Get evaluated for depression The
links between the brain and the gut are powerful. It's why you often
feel nauseated when nervous or can't eat when stressed. This strong link
could be why a British study of 35 women found that those who more
likely to be constipated than healthier women. The reason? Your mental
state affects the function of the nerves linking the brain to the gut.
The less arousal in the brain - common with many psychological
conditions - the less stimulus to the gut. It could explain why low
doses of antidepressants often prescribed for gastrointestinal
conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome are so effective.
Hit the gym Move, move, move, physical movement gets other parts moving including your bowels. But the more you sit on the couch or go from car to house to bed to car, the less likely to you are to go to the bathroom.
Enjoy mornings About 30 minutes after walking up, just after that first coffee or tea, is the ideal time for a bowel movement, so find a place for it in your schedule. Instead of getting up in a rush and gulping a cup of coffee on the way out of design a routine that allows time for a natural bowel movement. wake up, make a hot drink and a light breakfast and eat while reading the paper. Food in the stomach often prompts the urge for a bowel movement, so head to the bathroom after about half an hour. Keep doing this even if you don't initially have any luck. Remember, you're retraining your system to get it back on track. Eventually the muscle memory will kick in.
List your medication Then take the list to your GP. The following can all contribute to or be blanned for constipation: antacids containing aluminium or calcium, anticholinergics, antidepressants, antihistamines, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, iron, narcotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids, psychotropic medications and beta-agonists such as dopamine and adernaline.
Manage and prevent ulcers
Ditch the aspirin Taking aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, is one of the main causes of ulcers not related to H. pylori. It you're talking daily aspirin for the health of your heart, talk to your doctor about alternatives.
Swallow some liquorice Not normal liquorice, but two tablets of deglycyrrhisinated liquorice, from healthfood shops. This herbal remedy can improve ulcers caused by NSAIDs and protect against future ulcers. It induces cells in your stomach and intestinal linings to release more mucus, which acts like armour for your stomach lining and protects it from the damaging effects of stomach acid.
Studies find it may be just as good at preventing ulcer recurrence as the prescription medication cimetidine (Tagamet). It may also protect against H. pylori. Chew the tablets slowly 30 minutes before meals.
Protect your stomach while on NSAIDs If you need to take prescription drugs that could irritate your stomach lining, your GP may also give you a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), a drug that protects your stomach and can prevent ulcer formation. So if you're taking over-the-counter NSAIDs regularly, it makes sense to do the same - you can buy one PPI, omeprazole prescription (it's also useful for GORD). But if you already have ulcer symptoms talk to your GP first - there may be other drugs that would work as well as without damaging your stomach.
Spoon in some yoghurt Live-culture yoghurt contains probiotics, 'good' bacteria that help to keep the proper acidic environment in your stomach. studies find that these friendly bacteria can help your body to eradicate H. pylori. Eat one small pot of live-culture yoghurt (such as Yakult or Actimel) a day or take one or two probiotic capsules with each meal and at bedtime for several weeks until the ulcer heals, then take them at night for several months.
Chew on some C One effect of H. pylori and NSAIDs is that they increase oxidative stress in your stomach, leading to inflammation and damaging the lining, thus creating ulcers. So it makes sense to
Sipping cranberry juice may help to treat ulcers
add a powerful antioxidant such as glutathione, found in large amounts in the stomach lining. Your body makes glutathione from vitamin C, so take 500mg of either glutathione or vitamin c three times a day.
Sip some cranberry juice When 97 people infected with H. pylori drank 1/4 l of cranberry juice a day for 90 days, the bacteria were completely eradicated in 14 percent of the participants as compared with 5 percent of a placebo group, a significant difference.
Raid the spices Look for turmeric (Curcuma longa) a spice used in Indian dishes. Supplements of this spice reduce stomach acid secretion and protect against ulcers in animal studies. It works by preventing cells lining the stomach from producing histamine, a chemical that produces stomach acid. This is the same way anti-ulcer drugs such as ranitidine (Zantac), famotidine (Pepcid), cimetidine and nizatidine (Axid) work. You can also find supplements in healthfood shops. Follow the package direction for dosage.
Get a good night's sleep British researchers monitoring 12 healthy people for 24 hours to check now their digestion worked found higher levels of the protein TFF2, which is responsible for helping to repair the stomach lining, while the volunteers slept. In fact, levels increased up to 340 times during sleep. In a second study, they found that depriving volunteers of sleep significantly reduced TFF2 levels throughout the day. Sleeping well, the researchers thought, provides more time for the protein to repair stomach lining damage, helping to prevent ulcers. For more on sleep, see on next.
Fatigue
Being tired is such a fact of modern life that it's easy to forget it's not normal. Of course, it you've had a late night, have just moved into a new house, have started a new job or are ill, you're going to feel tired for a time. But if fatigue is part of your daily life, if no amount of sleep makes a dent in your tiredness, or if fatigue penerates you to the bone, then it's a real health problem.
This deeper level of fatigue becomes more common as we age. In fact, tiredness is one of the most common complaints doctors hear from their older patients. In one study of 422 relatively healthy people, Danish researchers found that 17 percent of men and 28 percent of women aged 75 said they felt tired while merely doing the simple activities of daily living, such as getting dressed.
Tiredness is often a biological syndrome related to low energy reserves, less muscle mass and decreased resistance to stress-causing factors, whether envirnomental or physical. At other times, fatigue is a psycholgical reaction to social stressors. The antidote in simple cases of chronic tiredness - and this holds in the majority of cases for people young and old - is merely to push yourself to be active, with the goal of rebuilding muscle and resparking your joy and energy for life. Exercise may make you tired afterwards, but it's the best medicine of all for general fatigue and listlessness.
At other times, fatigue is a symptom of a deeper health issue, ranging from the simple, such as an infection, to the serious, such as cancer. Whether it's a symptom or the result of other issues, tiredness hints at future disability and sometimes even death. One study of 429 people found that those who felt tired doing regular daily activities at the age of 75 were three times more likely to become physically disabled over the next five years than those who didn't experience chronic tiredness.
If you feel chronically tired, take it seriously Start by having a full physical once-over from your doctor, them add one or more of the follwoing strategies.
To respark lost energy
Hit the gym As we mentioned, loss of muscle strength appears again and again in studies examining the cause of tiredness or chronic fatigue. You must build up your energy reserves to remedy fatigue, and the best way to do that is by building your muscle strength. It's deal if you can start with a personal trainer, even for just a couple of sessions, to create a personalised programme designed to increase your strength gradually. If that's not possible, look for specialised classes for people who have recently been inactive, or have a gym induction to learn the best machines and weights to use. Or turn to routine 1 easy does it day 1 strenght exercises for an introductory strengthening routine.
Get out for a walk Aerobic exercise is just as important as strength-training in alleviating tiredness. Study after study has found that something as simple as a daily walk improves fatigue in cancer patients and people with chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus and other serious medical conditions.
Turn to your faith A study of 365 older people with heart disease found that those who used religion and prayer as a way to cope, as well as those who were optimisic and felt they had strong social support, were much less likely to report physical fatigue than those wo weren't religious.
Take short naps Just 10-20 minutes is all that's needed. These so-called power naps are indeed just the job for restoring energy levels. After the nap, wash your face with cold water, then go outside in the sunlight or sit, if you can, under a bright lamp while you drink a cup of tea. These post-nap activities, alone or together, will give you more energy than the nap alone.
Take a B-vitamin supplement The older you get, the harder it is to absorb vitamin B12, a key energy vitamin, from food. Talk to your doctor about taking a B-complex supplement (it's best to get your Bs all in one go rather than in single supplements since they have a synergistic effect - simply meaning they 'work together').
Get screened for depression Feeling fatigued and tired regardless of how much you're sleeping is a primary symptom of depression. Ask your doctor to administer a depression screening test of just answer the following two questions, which studies find are as good as longer screenings at predicting depression.
1 Over the past two weeks have you felt down, depressed or hopeless?
2 Over the past two weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?
If you answer yes to these questions, see your doctor for a more complete examination.
Many things can trigger fatigue. Some are physical, some mental. Be thoroughly honest with yourself when diagnosing the causes of your tiredness
Hit the gym Move, move, move, physical movement gets other parts moving including your bowels. But the more you sit on the couch or go from car to house to bed to car, the less likely to you are to go to the bathroom.
Enjoy mornings About 30 minutes after walking up, just after that first coffee or tea, is the ideal time for a bowel movement, so find a place for it in your schedule. Instead of getting up in a rush and gulping a cup of coffee on the way out of design a routine that allows time for a natural bowel movement. wake up, make a hot drink and a light breakfast and eat while reading the paper. Food in the stomach often prompts the urge for a bowel movement, so head to the bathroom after about half an hour. Keep doing this even if you don't initially have any luck. Remember, you're retraining your system to get it back on track. Eventually the muscle memory will kick in.
List your medication Then take the list to your GP. The following can all contribute to or be blanned for constipation: antacids containing aluminium or calcium, anticholinergics, antidepressants, antihistamines, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, iron, narcotics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opioids, psychotropic medications and beta-agonists such as dopamine and adernaline.
Manage and prevent ulcers
Ditch the aspirin Taking aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, is one of the main causes of ulcers not related to H. pylori. It you're talking daily aspirin for the health of your heart, talk to your doctor about alternatives.
Swallow some liquorice Not normal liquorice, but two tablets of deglycyrrhisinated liquorice, from healthfood shops. This herbal remedy can improve ulcers caused by NSAIDs and protect against future ulcers. It induces cells in your stomach and intestinal linings to release more mucus, which acts like armour for your stomach lining and protects it from the damaging effects of stomach acid.
Studies find it may be just as good at preventing ulcer recurrence as the prescription medication cimetidine (Tagamet). It may also protect against H. pylori. Chew the tablets slowly 30 minutes before meals.
Protect your stomach while on NSAIDs If you need to take prescription drugs that could irritate your stomach lining, your GP may also give you a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), a drug that protects your stomach and can prevent ulcer formation. So if you're taking over-the-counter NSAIDs regularly, it makes sense to do the same - you can buy one PPI, omeprazole prescription (it's also useful for GORD). But if you already have ulcer symptoms talk to your GP first - there may be other drugs that would work as well as without damaging your stomach.
Spoon in some yoghurt Live-culture yoghurt contains probiotics, 'good' bacteria that help to keep the proper acidic environment in your stomach. studies find that these friendly bacteria can help your body to eradicate H. pylori. Eat one small pot of live-culture yoghurt (such as Yakult or Actimel) a day or take one or two probiotic capsules with each meal and at bedtime for several weeks until the ulcer heals, then take them at night for several months.
Chew on some C One effect of H. pylori and NSAIDs is that they increase oxidative stress in your stomach, leading to inflammation and damaging the lining, thus creating ulcers. So it makes sense to
Sipping cranberry juice may help to treat ulcers
add a powerful antioxidant such as glutathione, found in large amounts in the stomach lining. Your body makes glutathione from vitamin C, so take 500mg of either glutathione or vitamin c three times a day.
Sip some cranberry juice When 97 people infected with H. pylori drank 1/4 l of cranberry juice a day for 90 days, the bacteria were completely eradicated in 14 percent of the participants as compared with 5 percent of a placebo group, a significant difference.
Raid the spices Look for turmeric (Curcuma longa) a spice used in Indian dishes. Supplements of this spice reduce stomach acid secretion and protect against ulcers in animal studies. It works by preventing cells lining the stomach from producing histamine, a chemical that produces stomach acid. This is the same way anti-ulcer drugs such as ranitidine (Zantac), famotidine (Pepcid), cimetidine and nizatidine (Axid) work. You can also find supplements in healthfood shops. Follow the package direction for dosage.
Get a good night's sleep British researchers monitoring 12 healthy people for 24 hours to check now their digestion worked found higher levels of the protein TFF2, which is responsible for helping to repair the stomach lining, while the volunteers slept. In fact, levels increased up to 340 times during sleep. In a second study, they found that depriving volunteers of sleep significantly reduced TFF2 levels throughout the day. Sleeping well, the researchers thought, provides more time for the protein to repair stomach lining damage, helping to prevent ulcers. For more on sleep, see on next.
Fatigue
Being tired is such a fact of modern life that it's easy to forget it's not normal. Of course, it you've had a late night, have just moved into a new house, have started a new job or are ill, you're going to feel tired for a time. But if fatigue is part of your daily life, if no amount of sleep makes a dent in your tiredness, or if fatigue penerates you to the bone, then it's a real health problem.
This deeper level of fatigue becomes more common as we age. In fact, tiredness is one of the most common complaints doctors hear from their older patients. In one study of 422 relatively healthy people, Danish researchers found that 17 percent of men and 28 percent of women aged 75 said they felt tired while merely doing the simple activities of daily living, such as getting dressed.
Tiredness is often a biological syndrome related to low energy reserves, less muscle mass and decreased resistance to stress-causing factors, whether envirnomental or physical. At other times, fatigue is a psycholgical reaction to social stressors. The antidote in simple cases of chronic tiredness - and this holds in the majority of cases for people young and old - is merely to push yourself to be active, with the goal of rebuilding muscle and resparking your joy and energy for life. Exercise may make you tired afterwards, but it's the best medicine of all for general fatigue and listlessness.
At other times, fatigue is a symptom of a deeper health issue, ranging from the simple, such as an infection, to the serious, such as cancer. Whether it's a symptom or the result of other issues, tiredness hints at future disability and sometimes even death. One study of 429 people found that those who felt tired doing regular daily activities at the age of 75 were three times more likely to become physically disabled over the next five years than those who didn't experience chronic tiredness.
If you feel chronically tired, take it seriously Start by having a full physical once-over from your doctor, them add one or more of the follwoing strategies.
To respark lost energy
Hit the gym As we mentioned, loss of muscle strength appears again and again in studies examining the cause of tiredness or chronic fatigue. You must build up your energy reserves to remedy fatigue, and the best way to do that is by building your muscle strength. It's deal if you can start with a personal trainer, even for just a couple of sessions, to create a personalised programme designed to increase your strength gradually. If that's not possible, look for specialised classes for people who have recently been inactive, or have a gym induction to learn the best machines and weights to use. Or turn to routine 1 easy does it day 1 strenght exercises for an introductory strengthening routine.
Get out for a walk Aerobic exercise is just as important as strength-training in alleviating tiredness. Study after study has found that something as simple as a daily walk improves fatigue in cancer patients and people with chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus and other serious medical conditions.
Turn to your faith A study of 365 older people with heart disease found that those who used religion and prayer as a way to cope, as well as those who were optimisic and felt they had strong social support, were much less likely to report physical fatigue than those wo weren't religious.
Take short naps Just 10-20 minutes is all that's needed. These so-called power naps are indeed just the job for restoring energy levels. After the nap, wash your face with cold water, then go outside in the sunlight or sit, if you can, under a bright lamp while you drink a cup of tea. These post-nap activities, alone or together, will give you more energy than the nap alone.
Take a B-vitamin supplement The older you get, the harder it is to absorb vitamin B12, a key energy vitamin, from food. Talk to your doctor about taking a B-complex supplement (it's best to get your Bs all in one go rather than in single supplements since they have a synergistic effect - simply meaning they 'work together').
Get screened for depression Feeling fatigued and tired regardless of how much you're sleeping is a primary symptom of depression. Ask your doctor to administer a depression screening test of just answer the following two questions, which studies find are as good as longer screenings at predicting depression.
1 Over the past two weeks have you felt down, depressed or hopeless?
2 Over the past two weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?
If you answer yes to these questions, see your doctor for a more complete examination.
Many things can trigger fatigue. Some are physical, some mental. Be thoroughly honest with yourself when diagnosing the causes of your tiredness
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