentioned in the conversation?
-Dosha is a concept from Ayurvedic medicine that refers to the three fundamental energies or constitutional types in the body: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha. Imbalances in these doshas can lead to health issues, and understanding one's dosha can help in maintaining health and wellness through diet, lifestyle, and herbal remedies.
How does the timing of meals and activities align with the body's natural rhythms in the Ayurvedic approach discussed?
-In the Ayurvedic approach, the timing of meals and activities is synchronized with the body's natural circadian rhythm. For example, waking up an hour and a half before sunrise is recommended for meditation, lunch should be the largest meal to align with the body's peak digestive strength, and dinner should be lighter to facilitate easy digestion and restful sleep.
What is the significance of the enema practice in the Panchakarma detoxification process?
-Enemas play a significant role in the Panchakarma process by helping to purge toxins that have been mobilized during the detox. They are used to cleanse the colon, repopulate the gut with healthy flora, and strengthen the gut barrier, contributing to long-term gut health.
Outlines
🧘♂️ The Kayakalpa and Panchakarma Practices
Dr. Chiti Parikh discusses the ancient science of Kayakalpa, which involves a year-long process of sensory deprivation, meditation, and fasting to rejuvenate the body. She shares the story of a 185-year-old yogi who underwent this process, resulting in physical rejuvenation. Dr. Parikh also talks about Panchakarma, a more accessible detoxification ritual that she used to recover from the effects of COVID-19, which had left her with long-term symptoms. Ben Greenfield introduces Dr. Parikh and her book, 'Intentional Health,' which integrates Ayurvedic medicine into modern health practices.
🌿 Ayurvedic Medicine and the 28-Day Reset
Dr. Parikh explains the principles of Ayurvedic medicine and how they relate to the 28-Day Reset program outlined in her book. The program involves a mono diet rich in ghee, which is beneficial for gut health, and the use of oil massages and sweat therapy to mobilize toxins. She emphasizes the importance of simplifying the diet to allow the body to focus on detoxification and the role of circadian rhythms in liver function and detoxification. Ben Greenfield inquires about the science behind the dietary choices and the practicality of the program for the general public.
🌞 The Impact of Diet and Lifestyle on Longevity
The conversation continues with Dr. Parikh sharing her personal experience with the Panchakarma cleanse and its effects on her health. She discusses the role of diet and lifestyle in longevity, mentioning a yogi who practiced intense meditation and survived on minimal nourishment to extend his life. Dr. Parikh also touches on the importance of syncing one's circadian rhythm with natural cycles for optimal health. Ben Greenfield expresses interest in the Kayakalpa practice and its potential for modern adaptation.
🧪 Stem Cell Research and Regeneration
Dr. Parikh delves into the scientific research on stem cells and their potential for organ regeneration, mentioning studies that have used stem cells to cure certain types of cancers and diabetes. She discusses the process of directing stem cells to become specific types of cells and the implications for future medicine. Ben Greenfield is intrigued by the parallels between ancient practices and modern scientific advancements in health and longevity.
🌱 Ayurvedic Herbs and Daily Rhythms
The discussion shifts to the use of Ayurvedic herbs like amla or gooseberry for rejuvenation and their antioxidant properties. Dr. Parikh explains the importance of following the body's clocks and daily rhythms for optimal health, emphasizing the role of digestion, metabolism, and detoxification. She provides tips for aligning one's daily routine with Ayurvedic principles, including the timing of meals, exercise, and rest.
💧 The Importance of Proper Hydration and Digestion
Dr. Parikh addresses the common practice of drinking water with meals and explains how it can dilute stomach acid, leading to improper digestion and fermentation by gut bacteria. She advises against excessive water intake during meals and suggests alternatives like herbal teas that can aid digestion. Ben Greenfield asks about the role of mindful eating and the use of digestive aids, such as enzymes and apple cider vinegar, to support healthy digestion.
🌛 Sleep Patterns and Their Connection to Health
The conversation concludes with Dr. Parikh discussing the significance of sleep patterns in Ayurvedic medicine. She explains how waking up at different times during the night can indicate an imbalance in certain doshas or body types. Ben Greenfield connects this to the broader concept of understanding one's body constitution and how it can guide lifestyle choices for better health.
🌐 Integrating Eastern and Western Medicine
Dr. Parikh reflects on her training in both Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine and how they complement each other. She highlights the growing acceptance of Eastern principles in Western medicine and points to the increasing research and funding in this area. Ben Greenfield acknowledges the progress and encourages listeners to explore these ancient healing methods to take a proactive approach to their health.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ayurvedic medicine
💡Panchakarma
💡Kayakalpa
💡Integrative medicine
💡Detoxification
💡Vagus nerve
💡Stem cells
💡Ghee
💡Mono diet
💡Circadian rhythm
💡Adaptogenic herbs
Highlights
A yogi underwent a year-long process in a specially constructed hut to mimic the conditions of a mother's womb, aiming to reduce metabolic rate and stimulate the vagus nerve.
Dr. Chiti Parikh, an integrative medicine physician, discusses the ancient science of Kayakalpa for body transformation and its application in modern health practices.
The Panchakarma detox ritual, a component of Kayakalpa, was personally experienced by Dr. Parikh to alleviate symptoms of long COVID, resulting in significant physical improvements.
Dr. Parikh's book, 'Intentional Health,' offers a 28-Day Reset program inspired by Panchakarma, designed to detoxify and rejuvenate the body.
The 28-Day Reset is a simplified version of Panchakarma, making ancient detox practices accessible for modern individuals.
Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes the importance of diet simplification during detox, focusing on one carb, one protein, and one fat to conserve metabolic energy.
The circadian rhythm plays a crucial role in detoxification, with the body prioritizing digestion over toxin processing during fed states.
Dr. Parikh shares her personal experience with Panchakarma, detailing the steps of the process, including oil massages, sweat therapy, and enemas.
The 28-Day Reset is divided into four stages: preparation, detoxification, easing out of detox, and rejuvenation, each with specific dietary and lifestyle recommendations.
Ayurvedic herbs such as amla or gooseberry are highlighted for their high antioxidant content and rejuvenating properties.
Dr. Parikh discusses the importance of synchronizing one's circadian rhythm with nature for optimal health and productivity.
The ideal daily routine according to Ayurveda includes waking up before sunrise, meditating, exercising, and eating at specific times to align with the body's natural rhythms.
Dr. Parikh explains the significance of meal timing, suggesting lunch as the optimal time for the largest meal due to the body's peak digestive capacity.
The concept of doing oil self-massage (Abhyanga) for lymphatic drainage and detoxification is introduced, along with the benefits of using specific oils.
Enemas are discussed as a traditional Ayurvedic practice for detoxification, with Dr. Parikh addressing common misconceptions and detailing the process.
The integration of Eastern and Western medicine is emphasized, with Dr. Parikh sharing her expertise in both Ayurveda and acupuncture.
Dr. Parikh highlights the growing acceptance and research into complementary and integrative health practices within Western medicine.
Transcripts
Chiti Parikh: For one year,
he entered a hut that was specially constructed for this process, which did not let any sound or
light in. So it was supposed to mimic being in mother's womb, right. To activate stem cells,
you have to significantly reduce your basic metabolic rate and significantly stimulate your
vagus nerve. This is what he essentially did for one whole year, mimicking being in the mother's
womb. Complete sensory deprivation, meditation, prolonged fasting. And when he emerged,
he had new teeth, hair, skin. He looked about 30, 40 years younger when he emerged.
Ben Greenfield: I am holding a book right
now. It's called Intentional Health: Detoxify, Nourish,
and Rejuvenate Your Body into Balance. And I don't want to tell you how many
books I get every week that have yet another detox body reinvention. Follow this plan,
and your life will change forever. And I usually make it through a third of them and realize it's
just a giant echo chamber. But I do have several podcasts that I've done on Ayurvedic medicine,
and I paid attention to this book because I saw that it was written by a doctor who has a
background in integrative health and wellness and incorporates some elements of Ayurvedic medicine
in her practice. Her name, and she wrote the book, by the way, is Dr. Chiti Parikh.
Ben Greenfield: So if you aren't familiar with Dr. Parikh,
she is a great integrative medicine physician. She's the founder of the integrated health well
being at Cornell Medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital. She wrote this book, and it was a page
turner for me inside baseball. I'll show you all the pages that are, I should say a page
folder for me, that should be my word, because all those pages are folded over. And Dr. Parikh,
when I interview somebody on my podcast, I just like to ask all those questions that really,
I found related to topics I found really, really interesting in the book. And I think
probably the most important thing, or at least the most interesting thing right off the bat,
was this 185-year-old yogi that you talk about. So do tell.
Chiti Parikh: So it was April 2020 when all of our worlds
were turned upside down with COVID. I was on the front lines in New York taking care of really sick
patients, and I got COVID. I got pretty sick, but I had to go right back to the front lines. A month
later, I realized that my hair was falling out. I was losing weight, I was getting short of breath,
just going up a flight of stairs. At that time, no one even knew what COVID was, but what I was
experiencing was long COVID. I scoured every medical journal I could find, no answers.
And fortuitously, I was on Amazon buying toilet paper, as everyone else was at that time, and a
book about 185 yogi popped up on my feet. To this day, I have no explanation for how that happened.
Chiti Parikh: It was an out of
print book with one copy. I don't even know where it was coming from,
and it caught my eye. Right. 185 yogi. I want to know more. So I ordered the book. I read it within
as soon as I got my hands on it. And in the book, they described this ancient science of Kayakalpa.
Chiti Parikh: Kayakalpa translates into body
transformation. So this is an ancient science that yogis used to extend their physiological
life or age or reverse the physiological age so that they could continue their spiritual
pursuits without the body being a barrier. And I had extensively learned about Ayurveda,
which is a traditional Indian medicine going back thousands of years. So that inspired me to do the
ancient detox ritual called Panchakarma, which is detoxification of five elements.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, so Panchakarma
is like an element of Kayakalpa. Kayakalpa isn't the name for the detox.
Panchakarma is the name for the detox that you do if you're doing this Kayakalpa program.
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. Kayakalpa
is more so for the yogis people, who are way higher spiritually than
we are. Panchakarma is for mere mortals like me that's accessible to everybody.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, wait, so you saying Kayakalpa
is like a really, really intense detox and Panchakarma is like a more doable version of that?
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. So this is something that is part
of Ayurvedic medicine that's recommended to many people if you get treated Ayurvedically. So that's
been around for a while. So I said, okay, let me just start there. And, Ben, within a week of doing
this, my hair completely stopped falling. And by the end of it, not just physically, mentally, I
had never felt better. And a couple months later, I was clipping my nails because nail salons were
still closed. I was clipping my nails and I was like, wait a minute, I just did that two days ago.
Ben Greenfield: That's the sign
of health with rapidly growing nails. Right.
Chiti Parikh: It was shocking to me. So I went from losing my
hair, like, in chunks, as if I was going through chemo, to cutting my hair, clipping my nails every
few days because they were just growing. It was just a sign that my body was in the state of
optimal balance. Right. This is something I could see on the outside. I can't. I couldn't look into
my liver, my kidneys, and my heart, but I knew a huge transformation had taken place. So that
just rejuvenated my passion of really bringing the best of Eastern, Western medicine to the masses.
Chiti Parikh: People need to
know this science. This is not a myth. This is not a miracle. It is as scientific as it gets,
and people need to know about it. And that's what inspired me to write this book.
Ben Greenfield: What'd you do? What is the Panchakarma cleanse?
Chiti Parikh: So I'll walk you through.
And that's what the 28-Day Reset in the book is inspired from. It's something to just bring
your body back to balance. So the way it works is, first week, you are the simplifying your
diet. You follow something called a mono diet, where you're sticking to one carb, one protein,
one fat. Ayurveda is something called a kitchen. So it's rice, lentil, mung beans,
yellow mung beans. It's a complete plant based protein, has all essential amino acids and ghee,
which is extremely rich in something called butyrate, or short chain fatty acids.
Chiti Parikh: Extremely gut
healing. So that's what you do. And then you actually start drinking ghee, just pure ghee,
on empty stomach in the morning. And you don't eat anything until that ghee is digested.
Ben Greenfield: How do you know
if it's digested? Are you just waiting a certain period of time?
Chiti Parikh: When you get hungry.
So you actually pay very close attention to when your true hunger returns. That's how you know how
strong your digestion is and what the ghee does, it penetrates deep into the tissues to pull out
a lot of fat based toxins that we hold onto. And then you do these extensive oil massages,
sweat therapy, heat saunas to mobilize the toxins. And then you take some castor oil to poop it all
out, because now you're pulling all those toxins into your GI tract while eating a very simple
diet. So your body actually has metabolic power to digest the toxins in the gut. You purge them,
and then you do about a week of enemas, which different herbs that are customized to your
body constitution, the doshas, which I talk about.
Chiti Parikh: And then so that's
the whole month. It is extremely intense. It is not for the week. It really needs to
be done under an expert care because it has to be curated to your constitution.
The herbs, the dosage of the ghee, everything is customized to you.
Ben Greenfield: Yeah, I would imagine
that. I mean, I've seen, like, online order a kitchari cleanse kit type of things,
but this sounds like something a little more
of, I guess, something that might require a little bit more medical management. Is that the case?
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. So that's
why for medical reasons, like what I was doing it for, it required this sort of intense thing.
And I typically do a shorter version, about 12-day version of it, at least once a year
now. And that's where the 28-Day Reset was inspired. So I simplified it to make it more
accessible to everyone, that everyone can do it more comfortably. Take out the challenging parts.
Ben Greenfield: Yeah, because I was going to say, like,
this is not what I read in the book. What you just described is like, is not the 28-Day Reset.
Chiti Parikh: It's not the 28-Day Reset. So I want to
be very clear. So I, as a doctor, I always believe in making it simple and safe for everyone. So I
was able to do that because I already did a lot of fasting, intimate fasting, herbs, things like that
were generally part of my sort of regimen, so I was able to do something like this. But someone
who's extremely new to all of this, it can be very intense. You really have to ease into it.
Ben Greenfield: What's the science behind the one carb,
the rice, the protein, which I assume is the beans and or the lentils and the one fat, the ghee.
Chiti Parikh: Very good question. So,
in Ayurveda, mono diet is a treatment diet. The reason is, the idea is that our digestion takes up
a significant amount of our energy, our metabolic power. Right? So the idea is when you're detoxing,
you want to conserve energy, not use it to digest a big piece of steak and bucket of
ice cream. Right. You want to simplify your diet to a point where using minimal energy to nourish
yourself still and conserve that and revert that to detox. Because the same digestion,
your gut, your liver, can either process food or process toxins, not at the same time. So if you
restrict your diet to what your body really needs to not go into breaking down your muscles, right.
Chiti Parikh: You don't want to do
an intense fast. Nourish your body, but use your liver,
use your kidney, use your gut microbiome to actually focus on detoxification.
Ben Greenfield: I've never heard that
your liver can't process a food and a toxin simultaneously. What's the reason for that?
Chiti Parikh: The reason is
our circadian rhythm. So our biological clock dictates what the job is for liver at any given
time. Studies have shown that the genes that are responsible for detoxification, repair,
regeneration actually get activated at night after certain hours of fasting. So the liver always
prioritizes digestion. And once that is done, that's why fasting is so important, because then
your body can switch in metabolic gears into detox and repair instead of just metabolizing food.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, so digestion and
metabolism is not necessarily conducive to, I would imagine, detoxification and
also cellular autophagy. I think I'm suspecting that there probably could be a small amount of
detoxification that occurs. I wouldn't imagine the liver's detox pathways are completely shut
down in a fed state, but probably, it sounds like, suppressed significantly.
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. So if you really want to
amplify detoxification, repair, regeneration, the liver needs all the time to focus on it. Right? So
that's why the more toxic our diet is, the more medications we take, the more food we overeat,
processed foods we eat. It just consumes the liver's capacity. So the last thing on its list is
detoxification. But if you're eating while you're exercising, you follow a very clean diet, you're
fasting properly, then your liver has all this capacity to detoxify and repair and regenerate.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, elephant in
the room here. If what you did, that Ponchakarma that you just described,
was so intense, I just have to ask, what is the Kayakalpa?
Chiti Parikh: Let me just tell you
a little bit more about the yogi. So we know who this person doing the Kayakalpa really is. So this
yogi was actually a prince, and he gave up his royal life to pursue, you know, to become a monk.
Ben Greenfield: This supposed 185-year-old dude.
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. And there's actually pictures and
we know which kingdom he was part of. And there's records of him. We even have pictures of him.
Ben Greenfield: Birth records. Are there birth records?
Chiti Parikh: So these are records.
These are royal records because he was part of the royal family. So there's lineage as
to which king when. So we know who this person was. And he was alive until in the,
I think he passed away in the fifties or so. So we actually have pictures of this person.
Ben Greenfield: Wow, that's crazy that the,
you know, because you, you no doubt know this. Like a lot of people say,
longest living person on record is, it's like 115, maybe 117. Now. I think John
Calment of France was on that list for a while, but nobody talks about this person.
Chiti Parikh: So, Ben,
I took a year off before medical school, and I traveled all through Asia, and I went to some
of the most remote parts of the world. And the people I met and the stories I've heard
and what I've actually seen, you know, in Europe and America, we had birth records starting, say,
in the 1800s. My grandma grew up in a small town in India where there was no plumbing,
there was no electricity. We had no idea what her birth date was. My dad grew up in a small town,
India, where they didn't have electricity. My dad used to study under a street lamp for his
exams. Right? So when you talk about a big part of the world where this science really comes from,
we're not going to have, you know, birth records, Social Security information to track down and say,
you know, this is when the person was born. This is how long they've lived.
Chiti Parikh: But when you go out in the world,
you see what. Even in America, I've taken care of a Chinese patient who came to me
who the family claims she was 125. And she looked. I mean, she definitely looked it,
but they had no birth records to prove it. Right? She was born in a small town in China,
and they basically guessed a date to get her a passport. But her whole family,
four or five generations who were there, they're like, no, she's 125.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, you're raising the
bar for all these biohackers like Brian Johnson and Dave Asprey and Peter Diamondis and all the
people going for 160. But they, if they listen, they might be a little bit crestfallen it at
what it takes. I suspect, if you describe the Kayakalpa. So I'm curious, what is it?
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. So what the
yogi did. So this was a yogi who did intense meditation practices. So he would actually
spend months sitting out in blazing Indian hot summer sun, just directly in the sun,
and meditating. Then he would spend in the Himalayas, in the mountains,
wearing a loincloth in subzero temperature, would meditate for months at a time. So what he did for
Kayakalpa for one year, he entered a hut that was specially constructed for this process,
which did not let any sound or light in. So it was supposed to mimic being in a mother's womb. Right.
Chiti Parikh: To activate stem cells,
you have to significantly reduce your basic metabolic rate and significantly stimulate your
vagus nerve. So he was basically in this sort of hut, this cave. No light, no sound. Simply
meditating. The only person allowed in there was an Ayurvedic doctor who would put together some
herbs and just fresh cow's milk he would drink for nourishment. And prior to entering Kayakalpa, he
actually did the full Panchakarma. Then he entered the hut, and this is what he essentially did for
one whole year, mimicking being in the mother's womb. Complete sensory deprivation meditation,
prolonged fasting, surviving, essentially on a combination of herbs that was curated by
the Ayurvedic doctor. And when he emerged, he had new teeth, hair, skin, you know, everything was.
Chiti Parikh: He looked about 30-40 years younger
when he emerged, but he actually went through this process three times in his life, and that's how
he was able to. And, of course, as he got older, he couldn't do the full year. So the subsequent
Kayakalpas were a little bit sort of trimmed down, but that's what allowed him to be in that physical
shape, to continue his spiritual practice. But, I mean, again, not for us mere mortals, but it gives
you hope that there is a way to activate our stem cells. We're doing this in our lab, right? We're
doing research in our hospital, in our medical school, where we're regenerating body organs, like
liver, from stem cells. This is not myth. This is science. They just figured out how to do it.
Chiti Parikh: We're still figuring
it out. We're still trying to make sense out of it all.
Ben Greenfield: Tell me more about that research.
Chiti Parikh: What we're trying to do is take
stem cells and figure out how to activate certain gene-signaling pathways to almost direct the cells
in certain paths. If you take stem cells, they can become essentially any cell in the body. What
we're trying to figure out is, which genes, which signal do we need to activate to make that cell,
say, into a liver versus a heart versus a cornea of your eye? That's what the science is
really focused on. We're already using stem cell therapies to cure certain types of cancers. So
we are getting closer and closer to a point where we'll be able to extract stem cells from someone's
body and give the cells the right signals to turn into essentially any cell we want in the body.
Ben Greenfield: When I interviewed Dr.
Adeel Khan of Eterna Health down in Cabo, he described how they're doing a sort of
genetic reprogramming of stem cells to achieve something very similar to what you've described,
is that what they're doing? Is it genetic programming?
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. So there
are some genetic sequences you can activate and also external cell signaling pathways you
can trigger that can optimize this process of converting stem cells into actual cells
that we want. But this process is going to be a game changer, not just in the field of cancer,
as we're seeing right now, but organ regeneration. There's a recent study out of China where they
have actually cured diabetes using stem cells. They were able to regenerate pancreatic cells.
Ben Greenfield: Wow. It's incredible.
This is so cool. And it's interesting how we are possibly, in a way, despite a lot of people
I know, kind of have this sense that you must climb to the top of Mount Everest in order to
get the results. But with science, we might be, in a way, able to simulate with a little
bit more ease and less time in a cave what this yogi got with the Kayakalpa approach.
Chiti Parikh: The medicine is
within all of us. It's just a matter of learning how to activate it.
Ben Greenfield: So let's talk about the 28-Day Reset,
because from what I understand, that is kind of a way to achieve this type of activation. Yeah.
Chiti Parikh: So it still follows the fundamental principles
of Panchakarma and Kayakalpa. The step one. So 28 days are split into four stages. The first stage,
most important, is preparation. So we can't go from, you know, drinking beer, eating, you know,
junky food, and then just going straight into detox. That's not how the body works.
You need to prepare. The way you prepare is you start easing and simplifying your diet,
your lifestyle, so your body can start conserving the energy and shifts gear into detox process.
Chiti Parikh: So, week one,
we're cutting out all the foods that are heavy to digest does not mean that these foods are bad
for you. Things like dairy, gluten, meat, it's not that they're bad, it's just they're very heavy to
digest. So let's simplify it. Get closer to that mono diet as much as possible. And then week two,
we amplify the detoxification by sticking to a mono diet and adding some of the herbs that can
help with the detoxification process. And then week three, we ease out of the detox by slowly,
methodically reintroducing the foods based on how easy they are to digest. Because we have
to wait for our digestion to shift gears out of detox into digesting food. If we mess up,
and if we do that too quickly, we're just reaccumulating the toxins.
Chiti Parikh: Because in Ayurveda there's
a saying that food that is metabolized properly becomes nutrition. Food that is not metabolized
properly becomes toxin and root cause of disease. Food is the same. So throughout this process,
we have to be very mindful of eating according to what we can digest. So week three is slowly
reintroducing the food as we are waiting for digestion to kind of kick back into full gear.
And week four is rejuvenation. This is where you take this, some of the herbs
that really amplify the rejuvenation process. But if you take that stuff before detoxing,
it's not going to work, right? It's like trying to paint a car that's still dirty.
Chiti Parikh: It's not going to
work. You got to clean the car, then you paint it, the paint's going to stick. So rejuvenation
allows your body to really. It's a clean slate. So you're selectively putting in the herbs that
are extremely transformative, rejuvenating, adaptive. So they're going to build a strong
foundation for you for years to come. Right. This is where you start reaping the benefit,
and you continue to see those benefits even months out from the 28-Day Reset, as I
did with my hair and skin, you know, everything sort of rejuvenated within a matter of a month.
Ben Greenfield: That all makes really
good sense. And I know that you get into way more details in the book, and if you want to try this
program. Took my wife out to dinner last night, and I was telling her I was going to interview
this morning. She's like, that sounds really cool. I would like to try that and see what
happens to my body. And I said, well, me too. I'm actually intrigued by it. I haven't done it yet.
Ben Greenfield: Probably should have to do
ample research for this podcast to ask you questions about, I don't know what kind of
poop came out or something, but the interesting thing, the herbs that rejuvenate, what are those?
Chiti Parikh: In Ayurveda, there's a whole class
of herbs that are adaptogenic and rejuvenating. Rejuvenating herbs help us regenerate, rebuild
cells. Again, it triggers those pathways that help us activate the stem cells. One of the big ones we
often use is amla or gooseberry. Gooseberries, they traditionally grow in Southeast Asia,
have one of the highest antioxidant contents. It's almost 10,000 times, I believe,
compared to like a blueberry. So extremely high antioxidant content. So it makes sense.
Chiti Parikh: Has tremendous
rejuvenation potential. Because if you take these antioxidants, you protect your body
against oxidative stress that comes from wear and tear and aging. Right. So that's one of the main
things that it says herbal jam that you have to eat. It actually tastes delicious that you
eat during the rejuvenation phase. And one of the key ingredients is this gooseberry or amla.
Ben Greenfield: Oh, it's a jam.
Chiti Parikh: It's a jam. So it's
a concoction of about 30 plus herbs that are mixed with some honey, with some ghee.
Ben Greenfield: This sounds delicious. Where do I get it?
Chiti Parikh: It's absolutely
delicious. I have to actually prevent my husband from eating too much of it
because he just puts it on, like an apple or something. I'll just eat the whole bottle if
I don't stop him. It's delicious. The herbs you take for detox are not delicious. They
taste like dirt. And so that's a little reward you get after you finish your detox.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, where do you
get this mysterious amla gooseberry jam?
Chiti Parikh: So one of the companies
that I use for this is Banyan Botanicals. They. Oh, yeah, they're. Yeah. So they do a really
good job at curating high quality Ayurvedic herbs. They, you know, they are very mindful
of how they make their products that are clean, they're ethically sourced, so they actually put
in a lot of effort. And making this jam is a long process because you have to cultivate the right
herbs at the right time, put it together, you have to store it for x number of time,
and then it's sort of ready for consumption. So there's a lot of work that goes into making it.
Ben Greenfield: So we've got the rejuvenative
herbs and the detoxifying herbs, and those are at different parts of the timing of the 28-day
cycle. The timing thing is really interesting because you have a couple of clocks in the book.
You show the Chinese medicine clock, and then you have another clock. I don't know if it's one that
you developed. I forget which page it's on, but it kind of goes through some of the ways that you
incorporate some of this Ayurvedic typing into a circadian rhythm or a daily rhythm. I realize it's
a little bit of a complex question that might rabbit hole a little bit, but walk me through
what a typical day would look like following the body's clocks in a somewhat ideal manner.
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. So the first thing I focus on with my
patients, even, is synchronizing your clock, your circadian rhythm with that of the nature, right.
When those things are synchronized, everything works effortlessly. So the first thing is figuring
out when are you going to bed, when are you waking up and when are you eating your meals.
So the ideal time to wake up is actually about an hour and a half before sunrise. And understand,
in extreme, like hemispheric zones, the sunrise sunset times can vary significantly. But we're
talking about more sort of equatorial time zones, right. So let's say the sun comes up at 6:30.
Chiti Parikh: So ideal time to wake
up would be around 05:00 in the time between that hour and a half before sunrise. In yoga,
it's called Brahma Muhurta, which is God's time. So this is the time when
your brain waves are in optimal theta state. So this is peak creativity time.
So this is the time if you meditate, the results are almost ten times stronger.
Ben Greenfield: Can I ask you real quick,
is that due to the. I think someone explained to me on the podcast,
I believe it was when I interviewed Joseph Anu, he talked about why he meditates in the morning.
And he described how there's a very high amount of, I believe,
theta brainwave production in the morning. So you almost like wake up in a meditative state.
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. So if you wake up at that time,
your cortisol changes throughout the day, your pineal gland changes, your melatonin, your growth
hormone, everything changes if you wake up during that time and maximize theta brainwave state. So
that's sort of the golden hour for pre-creativity. And then the idea is then you go about your daily
business in the sense the first thing you do is drink a big glass of warm water to activate
your GI tract. That should instigate, you know, that should stimulate your bowels. You have your
bowel movement. After that, you exercise some physical activity. Then you eat your breakfast.
Chiti Parikh: And then between
breakfast and lunch is your pre-productivity when it comes to your work, right. This is when
you don't want to be in a boring Zoom meeting. This is when you actually want to get work done.
And then lunch should be your biggest meal of the day. This is when your metabolism,
your digestion is the strongest. This is when you can metabolize some carbs. If
you're eating carbs, this is when you want to get bulk of your calories in.
Ben Greenfield: Can I ask you a question
about lunch? Because I think there might be a little bit of a nuance here between what's ideal
and what results in more life satisfaction and happiness. Like what's ideal and healthy and life
satisfaction and happiness. What I mean by that is if I make lunch my biggest meal of the day,
I'm a little bit tired, I'm a little bit sluggish, I go to sleep, and then when the big time for a
family gathering in the evening arrives and family dinner, it's kind of like you've used
up your calorie allotment earlier in the day. And because of that, for me, even though it's,
I've admitted this before on podcasts, like, ideally, I'd stop eating earlier, I'd have a
smaller meal in the evening, but that's the time when everybody gathers, and that happens to a lot
of people. Like, all the social stuff happens in the evening. So do you ever adjust that at all?
Chiti Parikh: So what I always say that you
can still partake, you can still enjoy evening meal. Just make it something easy to digest.
Right. So don't even think about the calories. Is it easy for me to digest? Because the last thing
you want your body to do as you're going to bed is still working on your last meal because that
will affect whether you go into ketosis at night, whether you go into that detox phase.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, so would it be fair to say then,
if you were going to have a bunch of, like, heavy fats, proteins, red meats, oils, etcetera,
move those to lunch and then dinner could be more like berries, fish, rice, sweet potatoes, roasted
vegetables, things like that, and you could still enjoy what seems like a big family dinner
or social outing, but you're not doing spicy, heavy, super high protein, or high fat foods.
Chiti Parikh: You got it. Exactly.
So this is where you can still enjoy a plate full of food but not weigh you down in a way.
Ben Greenfield: That makes sense. I should try that. Okay, got it.
Chiti Parikh: And it's a little bit of a different concept
because we're so used to thinking about calories and carbs, but in Ayurveda, it's all about what's
easy to digest and what's going to take a lot of energy to digest. Right. So that's how you
time it. It's like a big piece of meat I'm better off doing at lunch. That's when my digestion is
strongest. I can break it down much more easily than at like 09:00 p.m. right. So it's all about
the timing and kind of capitalizing on when your digestion, your metabolism is the strongest.
Ben Greenfield: So on the clock, what happens after lunch?
Chiti Parikh: So after lunch,
it's your siesta time. So they actually recommend because it's your biggest meal,
you do need to give your body a little bit of break and rest to
optimize digestion. And then comes the peak time for actually coordination organizing.
Ben Greenfield: What do you say to patients who have,
like a job or they have a lunch break from like noon to one and you tell them to eat the biggest
meal of the day, but they can't like, climb under their desk in a sleeping bag after lunch?
Chiti Parikh: I know that would be the ideal,
right. If we were in Spain, we would all be having a siesta, but we're not.
Ben Greenfield: That's true. There are
areas of the world where you don't even have any stores, restaurants, anything open from
like 2 up to sometimes 04:00 p.m. i've seen that in Spain before. When I toured northern Spain,
I set up my own protocol, actually, to where I tell my team, I don't take any calls between two
and four because that allows me to get reactive time, emails, work done before I jump back into
more creative work or connecting with people after 04:00 p.m. but it also allows me time for like 30
to 45 minutes of downtime after lunch. So I just program that in. But, you know, I own my company,
so I'm kind of in control of that. I would imagine there are some employees who just aren't.
Chiti Parikh: No, exactly.
And this is where you try to control your schedule to best of your ability. Right. So
this is where you might not want to schedule a super important meeting,
but just keep that in mind that this just, you just know that your productivity,
your focus is going to take a little bit of a hit after lunch. So schedule your day as best as you
can around that and respect that. If the companies were smart, they will actually give you a longer
lunch break because guess what? You actually can be more productive after that than trying to make
it work through your lunch break. So. But like you said, a lot of other countries follow that.
Chiti Parikh: And guess what? They're healthier,
right? They're healthier for it. So, but that's sort of the ideal. That's how our body works and
we try to fit that into our schedule the best we can. And I'm glad you mentioned socializing
because in Ayurveda there is a time for a happy hour. And that's right around four or 05:00.
Ben Greenfield: Oh, it's early. I like it.
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. So it starts around four or five, but
ideally that late afternoon, early evening is a great time for socializing and getting out there,
meeting your friends, connecting with your family, and then comes dinner and then again,
bonding with your family time. And then you hit the sack around between ten and midnight.
That's sort of the ideal time to go to bed to capitalize on the growth hormone surge.
So that's what a typical day would look like in the Eastern and Western clocks.
Ben Greenfield: It's really interesting.
Maybe it's because I've interviewed so many Ayurvedic practitioners. My own protocol,
besides probably breaking that lunch is the biggest meal. Dinner, as a lighter meal rule,
kind of closely simulates what you've described. I wake up, I've got meditation, prayer, journaling,
I drink a huge glass of water, I move around and bounce and shake a little bit. Then we
have family meditation, then I go do my poo, and then I work out and then I have my first
meal. And then I jump into my most productive work of the day. I have lunch, I siesta, I work more.
Ben Greenfield: We break for family
social time around 6:30 or so. We have dinner at seven,
and then we wind down with songs and games and hit the sack. So I feel like I'm kind of close.
Chiti Parikh: And you know what? When we
follow that, it feels so natural. Right? You're not like swimming upstream. So when we listen to
our body and synchronize our clock with that, what our body is entrained to do over hundreds
of thousands of years of evolution, it works effortlessly. So what you did intuitively is
exactly what we should be doing is listening to our body and work with it, not against it.
Ben Greenfield: Yeah, I don't know if I
did it intuitively. I just talked to a lot of smart people like you who have the science behind
this stuff. There's some interesting things that you said when you were describing the 28-Day Reset
and the Panchakarma that I want to ask a couple of quick questions about the oil massage. I also read
about this in your book. It sounds fantastic. I've never done it, but can you describe that?
Chiti Parikh: It's the most relaxing and sort of invigorating
at the same time. So the idea in Ayurveda we use skin as a way to deliver herbs because skin is our
biggest organ, right? And the beauty of delivering anything to the skin is that it bypasses the gut,
because remember I said the gut has to do a lot of work, digest food, digest toxins. So the idea
is, during detoxification, we're using skin as a way to get some of the herbs in and mobilize more
fat-based toxins. So use certain oils, especially something like sesame oil, almond oil, and then
you infuse them with certain herbs, depending on your constitution, and by doing the oil massage,
you, a, increasing circulation. Lymphatic drainage, very important for your immune
system. Two, delivering these herbs to the skin, and three, getting ready to sweat out the toxins
the same way the herbs are going in. So that's the overall purpose and the medicinal benefit
of actually doing the oil massage. Besides, obviously it makes you feel good and relaxed.
Ben Greenfield: So you're doing this on
your own. You're not going to a massage therapist and giving them the oil you're able to self apply.
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. So I
teach most of my patients to do it on their own. So there's certain ways of doing it,
like head to toe, certain strokes just for the direction of lymphatic drainage you want
to keep in mind. But I sometimes treat myself, so I'm lucky I'm in New York. I have a really
good Panchakarma clinic here. So when I'm doing Panchakarma for three or five days,
I'll just go every day for the massage there. And it's just one of the most relaxing, calming
things. But the rest of the times, I typically do this on my own at least two, three times a week.
Chiti Parikh: But I find it
to be a very grounding practice in itself.
Ben Greenfield: Yeah. I've never actually given
myself an oil massage, but I did do three weeks in India a few months ago, and I think I got some
kind of an herbal oil massage almost every day, and it was fantastic. I hadn't read your book yet.
I didn't realize these medicinal benefits. But the company you mentioned earlier, Banyan Botanicals,
I think they have oils that are already infused with some of these herbs, don't they?
Chiti Parikh: They do, yeah. And they're
also dosha specific. So you can actually take a quiz in the book or online on their website to
figure out which dosha, which body type you are, and you can pick the right oil to match yourself
and then you can use that. And sometimes I even tell people, like some of my patients have anxiety
and insomnia issues. So I'll say, before you go to bed, take some time to do some deep breathing,
some meditation, put some of the oil on your feet and your hand, just massage. And that in
itself stimulates the nervous system beautifully, activates the vagus nerve and really helps them
fall asleep. So you can also pick an oil that has some of these herbs infused in them that promotes
sleep and relaxation. So I'm telling you, the oil massage is a great tool that is often overlooked
to infuse yourself with those medicinal properties without having to just pop pills all the time.
Ben Greenfield: That's awesome. I actually
do massage rose or lavender essential oil onto my feet and on either side of my neck, kind of by the
vagus nerve before I go to bed. So I guess maybe I do kind of do a baby miniature oil massage.
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. And it really works. And
if you do the traditional Abhyanga, which is the oil massage, because of the lymphatic drainage.
You know, when I was doing Panchakarma, the last time I did it, just a few months ago, I probably
lost about four or five pounds in the three days I was doing it. And it was all water weight. Right.
Chiti Parikh: I was just peeing nonstop,
so I know it wasn't, like, fat or anything like that. The amount of lymphatic fluid that just sits
there because of inflammation, oxidative stress, environmental, you know, toxins and everything
we're exposed to, this is a great way to dump all of that. And you can feel it. I'm telling you,
three to five pounds, and I'm pretty thin, so, like, three to five pounds is a significant
amount for me. And I know it's all of that water weight that I'm just weighing me down.
Ben Greenfield: Speaking of drainage,
the other question I was going to ask you is about these enemas. Believe it or not,
I have a pretty motivated audience. Maybe not Kayakalpa stock, but they're willing to do quite
a few things to get healthier or live longer. And I've talked about coffee enemas before,
even written articles about them, and I actually do a coffee enema once a week. But
you mentioned these other herbal enemas. What are some of those? And how do you do those?
Chiti Parikh: In Panchakarma,
they say 50% of the therapeutic benefit is actually from the enemas, because ultimately what
you're doing is you're pulling all the toxins into the gut and dumping them out. But then the enemas
reset the gut, repopulate the gut microbiome, and create a strong gut barrier so it protects you for
months and years to come. That's the whole idea behind enema, and the way it's traditionally done
is you start out with an oil enema to actually lubricate the colon so it doesn't dry out. And
then you alternate that. So day one, you do an oil enema. Day two, you do an herbal tea enema.
Ben Greenfield: Wait, I'm gonna. I'm gonna
stop you there for a second. What's an oil enema? How do you do that?
Chiti Parikh: So oil enema is basically,
usually, traditionally sesame oil. So it's just sesame oil, about 50 to 75 cc. You start with,
and you typically do it after you eat, usually after dinner. And then you insert
the oil in the rectum, and then you should be able to retain it. So most of the times,
what I suggest is you just go to bed with it, and then the oil would just get absorbed.
Ben Greenfield: What delivery
mechanism are you using for something like an oil enema?
Is it the same bucket that you hang or are you using just an enema? Bulb?
Chiti Parikh: Yeah, you can use a bulb. That's probably
the easiest because the quantity is very little. So bulb is probably the easiest way to do it.
Ben Greenfield: Yeah, it's a very small amount.
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. It can be messy, but with the
syringe or the bulb, it's much easier. And then the second day, you do the tea enema. So the tea
is customized to your constitution. So you'll pick three or four different types of herbs,
boil it, reduce it down to about half the amount so it's concentrated, strain it, and then you
put that in like a traditional enema bag. And just, you know, that one you typically retain
for about 20 to 30 minutes. Most people can't go that long. Most people, after ten minutes, you
might have the urge to empty, but with practice, you're able to retain it for 20, 30 minutes.
Chiti Parikh: So oil rejuvenates the colon
lining and the tea detoxifies. So you kind of go alternate this, one day oil, one day tea for about
seven days. And for some patients, depending on what you're doing it for, if you have underlying
conditions, sometimes the Ayurvedic doctor might even recommend for about 15 days, especially if
there's severe gut microbiome disruption or gut health issues or autoimmune issues or things like
that. But it is a profound, has a profound, long lasting impact on your gut microbiome.
Ben Greenfield: Some enema critics, yes,
those exist, will say that enemas could strip the body of minerals or dehydrate you and,
or strip the, I believe the way it's described, is somehow remove good colonic flora or reduce
the bacterial population in the colon. Do you think there's anything to those ideas?
Chiti Parikh: I personally don't think
so. I think enema therapy has been around for thousands of years, and it's been used to deliver
the benefits of many herbs. So I don't think as long as you're doing it in the right way with some
medical oversight and understanding, too much of a good thing cannot be a good thing. I'm not saying
you do these enemas every single day. Right. We're doing it in a certain setting by preparing your
body coming in and out of it very gently. That has a tremendous therapeutic benefit. I don't want
people to put enemas, all enemas, no pun intended, in the same bucket, because you literally have
to understand that this is a treatment that's been around for thousands of years.
Ben Greenfield: Well, this is not based
on science. This is based on intuition and the my knowledge about the existence of butyric acid and
flora in the colon. I put a big dollop of homemade yogurt and a couple capsules of butyric acid in my
enema. So when I do a coffee enema, there's also probiotics and butyric acid in there.
Chiti Parikh: Extremely important. So,
in Ayurveda, they always say some sort of fat is very important when you're doing enemas to
help you absorb some of the nutrients, because, you know, some herbs and some nutrients are fat
soluble, whereas some are water soluble. So having that balance is key. And you're not
stripping your gut microbiome. You're actually enhancing it with the yogurt. The butyrate does
wonders for your colon lining. That's why sesame oil, ghee. You know, these things.
Chiti Parikh: Ghee is one of the highest,
richest amounts of butyrate. Butyric acid. And that's the reason when Ayurveda, we use ghee as
part of Panchakarma. You drink ghee on an empty stomach to coat the entire inside of your GI
tract. So. And we're actually using butyrate enemas for treating, as part of treatment for
inflammatory bowel disease with Crohn's disease, with ulcerative colitis. Tomatoes, tomatoes.
Chiti Parikh: We're doing the
same exact thing thousands of years later. Right?
Ben Greenfield: Yeah. I'm prone to IBD, and I rarely
get any issues as long as I maintain that weekly coffee enema. I do sometimes add, not to overload
people with too many recipes. I do sometimes add a little bit of olive oil to it as well. I don't
use ghee or butter for the butyric acid because this is just practical experience. It can kind of,
like, afterwards harden up in the enema tube, or I use a stainless steel bucket because I don't
want to use plastic. But then you got to figure out a way to melt the butter or the ghee out of
there before the next enema. So that's why I use the butyric acid capsules that I just break open.
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. And that's why
butyric acid or even sesame oil has, you know, sesame oil, especially if it's so
bending botanical does this where they cure the oil a little bit for enemas. So some of their oil
is cured and that makes it much more absorbable. So that's why ghee is traditionally ingested. We
don't usually add ghee in the enema. Sometimes we'll actually add honey in the enemas too,
depending on certain doshas. But you're absolutely right. The reason why we don't use coconut oil,
ghee in the enemas because it can harden depending on the temperature.
Chiti Parikh: Whereas sesame
oil has very similar therapeutic benefits, but much easier to work with.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, another important
question moving on from enemas. This is related to water temperature. By the way, do make sure your
enema is at the correct water temperature. Don't make no mistake. But the thing about water, you
see this a lot in Ayurvedic books. I think yours was the third book where I read this. Don't drink
excessively cold water with meals, and preferably don't drink water with meals, period. Why is that?
Chiti Parikh: So? In order for
food to be digested properly, remember, food that is not digested properly becomes toxin.
Right. We want the food to be digested properly, so it becomes nutrition. And the best way your
body can digest food that you're eating is with acid and enzymes. Right. The pH of your
stomach has to be below four to activate enzymes to break down the proteins, fat,
carbs and fiber in your diet. When I drink a big glass of water with my meal, the pH of water is
seven and the acid is two to four. So the more water I drink, the more it dilutes the acid.
Chiti Parikh: And once you get above a pH of five,
those enzymes don't work properly. So when you do that, the food does not get broken down properly,
which will lead to gas bloating. Guess what? That partially digested food,
as it's making its way down, the bacteria in your gut will start fermenting it and
cause even more gas and bloating. So then we are feeding the bad bacteria, not the good bacteria.
Ben Greenfield: Does the volume of the water matter,
though? Because a lot of times, like, I'll have some apple cider vinegar in water before a meal
for blood glucose management or digestion, or I'll even have, like, fluid in the form
of a glass of wine with dinner. Like. Like, how much water are we talking about to avoid?
Chiti Parikh: So usually about,
you know, if you're just doing like, say, 8oz of water with some apple cider
vinegar. That's not a big deal. I'm talking about, like, the traditional american, like,
giant bucket of ice water that you get served when you sit down to eat. Most people are like, oh,
shit, I didn't drink any water. I got to drink all of that now. Right? So that's the problem,
is a little bit of water not a problem, especially if you're doing something with apple cider vinegar
or like an herbal or digestive tea. So when you go to an Asian restaurant, you sit down,
they give you those tiny little cups, like a little ginger tea, right? So if you hydrate with
some of these herbs, like ginger, it will actually stimulate your digestion. So that's sort of.
Chiti Parikh: And one of the teas I mentioned
in the book is CCF Tea, cumin, coriander, fennel. That's your digestion powerhouse.
Ben Greenfield: Those three herbs,
I love those herbs and ginger you've got on page 78. I have this page folded over. Key Ayurvedic
tips for digestion. Aside from avoiding excess water and especially cold water,
and also considering herbs like fennel, coriander, cumin, or something like ginger with a meal,
are there any other big wins in the digestive enhancing department?
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. Mindful eating.
I cannot stress that enough. You gotta chew your food. Your stomach does not have teeth.
Right. The easier you make for your body to digest the food, the slower you eat. Right.
Chiti Parikh: It won't spike your blood sugar as much. It will
digest the food better, allow for better insulin management. So the list goes on when it comes to
just chewing your food, slowing down when you're eating. And the third thing I'll say, always eat
to about two-thirds of your capacity. Right. Your stomach needs about a third of it to be
empty to allow for all these gastric juices to do its magic. If there's not enough space, the food
gets pushed out of the stomach prematurely without getting digested. It's like a washing machine.
Chiti Parikh: Like when you're throwing your load of laundry,
you don't fill it up completely with clothes. Right. The water's got to go somewhere. The
detergents got to go somewhere. Same thing with the stomach. I would say about 50% of a lot of
health ailments can be fixed if we just eat about half of we normally do. So that's why it's very,
we have to be very mindful about how slowly we eat and how much we eat at any given time.
Ben Greenfield: Let's say I'm at work and
I'm ordering in and I'm pretty good. Maybe I've got, I don't know, some vegan Mexican seed oil
free restaurant. I've got a salad with some salmon or whatever, but I don't necessarily have, like,
an herb closet full of cumin and coriander and fennel and ginger. Is there a case to be made for
enzymes, or do you have any hacks for travel using Ayurvedic digestion enhancing tactics?
Chiti Parikh: Absolutely. So I typically tell my patients
to keep some of these teas or capsules. So one of my go-to is actually by company called Gaia. They
make this gas and bloating capsule. So I never travel without those, especially if you're on
a plane travel. Those work like magic. So some of my patients who have digestive issues, I typically
have them travel with that. I might have them take apple cider vinegar capsules or gummies with them.
Chiti Parikh: Digestive enzymes are very,
very helpful. So when you're on the go or when you're struggling to digest certain foods,
then it's so important you take some of these digestive aids so that that food gets
processed properly, metabolized properly, and doesn't cause issues down the road.
Ben Greenfield: Okay, that's helpful. Another
question that's related to Ayurvedic medicine that I'm very curious about, because I hear all sorts
of different opinions on this. Is there something to the idea that when you wake up at different
times during the night, that that relates to a specific organ or part of your biology?
Chiti Parikh: Yes, it's fascinating stuff. So
when I talk to my patients, I typically ask them, okay, are you sleeping through the night? If not,
when are you waking up? What time are you waking up? What kind of dreams you're having? All of that
can actually give us an insight as to which dosha might be out of balance. So, typically,
if you're waking up around, say, between midnight and two, that's when pitta dosha
is very active. So this is when the liver is sort of detoxing and purging. There's a lot of heat in
the body. There's a lot of inflammation in the body. That's typically the time when you would
wake up. And the types of dreams you might have are more anger, frustration, those type of dreams.
Chiti Parikh: If you have something called
vata imbalance, you typically wake up. And this is very common when women go through perimenopause,
menopause, they enter a vata stage of life. So vata imbalance typically manifests those
wee hours in the morning. So between three and five, like, if you're waking up around,
like, three or 04:00 and having dreams that are more like anxiety written. You're trying to,
you know, someone's chasing you. That's typically indicative of, like,
more of a vata imbalance. So when you wake up can definitely give us an insight as to
which dosha is your body trying to process or having a slightly harder time doing so.
Ben Greenfield: So you described the doshas, or doshas. Are those
different than being hot, cold, damp, or dry, the other constitutions you describe in the book?
Chiti Parikh: Yeah. So doshas are
very similar. So in Chinese medicine, we often categorize a constitution as, like, hot, cold,
damp, or dry. In Ayurveda, it's like vata pitta Kapha. It's very similar concepts. So the idea
is that we are made up of the five elements as everything else in nature. So some of us have more
of one element versus the others, where sometimes in our lives, one element could be out of balance
compared to the other. So if we recognize those signs, we can bring it back to balance mindfully.
Chiti Parikh: So, for instance,
it's middle of summer, right? And I love spicy food. So if it's summertime and I'm indulging in
all this spicy food, there's going to be a lot of heat in my body. So that might manifest as
some oral ulcers, some acid reflux, some diarrhea, some rashes on my skin. That's the sign of a lot
of heat in the body. So I'm like, oh, too much heat in the body. It's also summer. I need to
ease off on the spicy food. Maybe I need to have some watermelon, some cucumbers, some cooling
foods that are in season to balance off the heat that's in the environment, that's in my body.
Chiti Parikh: So a lot of this is an intuitive
process. More, we understand how nature works, how seasons work. We can kind of work with it.
Ben Greenfield: So in very simplistic terms,
this could make a case for, say, eggs and bacon and avocado off the skillet
for breakfast in the winter and a nice, cool smoothie in the summer.
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. And intuitively,
that's what we crave, right. So if it's middle of the winter, I want a big bowl of porridge,
something warm, right? I don't want, like, a green juice in the middle of winter.
Chiti Parikh: But in July right now, I want to start my day with
a nice fruit, whatever freshest fruits I can get my hands on. I don't want a hot bowl of oatmeal.
So listening to your intuition is also going to very much mimic what nature intends us to do.
Ben Greenfield: And I could be
mistaken here. But if hot, cold, damp, and dry comes from Chinese medicine and
some of these other clocks and doshas that you described come from Ayurvedic medicine,
you've kind of researched and incorporate both Chinese and Ayurvedic.
Chiti Parikh: Exactly. So I'm
trained in acupuncture. I've studied Chinese medicine extensively, as I have Ayurveda,
and they are very, very similar. It's just they're using slightly different words. Like,
they might talk about meridians versus doshas. Right. So it's saying
the same thing using different words. So that's what I love about the work I do.
Chiti Parikh: It's like I get
to learn all these ancient sciences and figure out the connection with Western medicine. I can
interpret it in the Western terms. So I'll just give you one quick example. In Chinese medicine,
the kidney meridian is responsible for your bones. And it was just fascinating to me that only now,
in the last 30, 40 years, we recognize the kidney actually produces a hormone that helps your body
metabolize vitamin D better. So the kidneys are actually responsible for mineral management,
for vitamin D and calcium, especially. So in Chinese medicine, they knew kidney
meridian very important for bone health. And now we're like, oh, okay, that makes sense.
Chiti Parikh: So it's just fascinating
to find these correlations and say, wow, they really kind of figured that out a long time ago.
Ben Greenfield: That's really interesting. Has the landscape
changed as far as acceptance of these principles? Because I still get a sense that Western medicine
kind of frowns on these ancient Eastern principles steeped in thousands of years of blah, blah, blah,
without double blinded humanity, clinical research. Do you still run into that?
Chiti Parikh: I still do, definitely. Things have
changed a lot in the last ten years because of, you know, people like you spreading the message,
getting it to the folks who are really wanting to take their health into their own hands. Right. And
be proactive versus the traditional Western model. Like, you know, the Dr. says this, you do that,
right. We're kind of moving past that. And this is where I'm really seeing an interest from.
Chiti Parikh: From general population and understanding
their body from both Eastern and Western medicine. I think Western medicine has to open its eyes,
and I am seeing the change because one of the big components of NIH is NCCIH, National Center for
Complementary Integrative Health. Their budget in the nineties was 2 million, and as of 2021,
I believe their budget is $130 million to research things like acupuncture, to herbs, herbal
medicine, things like tai chi, yoga, qigong. And that's the reason why Medicare actually
two years ago or three years ago now approved coverage for acupuncture for low back pain.
Ben Greenfield: Oh, wow. Incredible.
Chiti Parikh: So in our practice,
we see Medicare patients, we treat them with acupuncture. So tide is definitely turning.
Not fast enough, in my opinion. But who would have thought that acupuncture was going to be
first line treatment for low back pain and Medicare was going to pay for it.
Ben Greenfield: I've seen it
completely eliminate seasonal allergies in my teenage son, like literally almost overnight.
Chiti Parikh: It is such a powerful medicine that right
now we think that it's only for musculoskeletal stuff. No, it's a complete medicine. Acupuncture
is there to treat pretty much everything. We're starting with back pain. Fine. That's
a good place to start. But I hope we recognize the true potential of these ancient healing methods.
Ben Greenfield: What I'm going to
do is I'll link to the book everything else we talked about. I'm going to hunt down some
of that fantastic gooseberry jams. Go to bengreenfieldlife.com/intentionalhealth.
Bengreenfieldlife.com/intentionalhealth. Check out the book, this book right here. Detoxify,
Nourish, and Rejuvenate Your Body into Balance because obviously Dr. Parikh gave an overview.
But if you actually want it all laid out there in front of you, to just follow the program and see
the steps of each day of that 28-day protocol, highly recommend it. I just got to find a time
to actually do it and maybe a cave to climb into when I decide to upgrade to the Kayakalpa.
Ben Greenfield: But Dr. Parikh, thank you so much.
Chiti Parikh: Thank you so much for having me.
Ben Greenfield: All right, folks, I'm
Ben Greenfield and Dr. Chiti Parikh signing out from bengeenfieldlife.com/intentionalhealth.
Have an incredible week.
Ben Greenfield: Do you want free
access to comprehensive show notes, my weekly roundup newsletter,
cutting edge research and articles, top recommendations from me. For everything
that you need to hack your life and a whole lot more, check out Bengreenfieldlife.com.
Ben Greenfield:
It's all there. Bengreenfieldlife.com. See you over there. Most of you who listen,
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