Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Today we will discuss irritable bowel syndrome or IBS. It is called a syndrome because it is an ill defined grouping of sygns and symptoms.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is defined as chronic or recurrent abdominal pain, altered bowel habits, and bloating, with the absence of structural or biochemical abnormalities to explain these symptoms. IBS is part of a broader group of disorders known as functional gastrointestinal disorders.

It is more common in females than in males, and although it is not life threatening, it does impact significantly the patient's life. Usually it is a disease of young people and adolescents.

The characteristics of abdominal pain vary between patients and even within an individual patient, as it can be dull, achy, colicky, or sharp. Pain can occur anywhere in the abdomen but is commonly located in the below or around the belly button. Stress and food certainly aggravate the pain and it is partially relieved after defecation.

The patient presents with altered bowel habits that include constipation, diarrhea, or alternating constipation with diarrhea.

Sometimes, stools usually are of small volume and pasty in IBS . Even IBS can present with constipation is associated with small, hard, pelletlike stools. Diarrhea characteristically occurs during waking hours and often is precipitated by meals. Mucus can be a component of the stool in as many as 50% of patients with IBS.
In some patients, defecation is associated with a sense of incomplete evacuation that can lead to repeated trips to the bathroom and prolonged straining.
Symptoms of abdominal distension (ie, bloating, increased belching, flatulence) frequently are reported by patients with IBS.

Other gastrointestinal symptoms (ie, heartburn, dyspepsia, nausea, vomiting) are reported in 25-50% of adult patients with IBS. Dyspeptic symptoms are present in as many as 30% of pediatric patients with IBS.

Ok, so now what do we do?


Now several changes need to be addressed. The first one is stress. Please address this issue because stress can definitively worsen any IBS.

The next step is to organize better your life. You need to keep a log of what you eat, when you eat it and the level of stress in your life.

Several foods need to be assessed. IBS can be caused by several types of foods such as: caffeinated drinks ( Soda, coffee ), Chocolate, wheat and dairy. Avoid them, start yourself on a diet to keep away from your triggers. A more professional allergy testing can always be obtained by your doctor.

Next, you can use peppermint oil capsules ( such as Nature's Way Pepogest ). this can give much relief to abdominal bloating, gas and pain. Anise and peppermint/spearmint teas ( lukewarm )are also goog to soothe your intestines.

Getting into the medical areas the Naturopathic doctors are the ones that started with the idea of replenishing the intestines of good bacteria. There are out there several products that have got several strains of lactobacillus. These, it is my opinion , should always be used on and after starting ANY antibiotic regime and should be prescribed by your regular doctor or picked up by you in any healthfood store. Naturopaths also believe that yeast overgrows on the intestines, making the problem larger. There are several protocols to free your intestines from yeast. A treatment that is less popular is colonics.

Going to a doctor is sometimes necessary because some of these symptoms can also be caused by other diseases especially when patients have fever, weight loss, progression in symptoms, arthritis or rectal bleeding. The doctor can prescribe medication to decrease the muscle cramps or help you with diarrhea or constipation, or deal with bacterial overinfections or yeast.

Please take a look at this video that will outline a few tips for patients with IBS:

Muscle spasms and cramps

Hello again.

I would like to treat this apparently simple topic because it is very common. Being muscle tissue abundant on our body, it has the potential to cramp and spasm and produce pain.



I would like to remind you again that we should not see pain as our enemy, but rather as a way that our body tells us that something is wrong. Some examples of this "something is wrong" are muscle cramps ( specially in calves ) due to low potassium or low magnesium in blood. They can also tell us that, for example if we develop back pain, our body position and mechanics could be off ( read about the Alexander techniques that, by improving and overcoming some physical habits, helps on physical illnesses ), or even it could tell us that we have got too much of a curvature in the spine ( scoliosis ) or tell us about a short leg syndrome.

What do we do?

Well, first of all RELAX. You need to release some of that body stiffness you have as a baseline, so breath in deep and RELAX ( take a look at what happens when you purposely relax your neck and shoulder areas and keep them relaxed for at least a minute ). Daily stretches help a lot to prepare the muscles for regular activity.

Next, you can always get a good massage. Applying HOT packs or compresses and pressure to the area is good ( Please remember that ice is great for the first 48 to 72 hours after a crash or trauma or any acute event, but later it NEEDS to be replaced by heat ).

Also, you can use muscle rubs to help relax the area. My personal favorites are the ones that have Arnica, a homeopathic product, and are widely availiable on pharmacies and health food stores. Some of these creams also use Bryonia, another homeopathic product. Arnica is also availiable in homeopathic pillules and is great for muscle pain.

Do consider visiting your local osteopath ( DO ) or your local chiropractor should your pain continues.

Finally, you can always go to the medical doctor for evaluation and assesment. Here the doctor might send you for images ( x rays only "see" fractures, MRI's are very expensive but they might see tendons, ligaments and even muscle tears )and/or might treat you with anti inflammatories, muscle relaxants or narcotic pain medications.

Until next time

Headaches

The pain and duration of the lingering headache may be annoying, but generally not life threatening. Taking productivity and quality of life issues into account, however, many experts believe headaches pose a heavy burden on people. Why do headaches have such a pervasive effect?

Two-thirds of all adult men and greater than 80 percent of women in developed countries suffer from them, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Their effects are just as destructive to developing nations too, largely because people don't regard headaches as a disease. WHO estimates about half of the people who have headaches never receive any treatment for them either.

People who suffer from chronic daily headaches amount to a staggering 4 to 5 percent of the world's population, surpassing the rate of many other illnesses. Experts believe, in relation to those suffering from disabilities, the number of headache sufferers is about the same.

Medical expenses, lost work time and lower productivity accounts for about $50 billion in losses for American businesses.

Classification of headaches is as follows:

Tension headaches (80 percent) that are largely treated with over-the-counter drugs

Vascular headaches (including migraines and cluster headaches ) very painful and incapacitating

Brain tumors, aneurysms or other maladies account for less than 2 percent

What do we do about them?

First we need to get rid of the obvious. No more sodas, wean yourself off coffee ( at first the headaches will increase! ), get rid of all artificial sweeteners ( read our previous blog ).

Other things you can do include is try some allergy testing. Some headaches are related to allergy and these can be tackled this way. The cheap way of doing this is to decrease or eliminate dairy and to reduce your wheat intake considerably.

Other ways to help are to reduce stress ( deep breathing and meditation are key ).

Herbal remedies include forehead application of essential peppermint oil and the use of feverfew orally. Lately research with high dose riboflavin ( a vitamin ) are showing promise to help migraines.

Acupuncture, EFT and massage can also help.

Allopathic medication is good too, but do not forget that the headache pain is a way that your body tells you that there is something wrong, something you need to correct... and you don't want to shut it up.

Watch this video that shows you how to apply massage to reduce headaches

The Obesity Epidemic

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, with more than 1 billion adults overweight - at least 300 million of them clinically obese - and is a major contributor to the global burden of chronic disease and disability. It affects virtually all ages and socioeconomic groups.

Increased consumption of more junk food with high levels of sugar and saturated fats, combined with reduced or no physical activity, have led to obesity rates that have risen three times or more since 1980 in some areas of North America, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and China.The obesity epidemic is not restricted to industrialized societies; this increase is often faster in developing countries than in the developed world.

Obesity and overweight pose a major risk for serious diet-related chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer. The health consequences range from increased risk of premature death, to serious chronic conditions that reduce the overall quality of life. Of especial concern is the increasing incidence of child obesity.

Childhood obesity is already epidemic in some areas and on the rise in others. An estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide. According to the US Surgeon General, in the USA the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has trebled since 1980.

The problem is global and increasingly extends into the developing world; for example, in Thailand the prevalence of obesity in 5-to-12 year olds children rose from12.2% to 15-6% in just two years.

Please take a look at the following report that will show you graphically what we are talking about and how obesity is exploding in the USA:


http://health.msn.com/reports/obesity/default.aspx

What can you do about it?

First excercise! Even walking if done constantly ( 30 minutes or more daily ) is good for you. This epidemic has also been helped by the large degree of physical inactivity. If you can get a pedometer ( step counter ) from a store and start counting steps ( over 10,000 a day is recommended ) because it is very easy to kid yourself that you have "walked" for that day. FOr short trips, do not take your car out, try to walk. For long distances, try parking your car not that close to where you need to go ( provided weather is good ).

Then start to eat healthy. The best food is cooked from scratch. It needs to include some source of protein ( eggs, milk, soy, meats, legumes), salads ( with very little or healthy dressings such as vinegar and olive oil ) and fruits.

Carbohydrates ( pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, pastries, cookies, crackers and also cereal such as the so infamous cheerios ) are linked with insulin resistance ( which is linked with diabetes ), so try to use them very sparingly. Certainly if you have to eat them, try whole grains first ( whole grain food will not taste good at first. It will require you to chew better, it will be raspy to your throat, but in the long run good for you ).

Certainly try not to eat the unnecesary junk foods and junk drinks such as fried foods, sodas, juices, excessive alcohol, etc.

Please take a look at this video from Canada. Here in the USA things are even worse.



Until next time!

Depression

Hello again and thank you for reading our blog.

Last time we spoke about artificial sweeteners... now we will focus again on the mind. I will ask you to bear with me because I will try to explain some of the notorious problems with modern life. Have you noticed how angry we get when someone calls us losers? Has Hollywood turned American society into one that tolerates no middle grounds? Either you are a winner ( just one per race, competition, etc ) or you belong where most people will end up. Not everyone will be number one! If you add up family problems, divorce, and just life "not being perfect" to the equation, you have a problem

Notice that you need to realize that THE ONLY THING YOU CAN CONTROL is your own life and YOUR ACTIONS and certainly the WAY YOU FEEL. So, please, GRAB CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE and live it.

I do not believe that neurotransmitters ( the chemicals that connect your brain cells ) are responsible for depression, they are the effect of what years of wrong thoughts have made in your brain. The answer, as simple as it might appear is to change the way you think and even more important, to change the way you feel.

Your job is then, to find out what is wrong... again, get a friend and speak out all your troubles, and then start thinking how to solve them and if you will not be able to solve it, how to change your feelings so that the issue doesn't affect you. Certainly an alternative is to talk to a counselor ( psychologist or LCSW ).

And, yep, if you think you could hurt yourself and/or others, then it is time to visit the doctor, who can certainly help with the most severe depressions with pills at least until you change the way you think and feel.

Other alternatives include the use of herbs such as Saint John's Wort or SAM-e which have shown to work for mild to moderate depression.

See you next time.

Artificial Sweeteners

Beware of all artificial sweeteeners

They are not an alternative to sugar. Please consider the many side effects they have before you try them.

Splenda ( sucralose )

It is a synthetic compound stumbled upon in 1976 by scientists in Britain seeking a new pesticide formulation. Once it gets to the gut, sucralose goes largely unrecognized in the body as food — that’s why it has no calories.. A percentage of sucralose will acumulate in your body and you will not be able to excrete it.With very few studies showing safety in humans, was approved in a rush by FDA, it is 100% synthetic and has got chlorine in it.

Side effects of Splenda are skin rashes/flushing, panic-like agitation, dizziness and numbness, diarrhea, muscle aches, headaches, intestinal cramping, bladder issues, and stomach pain.

Equal ( aspartame )

The components of aspartame can lead to a number of health problems. Side effects can occur gradually, can be immediate, or can be acute reactions. According to Lendon Smith, M.D. there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why drugs, supplements and herbs don’t relieve their symptoms. Then, there are users who don’t ‘appear’ to suffer immediate reactions at all. Even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol, and DKP.

Has got a huge amount of side effects including pains, headaches and even weight gain ( Were you trying to lose weight in the first place? ).

Please review the list of side effects that aspartame has:


Abdominal Pain
Anxiety attacks
Arthritis
Asthma
Asthmatic Reactions
Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)
Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)
Brain Cancer (Pre-approval studies in animals)
Breathing difficulties
Burning eyes or throat
Burning Urination
Can't think straight
Chest Pains
Chronic cough
Chronic Fatigue
Confusion
Death
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Excessive Thirst or Hunger
Fatigue
Feel unreal
Flushing of face
Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair
Headaches/Migraines dizziness
Hearing Loss
Heart palpitations
Hives (Urticaria)
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Hysterical pregnancy
Impotency and Sexual Problems
Inability to concentrate
Infection Susceptibility
Insomnia
Irritability
Itching
Joint Pains
Laryngitis
"Like thinking in a fog"
Marked Personality Changes
Memory loss
Menstrual Problems or Changes
Migraines and Severe Headaches (Trigger or Cause From Chronic Intake)
Muscle spasms
Nausea or Vomiting
Numbness or Tingling of Extremities
Other Allergic-Like Reactions
Panic Attacks
Phobias
Poor memory
Rapid Heart Beat
Rashes
Seizures and Convulsions
Slurring of Speech
Swallowing Pain
Tachycardia
Tremors
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Vision Loss
Weight gain In addition, aspartame can mimic symptoms or worsen the following diseases:
Fibromyalgia
Arthritis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Parkinson's Disease
Lupus
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
Diabetes and Diabetic Complications
Epilepsy
Alzheimer's Disease
Birth Defects
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Lymphoma
Lyme Disease
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Panic Disorder
Depression and other Psychological Disorders

Saccharin

Has been associated with bladder cancer in rats.

These products are present in all LOW and NO CALORIE foods, so next time you go to a supermarket, read the label carefully.

High fructose corn syrup

Main sweetener of regular sweetened foods has been linked to the obesity epidemic in America and is a super concentrated form of a mixture of fructose with glucose.

For more information visit http://www.mercola.com/ if you can get over all the products they try to sell you.

The only 2 sweeteners that have a safer profile are Stevia and Xylitol. Still I would recommend not to abuse them.

The next are 2 informative videos that you should watch.

Aspartame Video from FOX



Splenda Video from Mercola

Anxiety Disorders

Hello and welcome again Today we will speak about anxiety. Anxiety disorders are a category of neurotic disorders with anxiety as a prominent or the prominent symptom...

Classification of anxiety

1. Phobic anxiety disorder: Agoraphobia (with or without panic disorder) Social phobias Specific (isolated) phobias

2. Other anxiety disorders include: Panic disorder Generalised anxiety disorder Mixed anxiety and depressive disorder

3. Obsessive compulsive disorder: But exactly what do you feel with Anxiety? You will feel fearfulness and unwanted and distressing physical symptoms. It is a normal and appropriate response to stress ( have you ever been in immediate danger? the normal response is a rapid heart beat, sweating, pupil dilation, etc ) but becomes pathological when it is disproportionate to the severity of the stress, continues after the stressor has gone, or occurs in the absence of any external stressor. Most of anxiety nowadays is very chronic and is pathological.

What to do?

Get a friend! Talk it out! If that doesn't work, you will need professional support... pills? Maybe, counseling? ALWAYS! You need to get into counseling but do not ever think that it will be up to your psychologist or LCSW to make you better. You are the only one that can get better. Acupuncture and massage are great too. Do not forget the power of meditation and deep breathing! Pills for this condition are several and one piece of advise: STAY AWAY from benzodiazepines such as ativan and xanax. They are addictive if taken for prolonged time. Some antidepressants do have anti anxiety properties ( so don't be shocked if your doctor asks you to take one of these pills ), these are way safer than "benzos". A more healthy alternative for anxiety is a medication that is not addictive called BUSPAR. Ok, time to leave... do take care!

Alternative Medicine Herbs for Anxiety

Consider the following options:

1. Start Kava. One of the best Kava is the one sold online by http://www.konakava.com/. Their 83% concentrated capsule delivers thae maximum allowed amount of Kava a day. Take 2 caps a day.

2. Bach Flowers: These are on the homeopathic realm. They need to be away from electric appliances and radiation. There is a list with well over 20 Bach Flower remedies that are case specific for the multiple types of anxiety people have.

Go to http://www.bachcentre.com/centre/remedies.htm or to
http://www.bachremedies.co.uk/?lang=us

These sites should give you the names of the bach flower herbs you need. USe 4 drops below the tongue 3 to 4 times a day of all the ones that apply to you. If you don't wish to go through all the " figuring out", do Rescue Remedy: 4 drops either sublingually or in ½ cup water. Three times a day.

3. Valerian caps at night to sleep or Valerian tea. You might also consider chamomille instead of coffee.

4. Limit coffee, tea, and sodas before sleep.

5. Get the TV out of the room.

6. 5-HTP and GABA supplements if you are not taking an antidepressant.

If you want you can take a look at this video which is a part of a series of informative videos I got from Expert Village of what anxiety is, and how to cope with it.