Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Simple Self-Help Tips

If you have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you will know how difficult it is to treat. Doctors can be dismissive of IBS symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation and bloating, and when treatment is offered it may only help for a short while before the distressing symptoms return.

Sufferers often find that they have to deal with the symptoms themselves, through self-help methods and supplements, rather than by using conventional medicines. However, this does not mean that there is no hope of improvement. By sharing their experiences, sufferers can learn a lot about what really helps to ease IBS.

All the self-help tips in this article have come from IBS sufferers who have found a way to control their irritable bowels. Before trying any form of self-help, please make sure that you have your doctors approval, and do check that anything you try will not interfere with any medication you are taking.

Calcium tablets

linda, who suffers from severe diarrhea, says: What has helped me for more than two years is calcium carbonate, an over-the-counter supplement. I take three tablets a day, one at each meal. The most success has come from using any formula of calcium supplement that is like Caltrate 600 Plus with vitamin D and minerals. The only side effect is at the beginning of taking the calcium you may have some gas or indigestion, but this usually goes away after taking a regular dose for a few days.

If you suffer from constipation rather than diarrhea, you could try magnesium supplements instead, as these can have a slight laxative effect.

Digestive enzymes and probiotics

Kim, who also suffers from bad diarrhea, says: I tried taking digestive enzymes with acidophilus and found significant relief within three days. I am not afraid to eat now, but find that I still cannot eat very much refined sugar or high fibre vegetables. I have also added a cup or two per day of peppermint and chamomile tea. When I do have an episode it occurs late in the day and by the next morning I am feeling back to normal.

Looking at your diet

Laura describes how a close examination of her diet helped her IBS: I was placed on every kind of medication, and sometimes they worked in the short term, sometimes they didn't work at all. The doctor finally suggested trying to alter my diet in cycles, and we discovered that eating meat was my problem. I became a vegetarian and no longer have constant problems. Sometimes I even go years without any pain at all. It's worth all the effort you put into it when you finally feel better.

Mina also found that dietary change helped control her symptoms, alongside traditional medication: I've made a number of changes to my diet. I've eliminated milk and mostly any dairy, fried foods, sugar for the most part, pop, alcohol, potato chips, spicy food, rice, pasta and bread. most recently I'm eliminating flour. But my best friend for the last couple of years has been Imodium Quick Dissolve tablets. I don't ever leave home without them. I just have to make sure I don't overdo it. If I ever become immune to the wonder drug I am gonna be a real mess!

Flaxseed

Watching your diet is sometimes not enough to completely control the symptoms, and natural or herbal supplements can help, as Marion discovered: After about six months of a horrendously restrictive diet (ultra low-fat vegan with no raw veggies or fruit except banana) and a lot of Metamucil, I managed to get it sort of under control. But if I deviated from the diet, the chronic diarrhea would come back. Someone I met told me that she had helped her IBS by taking a tablespoon of freshly ground flaxseed with a glass of water or juice every morning.

I thought it was another crackpot cure, but eventually I decided to try it. She had told me that pre-ground flaxseed didn't work because flax seed starts to oxidize as soon as you grind it and that whole flax seeds are no good either, because they cannot be digested properly. After years of IBS, in about two weeks it just went away. I cannot believe that I now have perfectly normal, regular bowel movements.

Fiber, water and yoga

Pam, who struggles with constipation, has developed a combination of things which work for her: I drink Metamucil (psyllium fibre) every day and try to relax, pray or meditate, even do a little yoga. The more I make myself relax and take time to de-stress the better I can manage my problem. I know time for yourself is very hard to come by sometimes but I have to if I'm going to manage this. I try to drink at least three bottles of water a day. This is also hard sometimes but I have to take care of me the best I can. I also take a mild anti-depressant. This has helped a bunch in my stress department and in turn has helped my IBS.

Stress and IBS

Daniel believes that his symptoms are related to his emotions and stress: I thought that when I was stuck on the toilet, experiencing the most severe cramps, thinking I was about to pass out from the pain, feeling like I was about to throw up, I was the only one. I'm still trying to work it out but I believe it has a lot to do with my psychological state. I say this because although I don't get too stressed out at any one moment, I do have general worries about money and life. I tend to find when I'm not worrying about these things I don't get the pain as much, if at all.

It's easier said than done of course, I can't just stop worrying about money or my future, but being aware of these things seems to help - being optimistic and knowing that everything is only temporary. I have been taking Colpermin (peppermint capsules) as a preventative which often helps and for a while I took painkillers which I think helped.

Soluble versus insoluble fiber

Some nutritionists believe that IBS sufferers intestines react differently to soluble and insoluble fiber, and this has been Stus experience: After trying all kinds of drugs and healthy eating, my pains were still there. I found by accident that it wasn't so much what I ate but whether I ate it on a full stomach or not. My failsafe is pasta on an empty stomach, I get no reaction - it is soluble fibre that settles the colon apparently. I quickly searched on the internet for recipes high in soluble fibre and I have improved.

most significantly though I am on no medication and this puts me in control of the IBS, not the other way around. I think this is important as stress certainly can trigger the symptoms off. I don't avoid insoluble fibre as it is essential for the body, but I recommend that you eat it on a full stomach.

Sophie Lee has suffered from IBS for more than 15 years. She runs the IBS Tales website at http://www.ibstales.com where you can read hundreds of personal experiences of IBS and self-help tips.

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Brahmacharya

Brahmacharya is the fourth of the yamas and the word, literally translated means dedicated to the Divinity of Life. The word is often used in yogic practice to refer to celibacy or denying pleasure, but this is only a small part of what Brahmacharya represents. The purpose of practicing Brahmacharya is to keep you focused on your purpose in life, the things that instill a feeling of peace and contentment

Historically, Brahamacharya as celibacy was likely a product of teaching yoga to young men, whose desires can be difficult to harness. Unless you are living the ascetic life of a sadhu, chances are you will indulge in sexual pleasure, food pleasure or any number of possible treats. To bring brahmacharya into your life and yoga practice is to practice moderation in all things, including those things that are pleasurable distractions.

When we become hooked on pleasure, it becomes an addiction and the absence of pleasure feels like loss or dissatisfaction; we become unable to enjoy the simple happiness of life, to observe the quiet broad beauty of our minds - slowing down becomes difficult because the focus becomes the object of addiction. Practicing moderation allows us to enjoy pleasure and remain focused on our greater purpose. . How does this relate to asana practice? Sometimes yoga students push themselves in yoga practice, creating a sense of urgency, correctness (am I doing this pose well?) and anxiety. This can leave a student feeling exhausted at the end of their practice rather than feeling relaxed or refreshed and ready for purposeful action off the mat.

It is important to apply moderation to moderation also, so it is not a burden. It is a beautiful practice. It is about moderating the extremes, not wanting too much and being happy with what you have. The practice of Wanting Wanting Wanting will always leave you feeling unsatisfied.

Brahmacharya can bring out many issues and energies as you begin to observe moderation - our addictions and ego rebel strenuously when they are not in control. When they arise, notice what the issues are, go deeper into your practice and discover your true motivations.

Ask yourself what is your purpose in your yoga practice? What are your goals in yoga and do you allow space in your practice to reach those goals?

In yoga,

Jenn

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Learning from Tiger Woods

The August 14, 2000 issue of Time magazine features an article about tiger Woods titled The game of Risk - How the best Golfer in the World Got Even Better. Although I have no specific interest in the sport of golf, I do have a long-standing fascination with the general theme of the article: how can someone learn to do something better?

Thats precisely what the Alexander Technique is all about. And while tiger woods has probably never heard of it, its interesting that his quest for a better golf swing parallels in many ways the process F. Matthias Alexander - the developer of the Alexander Technique - went through a century ago.

Alexander was a Shakespearean reciter who ran up against limitations in his ability to perform well on stage. At that time there were no microphones and speakers and so he had to fill an entire auditorium with just the power of his own voice. Like woods he was very talented at his profession but he also knew that there was room for improvement. In particular, he found that his voice gave out during a longer performance and that he had a tendency to gasp for breath on occasion.

Neither his doctors nor his vocal coaches were able to help and so he set off on his own, using a system of mirrors to monitor his performance in order to see precisely what was causing his difficulties. If he were living today, he would probably use videotapes of himself to see what was going on.

Thats what tiger woods did in order to improve his swing. I knew I wasnt in the greatest positions in my swing at the Masters, woods said. But my timing was great, so I got away with it. And I made almost every putt. You can have a wonderful week like that even when your swing isnt sound. But can you still contend in tournaments with that swing when your timing isnt good? Will it hold up over a long period of time? The answer to those questions, with the swing I had, was no. And I wanted to change that.

The article notes that woods has become ...an obsessive student of the game who reviews videotapes of old tournaments for clues about how to play each hole. Alexander too was an obsessive student of his performance and in the end his obsession paid off not only in providing a solution to his voice problem, but later in the discovery of a process that could be taught to others who wanted to improve the quality of their physical functioning.

What is most remarkable about Woods, the article continues, is his restless drive for what the Japanese call kaizen, or continuous improvement. Toyota engineers will push a perfectly good assembly line until it breaks down. Theyll find and fix the flaw and push the system again. Thats kaizen. Thats tiger.

And thats Alexander, too. Never content with the progress he had already made - first in solving his own voice problem and later in developing better ways to teach others, and to train teachers in his Technique.

Woods first instructor, Rudy Duran, commented that he has the ability to stay in the present during a tournament and focus on hitting one shot at a time.

Alexander, too, discovered that in order to change his way of speaking he had to learn to stay focused on what he was thinking and doing in the present. Much of what Alexander Technique teachers do to help their students with today is teach them how to develop this skill for themselves.

Its no wonder that so many leading performers in the fields of acting, music, and dance have studied the Alexander Technique and have publicly endorsed it. It turns out that this ability is also very useful for people who dont consider themselves to be performers but whose performance of activities in their daily lives has put harmful stress on their bodies, often to the point of causing pain such as backache or stiff shoulders and necks.

Learning how to monitor your thoughts and actions in real time is a valuable skill for anyone to master.

Robert Rickover is a teacher of the Alexander Technique living in Lincoln, Nebraska. He also teaches regularly in toronto, canada. Robert is the author of Fitness Without Stress - A guide to the Alexander Technique and is the creator of The Complete guide to the Alexander Technique at http://www.alexandertechnique.com.

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The Truth About 'Rapid Weight Loss' Diets

obesity poses serious risks to your health. It can cause complications such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, to name a few. The risk of getting these complications increases when bodily fat is distributed more around the waist area. This kind of bodily fat distribution however, is more commonly found in men than in women. in men than in women. obesity then may cause a person to want rapid weight loss now.

Wanting rapid weight loss now is very common nowadays. With the growth of beauty as how media depicts it, people are demanding rapid weight loss now to fit the skinny profile. But heres the truth: rapid weight loss now schemes can be dangerous and sometimes even deadly.

The key to being healthy is to keep off the weight that you lost. By losing weight rapidly unnaturally, you increase your risk of gaining back all of the weight you lost plus some added pounds. The best way still is to lose weight the natural way.

To do this, set a realistic goal for yourself. Envision what you want to happen. after you know what you want to happen, make a plan for yourself. It can be as small as eating an apple tomorrow or taking the stairs to your office. It can also be as big as seeking professional help and enrolling in a weight loss center. Stick through with your plan. Commit yourself to finishing what you started. To help you along your road to fitness, you can opt to take weight loss supplements. Be very wary though because there are some weight loss supplements that contain substances that can be damaging to your health. Do your research and remember that these are just supplements. Taking them without changing your eating habits or neglecting to exercise defeats the purpose of taking them in the first place. They can help speed up your weight loss process if used properly with proper diet and regular exercise.

Phillip England is a weight loss expert and Author of the popular report "The ultimate Weight Loss Secret". To receive your free information on the secret that doctors, and health companies either don't know, or don't want you to know, please see http://www.theultimateweightlosssecret.com/secret

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