Having knowledge of IBS foods to avoid become critical when it comes to cure this gut complication. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), mucous colitis, spastic colon are different terms used to refer a single disorder of gastrointestinal tract characterized by symptoms like constipation alternating with diarrhea, bloating, pain in the lower abdomen and passing of mucous in the stool. Among the several causes of irritable bowel syndrome, dietary triggers are the most important. If you are suffering from IBS then you should consider revising your eating routine. Foods to avoid depend on the symptoms with which an individual presents. You should change your dietary habits in accordance with your major symptoms.

• Foods to avoid when you have IBS with bloating:
  

  Bloating, in the case of irritable bowel syndrome, is most frequently caused by eating food rich in starch which is not easily digested in the gut. The fermentation of this food causes bloating (carbohydrate intolerance). If this is the case then you should consider cutting short following things in your diet:
  

  
  

  • Avoid eating reheated or poorly cooked starch rich foods like potatoes and corns.
    
  • Dried pasta can aggravate the symptoms of bloating in irritable bowel syndrome. So, try eating fresh pasta instead.
    
  • Processed food containing pasta and potato, like macaroni cheese, lasagna etc, should be avoided.
    
  • Bread and majority of bakery products are also rich in starch. So, partly cooked or reheated bakery products should be skipped in spastic colon. Such products include cakes, biscuits, pizzas and garlic breads.
    
  • The use of fruits like green bananas should also be minimized.
    
  • Pulses, corns (especially sweet corn) and whole grains make another important IBS trigger group.
    
  • Avoid eating fried rice, baked potatoes or potato waffles. Instead, choose boiled rice and baked potatoes.
    
  • “Ready to eat” starch containing food, including potatoes, sweet corn and pasta, should be avoided. Eat freshly cooked food instead.
    
  • Minimize the use of gas producing vegetables like cabbage and broccoli
    
• Foods to avoid when you have IBS with diarrhea:
  

  Sometimes the major symptom of irritable bowel syndrome is diarrhea. What you need to do is to replace the lost fluids and eliminate the basic trigger of diarrhea. Following dietary restrictions should be kept in mind:
  

  • Replace the lost fluids with plain water, not with caffeinated drinks like colas, coffee, squashes, energy drinks and tea.
    
  • Try to limit the use of caffeinated drinks and much as possible. But, if you still choose to drink such drinks then don’t drink more than 2-3 cups (of tea or coffee) a day.
    
  • Avoid fizzy drinks.
    
  • It’s best not to drink alcohol when you are suffering from IBS with diarrhea.
    
  • Human gut lacks the enzymes required to digest fibers present in seeds, wholegrain breads, cereals and bran. These insoluble fibers remain in the gut and drain the water of gut leading to the further complication of diarrhea symptoms.
    
  • You shouldn’t eat the pits and skins from the fruits and vegetables.
    
  • Restrict the intake of reheated or undercooked starchy foods (as described above).
    
  • Avoid eating sweets (gums and candies) containing sorbitol.
    
  • Avoid eating food containing high content of fat like hamburgers, chips, sausages and cakes.
    

  • Foods to avoid when you have IBS with constipation:
    

    Constipation is the major presentation of mucous colitis in majority of cases. Following precautions should be kept in mind regarding dietary habits:
    

    • Don’t increase the intake of insoluble fiber too rapidly. Insoluble fibers do help in abating the symptoms of constipation but these fibers complicated the other presentations of spastic colon i.e. bloating, abdominal pain, flatulence and diarrhea. Increase the quantity of these fibers slowly.
      
    • Due to their dehydrating effect, drinks like alcohol, coffee and caffeinated beverages should be avoided in mucous colitis with constipation.
      
    • Eating too refined food can worsen the constipation. The use of food items like cookies, white rice and white bread should be discouraged.
      
    • Constipation is the major side effect of eating the most popular “high protein, low carbohydrate diet”. You do need proteins but cutting short your carbohydrate sources (fruits and vegetables) is going to do more harm than good.
      

  • Food to avoid when you have IBS with abdominal pain:
    

    IBS foods to avoid when you’re suffering from abdominal pain include:
    

    • Eating fried, greasy and fatty food stuff can complicate the abdominal pain associated with spastic colon.
      
    • Eating heavy meals can stimulate intense stomach and intestine contractions leading to severe pain.
      
    • Avoid eating gas producing food products (as described above).
      

To conclude, having knowledge of different IBS foods to avoid, you can devise a perfect diet plan which can help you fight against irritable bowel syndrome.

References:

https://www.webmd.com/ibs/symptoms-irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/incontinence-bowel/documents/nice%20guidelines%20ibs.pdf

https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/pain/Pain%20Resources/QIrritableBowelSyndrome_Banerjee.pdf

https://ibs.about.com/od/ibsfood/qt/EatforDiarrhea.htm

Photo crédits:

https://ibstreatmenthq.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/irritable-bowel-syndrome-foods-to-avoid.png

Don’t like wrinkles? Don't smoke!

Smoking is always killing. There has been no positive effect of smoking . Being a female, if you are worried about your beauty, then say goodbye to your habit of smoking. Although many of us are well educated and aware of the bad consequences of smoking but still we smoke with the same passion. It’s not that you cannot quit smoking. If you are willing to do it, then you can do it.

Do you know that each year, almost 150,000 females die because of diseases caused by smoking? Almost 27 percent of the females between the age of 25 and 45 are found smoking cigarettes. It is not teens and adult females that are caught up in the habit of smoking. Do you know that more than 1.5 million of teenage girls in the country are smokers too? Mostly, the habit of smoking is adopted during the teenage when you either smoke to get off your mind from something or you think it is fun. But in reality, it is never fun. This habit of yours can take you away from this world.

Smoking and wrinkles

Forget about Cancer, if that’s not what makes you fearful then probably this fact will. What is that fact? WRINKLES! Yes, if you are going to continue smoking than you are going to lose your beauty. Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Are you getting old? Do you see any wrinkles? If there are then it’s due to smoking. Although you might see images on the packets of cigarette that might be stopping you to smoke but still people remain addicted to this habit. We always give ourselves reasons of not doing what we don’t like.

It is proven that smoking is a cause for skin damage 2nd only to sun exposure. Smoking prevents absorption of Vitamins A and C. Those vitamins helps skin protection .When smoking, the smoke generates free radicals known to be harmful for one’s skin. Free radicals free radicals electrons from the skin cells  thus damage them. For each cigarette smoke puff, a trillion free radicals enters the lungs.  Some float in the air while others circulates the body, causing both inflammatory reaction and also reduces the amount of collagen in the skin (collagen in the protein that in responsible for elasticity and smoothness of skin).

A study held at the Michigan University showed that smoking results in wrinkles on the face and upper arm, men and women alike. Those wrinkles then to appear on various body parts, but mainly on the face and upper arm.

On another  research by Professor Brain Williams from the Stirling University says that 8 out of 10 smokers wish to quit. If the patients are targeted with such images that relate to their own concern then it can be highly effective in helping them to quit. Professor Williams along with his colleagues studied the responses of people to the packaging of the cigarette boxes. When the packaging had image related to aging, the female smokers were influenced by it significantly. On the other hand, men were highly affected when images related to impotence and reduced sex drives were used. The study showed that if a particular group of people are targeted as per their issue, then it can significantly help in conveying the message of quitting smoking.

Smoking and pregnancy

Wrinkles are not the only problem caused by smoking among females. It can also be really bad for the health of a woman who is pregnant. If a woman is smoking during pregnancy then it can turn out to be a bad news for her fetus. It has been reported that almost 33 percent of the females continue smoking throughout their pregnancy. That would probably be because of the fact that nicotine addiction is not too easy to get rid of. All the toxins in tobacco can enter into the blood of the mother and the same intoxicated blood is passed to the baby. This can lead to a number of complications for the mother and the survival of the baby can become risky. Sometimes, the mothers have to go through pre-mature delivery. They are at a higher risk of miscarriages and newborn deaths. If a smoking pregnant lady has successfully given birth to a baby, there will definitely be problems in the respiratory system of the child and he might even have ear infections. This indeed would be dangerous for the infant.

this is just the beginning of problems, there are a series of issues that might further appear during the development of the child. Because of smoking, the distribution of hormones is likely to be disturbed. The mother can have complications in breastfeeding. The failure of breastfeeding will make the mother as well as the new born suffer. If the mother continues to smoke after giving birth too, the breast milk will have a mixture of nicotine in it that will be really problematic for the infant.

Tips to quit smoking:

The habit of smoking sure is not easy to quit. So, if you wish to quit, then you will have to take minor steps to begin with.

• Shift yourself on the electronic cigars for the time being.
• Convince yourself for quitting the bad habit. You will definitely have withdrawal symptoms but be patient because you can overcome them with time.
• Start chewing gum to distract yourself. You can try the nicotine chewing gums that have been introduced as the Nicotine Replacement Therapy. Many of the doctors suggest that they can bring down the nicotine addiction and help the person in quitting smoking.
• You can always take some professional help if nothing is working. There are always smoke rehabilitation centers available that can help the addicts to rehabilitate and live a normal life again.

Even smoking can result in decreased fertility in men. Apart from diseases like lungs cancer, gum problems and a number of other health issues, smoking among men can affect the sexual life too. Males might feel decreased sexual drive and those who are already on the borderline of infertility can become completely infertile due to smoking. Hence, smoking is not useful for men and women in any way.

References:

Forget Cancer: Vanity Will Stop People Smoking: Sunday Times 2 (https://www.sundaytimes.lk/130630/sunday-times-2/forget-cancer-vanity-will-stop-people-smoking-50793.html)

Fear Of Impotence And Wrinkles Drive Smokers To Quit: Medical Specailists (https://medical-specialists.blogspot.co.il/2013/06/fear-of-impotence-and-wrinkles-drive.html)

A symmetry boggles over a snag.

A symmetry boggles over a snag.

A symmetry boggles over a snag.