For many women, abdominal bloating can be painful, uncomfortable, or just annoying. Bloating is when your tummy feels tight or full, and is usually caused by excess gas. Often bloating is caused by overeating, but if you’re exercising portion control and still feeling tight; here are some other causes and how to treat them.
If you’re not overeating, but feel bloated shortly after you eat; you may have food intolerance. Unlike food allergies, food intolerances are when your body can’t properly digest a certain kind of food. While the most common of these is lactose intolerance, it isn’t the only one. Observe your eating habits. If a specific food makes you feel bloated, try to avoid it.
Many people who feel bloated regularly have a condition called irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. This occurs when your colon doesn’t work properly. Other symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. If you suspect you have IBS, you should check with your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment options. If you have this syndrome; it can be controlled by diet, medicines, fiber supplements, or herbal remedies.
Many women feel bloated during their period. Most attribute this to water weight gain, but studies have shown that most women don’t actually gain weight during their period. Most women simply feel boated as opposed to actually being bloated. These symptoms can be caused by fluctuating hormones, irritability, and depression. The best cure for this is to eat a good diet and exercise. If you still feel bloated, you can try using natural diuretics to get rid of water weight.
There are other rare, but much more serious causes of abdominal bloating. If you start to bloat in the abdominal area and it doesn’t go away; don’t just assume you’ve put on weight. Prolonged abdominal bloating can be a symptom of ovarian cancer, liver disease, or tumors in the abdominal cavities. If you exercise and eat right and the bloating just doesn’t go away; see a doctor as soon as possible.
Hopefully these suggestions will lead you down the road to recovery. And as always: if in doubt, talk to your doctor.
Filed under Health Talk, Weight Loss by on Dec 16th, 2006. 
I remember as a teenager going to the dermatologist for help with my acne. My mother was always telling me to cut back on chocolate and sugary foods so she mentioned this to the dermatologist. Strangely enough my dermatologist disagreed and said that diet isn’t linked to acne.
I’m not so sure this is true. Perhaps in many cases such as when you’re having hormonal fluctuations, acne is inevitable, but the food we put into our bodies does have an overall effect on our health and so of course it will have an effect on our skin too. Everything we eat makes up who we are, our skin, hair, nails, and even the way we think and feel.
I’m not saying in your case your diet is the direct cause of your acne but in many cases it does play a role. Recent research at Colorado State University showed that high insulin levels due to excess sugar in the body led to a release of higher levels of androgens (male hormones) in the system. Androgen triggers excess sebum production which can lead to acne. Therefore reducing insulin levels can help acne and oily skin.
The way to reduce insulin levels is by reducing the amount of sugar you eat. By sugar we don’t just mean things like donuts and candies. Unfortunately, sugar is found in processed carbohydrates such as white bread, crackers, and any white flour products. The best thing you can do is switch to whole grain carbohydrates as these don’t raise your insulin levels in the same way the white flour products do.
And watch out for hidden sugars in processed foods and canned foods as well. By eating a diet full of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats your skin should look better and you’ll also be taking care of the rest of your body, you’ll look and feel great.
I’m glad to say that years later I’m acne free but my diet is also much, much healthier these days. However, there are still times during the year like the holidays when I eat extra sugar and chocolate and without a doubt I start noticing a few small blemishes here and there. Once I stop my overindulgence the blemishes clear up.
Filed under Acne, Health Talk, Healthy Eating by on Dec 20th, 2006.
We can’t say for sure who has invented this diet as there is no one person who claims responsibility for it. There are also several different versions of this diet floating around but here are the basics:
The claims are that cabbage has high fat burning properties. This diet plan claims that you can lose a large amount of weight in a short space of time.
This is a very strict diet plan and the idea is that you can eat as much cabbage soup as you’d like everyday. This will help fill you up and stop you from cheating.
Here’s a sample of the diet plan:
Day 1 – Eat as much cabbage soup and fruit as you’d like (enough to keep you full). The exception is bananas, you shouldn’t eat any.
Day 2 – Unlimited cabbage soup and vegetables. You can also have one baked potato with a tiny pat of butter.
Day 3 – Unlimited cabbage soup and vegetables, but on this day you many not have any potatoes or bananas.
Day 4 – Unlimited cabbage soup plus up to eight bananas and unlimited skim milk.
Day 5 – Unlimited cabbage soup and up to 20 oz of been and six tomatoes.
Day 6 – Unlimited cabbage soup plus as much beef and vegetables as you’d like but no potatoes.
Day 7 – Unlimited cabbage soup plus brown rice, vegetables and unsweetened fruit juice, but no potatoes.
This is a quick fix diet that will probably work in the short term due to the calorie restrictions. It is worth to note that many dieticians do not approve of this diet as it is not balanced enough and severely limits your nutrient intake.
Filed under Diet Reviews, Health Talk by on Dec 20th, 2006.
Homemade Hummus With Roasted Vegetables Wrap
For the Hummus:
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons Greek natural yogurt
Juice of one lemon
Pinch of paprika
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Place the chickpeas, garlic, yogurt, lemon juice and paprika in the blender or food processor and mix on high until smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and season with salt and pepper if desired.
For the Roasted Vegetables:
1 Eggplant, sliced
2 zucchinis, cut into matchstick strips
1 red pepper, cored, deseeded and sliced
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Flour tortillas to serve
Place all the vegetables in a non stick roasting tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for approximately 45 minutes or until tender and roasted.
Warm the tortilla wraps according to package instructions, then spread with hummus and fill with roasted vegetables, wrap and serve.
* Low GI
Filed under Recipes, Vegetarian by on Dec 20th, 2006.
The low GI diet is not really just a diet but a very healthy and natural way of eating. This is one healthy eating plan which many nutritionists are happy to endorse.
The basis of the low GI diet plan is to eat foods which have a low glycemic index. These are foods which take time for your body to digest and keep blood sugar levels even throughout the day. In return these steady blood sugar levels help reduce cravings and hunger pangs.
One of the biggest benefits of the low GI diet plan is the increased energy people on this eating plan feel. Instead of the usual afternoon slump where you’re reaching for the coffee and donuts, on the low GI diet plan you won’t feel these sugar highs and dips.
So what Can I eat on the low GI diet?
Tons of delicious healthy food such as whole grains including whole grain breads and rice. You can have new potatoes and sweet potatoes. Lean meats and proteins as well as low fat dairy products, most fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts. In fact you can even have chocolate. Chocolate specifically dark chocolate has a low GI score, which means you can indulge and still lose weight.
There are a few exceptions which at first may not make sense but the idea is that vegetables such as corn and carrots can rapidly raise your blood sugar levels and so are considered high GI. Fruits such as bananas and pineapples also have a high GI score, so you’re better off opting for apples or berries.
And there are also a few non expected foods you can have such as avocado, nuts and red wine.
The diet plan is easy to follow and the one huge benefit aside from feeling very energetic is that you should not feel major hunger pangs as you would on another diet. There are also some added extra benefits such as younger looking skin, reduced facial hair in some women and clearer skin.
One important thing to note is that in order to lose weight on this plan you will still need to restrict your calories. If you eat healthy throughout the day but are having one or two avocados along with a couple of pieces of dark chocolate you will not lose weight. Although these foods are healthy for you they are still very calorific.
Having three sensible low GI meals a day along with two snacks and adequate portion sizes are paramount on the Low GI weight loss plan.
Filed under Energy, Health Talk, Healthy Eating, Weight Loss by on Dec 20th, 2006.