Diet

No, that is not different. I am taking my course of herbs now. The TCM do not believe in cold foods and such as you listed when the body is not well. I do feel my body has changed so much since having kids. I used to eat so much raw cold fruits and salads too. But I don't feel good when i do it now. I drink my water and liquids hot or at room temperature. It was weird at first but I much prefer it now.

I did drink green tea too b4 having kids and after I can't tolerate it. It upsets my stomach now. Green tea is considered strong for the system. They told me that I need to improve my blood circulation. I guess the herbs are suppose to help with that. My doc also said that the herbs won't literally heal the prolapse but it is suppose to improve the body's health and in turn, the prolapse symptoms would be improved too.

Oh yes, did ur herbalist doc say not to drink the tonic when you are sick with cold virus? The tonic suppresses the body from healing quicker from the cold viruses.

Anyway, it doesn't taste too bad. It is pretty sweet and rich. But takes some time to brew.

I don't know anything about Chinese medicine, so I don't know what "type" I'd be. But in terms of keeping my bowel "light", I am finding including raw foods really helpful. I usually have porridge oats for breakfast, a large salad for lunch (including some raw veg, seeds and nuts - which I think someone mentioned elsewhere were also considered "cold"), and a cooked dinner - I eat a lot of roast veg. with brown rice, or made into a mild curry (can't tolerate too much spice), and a bit of cheese or fish. In between I eat fruit. I love green tea (which doesn't seem to aggravate my prolapse or haemorrhoids), white tea, nettle and dandelion teas.
Cutting out alcohol and caffeine definitely helps (though am I right in thinking green tea does contain a little bit of caffeine?), and also keeping sugar to a minimum (I can't resist a couple of squares of dark chocolate, though).
This is what is working for me. Personally I'd hate to give up raw foods when I've only recently realised just how beneficial they are in keeping me well!
I'll be interested to see what works for everyone else.
Wendy

I don't think it is an absolute science. But I am sure raw foods once a day would be ok. I still have tea or coffee once a day. More than that dehydrates me and does send me to the bathroom.

But the raw foods are more gassy...I don't know about u gals but I cant hold gas in like i use to! :) I eat a little cheese b/c it constipates me. That sphincter has not beent the same since all this started. I would eat my salad at room temp. So it is raw but not cold. Seems like they really object to the cold foods. My doc said my body is weak (she felt my pulse/pressure point). Oh yes, my hair is falling out again. I keep going thru these cycles of shedding and thinning since the last 2 pregnancies.

Oh yes, she showed me a pressure point above the ankle and near the side of the knee. She gave me some big thick cigar looking incense to light over the points. But I have not had time away from the kids to do that.

No, i haven't tried accupuncture. But that is a thought in combination with everything else (posture, diet, herbs, rest, pelvic flr exercises). Whew! That is a long list!!

Btw, I live about 2 1/2 hrs from NYC. (Which Chinatown did u go to?)

I just went to a traditional doc in chinatown recommended by many others thru word of mouth. Funny, when I was there there were Asians and caucasians there. So the doc must have good word of mouth. One of the other patrons swore that the herbs curbed her sinus infection. She had been on 5 courses of antibiotics and nothing helped. Then she took a course of herbs and she said it worked wonderfully.

I haven't taken herbs long enough to see a difference but i figure it is similar to taking a vitamin but meant for our butt instead. :) Yes, I have the pot but didn't work right so i need to bring it back. I am using the good 'ol fashion clay one and watching the clock. :)o

I am facinated by these diets
Personally, I have been paying close attention to how my body responds to what I eat and also listening to what my body is craving. Its not scientific, but I believe in it so that's worth something. I also cannot tolerate cold raw foods or drinks. I am always cold. Thanks to someone who posted about this a while back, I no longer walk around barefoot, I've been wearing thick socks and it helps somewhat. but back to diet...I've been mostly vegetarian, but now and then I crave red meat. so I have some (I'm talking like once a month). I am no longer addicted to cheese and when I have some I feel sluggish and cranky all day. I'm happy eating oatmeal or rice & beans every day so I have to work at finding veggies that make me happy, but other than that I'm enjoying my diet more and more. It just feels right.

I want to question whether raw food is really more gassy, as that's not my experience. Of course it depends on combinations, amounts, and for whatever reason if a person's gut isn't used to much raw then they must go very slowly if they want to make changes in that direction.

There's an ages old argument that cooked food is easier to digest, which isn't true because the live enzymes are destroyed and our body must use its own store of digestive enzymes. One easy experiment is to eat a plate of cooked cabbage, which for many is very gassy. As soon as you can stomach it :-) eat a large wedge of raw cabbage and you might find that it causes no gas at all.

I love cooked food (we had a big vegetarian shepherd's pie last night - yum) but I always try to have a little something raw with it to add a few live enzymes and help the old pancreas out a bit.

I always used to assume raw food made me gassy - until I ate more of them. Since I've been eating mainly wholefoods (rice, pulses, beans) and including at least one mea with raw foods I'm far less gassy than I ever used to be. I think often the real culprits for gas are things like greasy foods, processed carbs, fizzy drinks and alcohol (all of which I've cut out).
Wendy

Greasy foods is no good for the gut. :) I am glad my older son has taken a liking to beans. I made him a simplified version of Indian rice with black beans and he ate it all up.

I wonder if there is any complementary food or spice to brocolli or cauliflower thar would decrease the gas from it. Has anyone tried BEANO? Maybe that would help.