Top 7 Tips To Treat And Prevent Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is also known as colitis or spastic colon. This syndrome is a chronic intestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and cramps, constipation, and diarrhea. Flare-ups can usually be traced to something you have eaten. Among the most common triggers are milk and dairy products, spicy foods, fatty foods, and gas-producing foods such as beans, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. The frequency and intensity of flare-ups can vary greatly from one person to the next. Some folks barely notice their symptoms, while others must cope with crushing pain as well as urgent trips to the bathroom. Here are some tips that you can consider to adopt to get relief fast.

1. Mind Your Dining

Take your meals without distraction, worries, and interruptions. The idea is to focus on your eating. If your attention is drawn to something besides your food, you can develop indigestion, gas, bloating, and cramping.

2. Learn To Relax

Since stress can make the irritable bowel syndrome even worse, learning to take it easy may ease your discomfort. In particular, if you are a Type A personality, aim for an A-minus instead. Relaxation tapes can help, as can books on coping and stress-management techniques.

3. Think Small

Feasting on a five-course spread can tax your intestines and lead to cramping and diarrhea. So eat smaller but more frequent meals, say, six mini-meals spread throughout the day rather than the standard three squares or switch to smaller portions.

4. Takes Notes

Keeping a food diary can help you detect the dietary sources of your irritable bowel syndrome flare-ups. If you begin to notice a pattern pointing to a potential culprit, eliminate the particular food from your diet and see if your symptoms disappear as well.

5. Don't Forgo Fiber

Perhaps the last thing you would think of feeding an angry bowel is fiber. Yet a high-fiber diet can actually help relieve the intestinal spasms of irritable bowel syndrome by slightly distending the colon it may also relieve constipation, another irritable bowel syndrome, by retaining water in the stool. To increase your fiber intake, it is recommended to addmore whole-grain breads and cereals and more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet. You can also take a fiber supplement. Be aware that eating more fiber can temporarily aggravate irritable bowel syndrome by producing more gas. This usually subsides in just a few weeks.

6. Capitalize On Carbs

Fill your diet with complex carbohydrates such as pasta, Rice, fruits, and vegetables, while trimming the fat as much as possible. Fatty foods, especially meats, can send your intestinal into spasms.

7. Be Aware Of Dairy

Many people develop twitchy bowels because they cannot digest lactose, the sugar in milk. You might try to give up milk and milk products for a while to see if your symptoms clear up. If you just cannot bear the thought of sitting down to a bowl of dry cereal in the morning, consider taking a lactase supplement instead. You can purchase this product in grocery and drugstores.

Top 7 Tips To Treat And Prevent Diarrhea

It may seem that diarrhea is a bad thing. But try to appreciate the episode for what it is: an overly protective measure by your body to get rid of something it sees as a threat to you. In simple terms, your digestive system identifies a problem - a food ingredient it can't digest or is allergic to, a spice or flavoring that irritates it, an invading bacterium bent on real harm - and moves to expel the offending pest. Fortunately, most diarrheal episodes don't persist indefinitely. Most cases of diarrhea are self-limited and resolve within 7 to 14 days. Diarrhea can be very harmful to you. But, here are a few suggestions that can help you to minimize its effects.

1. Stick With The Bottle

Many natural waterways can contain intestinal parasites that cause diarrhea. Carry bottled water with you and sip from that instead. If you are camping overnight and can't take along enough water, visit a camping-goods store to find out about water purifiers and water-purifying tablets.

2. Know Your Body Condition

Certain underlying medical conditions make some individuals more prone to diarrhea throughout their lives. If you have, for instance, food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, or ulcers, you simply have to watch your diet more closely than other people do.

3. Keep It Plain

What you eat during a bout of diarrhea is just as important as what you drink. This is not the time to eat any new and unusual foods that you have wanted to try. It is recommended to have a bland carbohydrate diet with foods such as Rice, bread, or mashed potatoes.

4. Avoid Antacids

Avoid antacids such as Maalox or Mylanta to treat diarrhea. People often mistake bloating and gas with diarrhea symptoms. So they take antacids. Unfortunately, these compounds contain magnesium, which can cause bowel movements.

5. Restore The Balance

You have heard that you should drink more water when you have diarrhea, but you might be better off drinking a sports beverage instead. During a diarrhea attack, you rapidly lose important body fluids and minerals called electrolytes. Electrolytes are all things that your body needs to function properly. It is recommended to have sports drinks such as Gatorade. If that is not handy, help yourself to some fruit juice or flavored drinks to help restore the balance.

6. Try Powder

Carob powder is a good natural remedy for diarrhea which is available at health food stores. It is recommended to mix one tablespoon of powder with applesauce and honey to make it palatable. Use this remedy no more than three times a day for no more than three days, until the symptoms subside.

7. Mix It Up

A simple way to remember what you have to eat : Try the BRAT - bananas, Rice, applesauce, and toast - diet. You may also amend the formula to include a second T, which stands for tea.