8 Common Reasons you feel bloated all the time

8 Common Reasons you feel bloated all the time

The importance of Colon Cleansing

This video is not for the faint hearted but shows how toxic our colons can become and how this can impact our health. 

Full Body Detox

Intermittent Fasting

How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight

A client came to me about a month ago and was telling me about how she had started intermittent fasting and how fantastic she felt.  She had lost weight and had much more energy and her brain fog had cleared.  I was interested and did some research and started doing it myself using method 1 below.  I have found it so easy to follow and loved the fact that I could still eat what I wanted (within reason) but just had to do it in an 8 hour window.  I have felt much more energetic throughout the day so I thought I would share some information that I found out along the way. If you have Amazon Prime check out the documentary called Fasting but there is loads of information on the internet on this. 

There are many different ways to lose weight.

One that has become popular in recent years is called intermittent fasting.

This is a way of eating that involves regular short term fasts.

Fasting for short periods helps people eat fewer calories, and also helps optimise some hormones related to weight control.

There are several different intermittent fasting methods.

Three popular ones are:

1. The 16/8 Method: Skip breakfast every day and eat during an 8-hour feeding window, such as from 12 noon to 8 pm.
2. Eat-Stop-Eat: Do one or two 24-hour fasts each week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
3. The 5:2 Diet: Only eat 500-600 calories on two days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.

As long as you don't compensate by eating much more during the non-fasting periods, then these methods will lead to reduced calorie intake and help you lose weight and tummy fat.

How Intermittent Fasting Affects Your Hormones

Body fat is the body's way of storing energy (calories).

When we don't eat anything, the body changes several things to make the stored energy more accessible.

This has to do with changes in nervous system activity, as well as a major change in several crucial hormones.

Here are some of the things that change in your metabolism when you fast:

• Insulin: Insulin increases when we eat. When we fast, insulin decreases dramatically. Lower levels of insulin facilitate fat burning.
• Human growth hormone (HGH): Levels of growth hormone may skyrocket during a fast, increasing as much as 5 times. Growth hormone is a hormone that can aid fat loss and muscle gain. 
• Norepinephrine (noradrenaline): The nervous system sends norepinephrine to the fat cells, making them break down body fat into free fatty acids that can be burned for energy.

Interestingly, despite what the 5-6 meals a day proponents would have you believe, short-term fasting may actually increase fat burning.

Intermittent Fasting Helps You Reduce Calories and Lose Weight

The main reason that intermittent fasting works for weight loss, is that it helps you eat fewer calories.

All of the different protocols involve skipping meals during the fasting periods.  Unless you compensate by eating much more during the eating periods, then you will be taking in fewer calories.

BOTTOM LINE:

Intermittent fasting is a convenient way to restrict calories without consciously trying to eat less. Many studies show that it can help you lose weight and tummy fat.

Intermittent Fasting Makes Healthy Eating Simpler

I personally do the 16/8 method because I find it easy where I only eat during a certain "feeding window" each day.  I don't feel I am denying myself anything, I have just changed when I eat. 

Instead of eating 3+ meals per day, I eat only 2, which makes it a lot easier and simpler to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The single best "diet" for you is the one you can stick to in the long run. If intermittent fasting makes it easier for you to stick to a healthy diet then this has obvious benefits for long-term health and weight maintenance.

BOTTOM LINE:

One of the main benefits of intermittent fasting is that it makes healthy eating simpler. This may make it easier to stick to a healthy diet in the long run.

How to Succeed With an Intermittent Fasting Protocol

There are several things you need to keep in mind if you want to lose weight with intermittent fasting:

1. Food quality: The foods you eat are still important. Try to eat mostly whole, single ingredient foods.
2. Calories: Calories still count. Try to eat "normally" during the non-fasting periods, not so much that you compensate for the calories you missed by fasting.
3. Consistency: Same as with any other weight loss method, you need to stick with it for an extended period of time if you want it to work.
4. Patience: It can take your body some time to adapt to an intermittent fasting protocol. Try to be consistent with your meal schedule and it will get easier.

It is not just how much water we drink, it's how we drink it that is SO important!

IT IS SO IMPORTANT 

HOW WE DRINK WATER AND NOT JUST HOW MUCH WE DRINK

How many times have you been told to drink water?  You hear about the importance of hydration while at the gym or read yet another article touting the benefits of water.

Many of us increase our water intake for a few weeks but still admit, “I don’t drink enough water.”  Eventually, even our month long sprint of drinking more water ends because we can’t stand going to the loo all the time.

The advice on water is not working. Let’s have a broader conversation on how to drink water. 

The majority of our body is water. This water is stored both inside and outside cells. Water helps in so many ways I can’t even list them all!

Some examples include: helping to dissolve nutrients, carry waste, regulate body temperature, send messages to the brain, and lubricate our joints

You need water to function and feel good. However, you lose a lot of water every day through breath, sweat (even if you don’t work out), urine, and bowels. Your only choice for perfect health is to replenish your body with the water that it needs.

How do you know you might need more water? Here are tell tale signs:

• Dryness, dry lips, skin, eyes, and hair (even during spring and summer).
• Inflammation, skin rashes and burns, clogged pores leading to acne, red eyes
• Urine colour, the moment  you wake up your pee is dark yellow instead of light yellow (not clear)
• Constipation – sometimes you don’t have a bowel movement that day
• Little to no sweat

It is much better to drink water so that we absorb it rather than end up just going to the toilet lots.  Many people gulp water and within 20 minutes pee a clear liquid out, which means their body did not absorb most of the water. While increasing water does involve taking a few more trips to the loo (people may wee every 3 hours), you will eventually stop weeing out volumes of water immediately after drinking water. It is a process.

An analogy would be if you have an indoor plant and you have forgotten to water it.  You then pour an entire cup over the plant thinking this will help.  All that happens is the water goes right through the plant and then just pours out the bottom.  This is what happens to us if we glug large amounts of water in one go. 

Drink room temperature to warm water instead of ice cold water to remove toxic buildup.

Ice cold water can freeze the enzymes and fluids in your gut preventing your body from properly digesting food. This creates toxic build up. In addition, the blood vessels constrict so the toxic build up gets stuck inside you instead of draining out through your lymph (cleansing) system. Blood vessel constriction also prevents blood from circulating where it needs to be so your organs don’t get nutrients when they need them.

Warm water gently encourages the natural flow of the lymph system and over time, you have less build up. This rule is extremely important for women during menstruation or when wanting to conceive because warm water increases circulation and the energy needed to prepare the reproductive organs.

Drinking warm water helps digestion, cleanses the bladder, removes unwanted gas and smells, and clears colds and coughs.

This does not mean cold water is out the question; it’s just more suitable for certain situations like exhaustion and heat stroke.

If you really prefer ice cold drinks, switch to slightly chilled water before you make the transition to room temperature water.  A few things can be added to water to increase absorption.

These ingredients bind to water molecules to make delivery into the body faster.

• Add a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon of unrefined mineral salt  (not ordinary table salt but Celtic Sea Salt, or Pink Himalayan Salt) to every litre of water. 
• Add a squeeze of lemon to your water.
• Soak chia seeds for a few hours and add them to your water.
• Add ginger slices to your water.

Diet drinks, large amounts of refined sugar (juice /fizzy drinks), or caffeine (coffee /tea) make the body work harder so you’re not getting immediate hydration to your cells. Sugar not used immediately will store as fat. Increasing ANY liquid intake is NOT equal to increasing water intake.

When I first started drinking more water, I’d gulp water just before I went to bed or in the evening if I thought I hadn't quite reached my target, which is about 2 - 21/2 litres a day. I was happy I reached my goal but then I’d have to wake up in the night a couple of times to go to the toilet. It was because I never actually absorbed the water I gulped at night.

Do not go crazy with your hydration goals – eventually, you’ll be in tune with your thirst patterns. 

Eat your water through consuming vegetables and fruits

One of the main reasons for eating both vegetables and fruits is that they are great delivery sources of water along with additional nutrients. The water you “eat” will often integrate into your system better than the water you drink.

Keep the same glass handy for drinking water every day so you have a visual cue to remind you water is available if you need it.

Water & Meal Times

Too much water with meals kills the digestive enzymes that are trying to process your food. Food will go unprocessed and become waste in your system.

Instead, 30 minutes before a meal, drink a glass of water. This hydrates the stomach’s lining to produce the sufficient stomach acid you need to digest difficult foods  (dairy, eggs, nuts, etc).

Don’t drink a whole glass of water right before a meal (e.g. 5 minutes before) or you might dilute your stomach acid. Don’t drink a whole glass of water right after a meal (e.g. 5 minutes after). It makes you susceptible to sluggish digestion and weight gain.

As you form the proper water habits, look for signs of hydration in your body.  

In 1 month, you will see results. Check your hands and lips to see if they are less dry. Look at your face to see if blemishes are starting to clear. Assess the overall shine of your hair and skin.  You might start to notice you feel less tired in the morning and have more energy to sustain you during the day.

Bowel Tips

Different ideas to help keep your bowel happy! 

In the morning it is very easy to make a smoothie instead of having toast or breakfast cereals which don't really fill you up anyway. 

I put bananas in and ice which you can just buy in bags from the supermarket. It just tastes nicer chilled. Adding frozen fruit, raspberries blueberries etc will make the smoothie nice and cold. I also add coconut oil, cacao powder and protein powder 

I also add a spoonful of peanut butter I buy this from Holland and Barrett when offer on, buy one get other half price! 

I add water rather than milk as it comes up quite creamy anyway with all the other ingredients. I also add Medjool dates, take the stones out first. You can get these from most supermarkets or online.  

Just play around with the ingredients and measurements, its up to you really and what tastes you like, but all these things are super healthy and really good for the bowel. You can have this anytime if you are in a rush and don’t have time to eat anything. 

Flaxseeds for constipation or an impacted bowel must be soaked in water first, overnight. Put 4 teaspoons of seeds into a glass, fill the glass 1/3 full and leave overnight in the fridge. This will make the water quite gloopy due to the release of oils from the seeds. Add a teaspoon of the swollen seeds each morning to you water, fruit juice or a smoothie. Alternatively, add it to your cereal or yogurt, or drink it on its own. They are a very effective remedy for constipation, but avoid eating the seeds if you have inflammatory bowel problems, such as diverticulitis or Chrons. In which case, you can simply add the gloop to your water or smoothies and will still gain the milder benefits of its actions, despite not eating the seeds

These can help with constipation, Ortis chewy fruits and fibre from Holland and Barrett, might be cheaper online though. 

If you are constipated then I highly recommend colon cleanse tablets which you can buy from the clinic. They cost £19.99 for 100 tablets.  I usually suggest starting with 1 with dinner but don’t be afraid to take more if you are still finding yourself not going to the loo. 

Colon cleanse ICF2 

Therapeutic action: This stimulating tonic is both cleansing, healing and strengthening to the entire gastro-intestinal system. It stimulates your peristaltic action ( the muscular movement of the colon ) and over time strengthens the muscles of the large intestine, halts putrefaction and disinfects, soothes and heals the mucous membrane lining of your entire digestive tract. This herbal tonic also improves digestion, relieves gas and cramps, increases the flow of bile which, in turn, cleans the gallbladder, bile ducts and liver, destroys Candida albicans overgrowth and promotes a healthy intestinal flora, destroys and expels intestinal parasites, increases gastrointestinal circulation and is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. 

Dosage: 

Start with only one capsule of this formula during or just after dinner. This Formula works best when taken with food, The next morning you should notice an increase in your bowel action and in the amount of faecal matter that you eliminate. The consistency should also be softer. If you do not notice any difference in your bowel behaviour today or the difference wasn't dramatic, then tonight increase your dosage to two capsules. You can continue to increase your dosage every evening by one capsule until you notice a dramatic difference in the way your bowel works. There is no limit. Most people need only 2-4 capsules. It has taken most of us years to create a sluggish bowel, so let us be patient for a few days and increase by one capsule each day only.

This formula can be taken for a week, a month or the rest of your life. Continue to use this formula until you are having one bowel movement each day for every meal you eat, between. 2 and 4 bowel movements a day. 

If you find you are the other extreme and your stools are too loose, with an urgency to go to the bathroom or after meals then I recommend colon cleanse No 3. I also stock these at the clinic. They are the same price £19.99 for 100. 

I always recommend taking probiotics. There are many different type of probiotics but if you are looking for just a general every day one then this is a very good reasonably priced one. 

Ecodophilus 60 They are £20.60 for 60 and if you mention my name at check out, you will receive a further 10%. 

Yakult and Actimel do not provide much in the way of probiotics. The latter 2 are just very sugary drinks with little probiotic! 

It is also a good idea to take digestive enzymes if you feel any of the following symptoms.  The good news is that digestive enzymes are very safe and reasonably cheap, you can always try them and see if you notice any difference in your digestion.  I suggest these 

Digestive Enzymes  (don't forget to add my name as a practitioner and you will receive a further 10% off).  To help digest the meal you are eating, it's best to take the enzymes during or immediately after the meal.  Other symptoms that suggest you might have problems with digestive enzymes are:

• Gas and bloating after meals
• The sensation that you have food sitting in your stomach (a rock in your gut)
• Feeling full after eating a few bites of food
• Undigested food in your stool
• Floating stools (an occasional floating piece is fine, but if all your poo consistently floats, that might be a sign something is wrong)
• An “oil slick” in the toilet bowl (undigested fat)
• 
  
• Other useful things to help with constipation! 

Epsom salt baths

Magasorb, Magnesium supplement

Wheat Belly is a great read to see the detrimental affects of gluten on our digestion system. 

And obviously lots and lots more water! 

Quinoa is a great alternative to rice and pasta. It is a complete protein rather than a carbohydrate which is far less stodgy!I. You might be able to get from Tesco or Sainsbury’s too but the one below from Waitrose is very nice as it is mixed, red and white quinoa with bulgar wheat. I eat hot or you can eat cold added to salad for bulk. 

This is also very tasty from Marks and Spencers, very easy, hot or cold and just add a salmon fillet or piece of chicken, pack in your lunch box and off you go.  So much better than grabbing a sandwich and packet of crisps or chocolate bar.   M & S Super Grains & Beetroot

Here is an idea for a salad, and just add chicken or salmon to bulk it up. You can make this the night before work. 

Also get a flask for work and fill up with soups. There are loads of different ones you can buy ready made in the fridge section in supermarkets or make your own! 

Most importantly when nature calls, you must go to the toilet. It is not good at all to ‘hold’ on if you are out and about because you don't like using public toilets or work toilets etc. If you ‘hold’ on, by the time you find the ‘right’ time to go to the toilet, your bowels no longer want to go and constipation is already setting in. If you are worried about smells in the toilet and feel embarrassed if other people are around Poo Pourri  is very useful to carry around or take to work. You spray it into the toilet BEFORE you go and it eliminates smells rather than exacerbates them like ordinary air fresheners do! 

After your colonic take it easy 

The effects of your colonic will go on for a number of days (2-4) after your treatment. They will be varied from a boost in energy level or occasionally a headache or feeling a little tired. Bowel movement may take a few days to return to normal. This is a time to give your digestion and yourself a break by eating foods which are easy to break down and by taking time to pamper yourself. You may also feel a little cold afterwards; make sure to keep warm, drink warm herbal tea or soup and bring an extra layer with you just in case. 

Beneficial Foods 

Vegetables in all forms, especially steamed or in soups
Brown rice, porridge, quinoa and millet are rich in beneficial fibre and will help the friendly bacteria in your gut as well as improve your transit. 

If you feel you have serious gut problems that are not going away even though you feel you are doing all the right things.  You have made several trips to the doctors to no avail, then I suggest you get some tests done to eliminate what you have and haven't got.  I cannot diagnose what you have, I can only treat your symptoms.  If you know exactly what is going on in your gut through proper testing then you know what you are dealing with and I can help and treat you accordingly.

Candidatest and more: High quality laboratory tests

Home test kits and information for the diagnosis and treatment of candida and much more

http://www.candidatest.co.uk/#kit6

If you want to order any well known brands of supplements a good website is The National Dispensary If you use my name as a practitioner at check out and use the code MBOU10 you will receive a further 10% off. Any problems with this please contact me.

Using Kefir in your diet to heal your gut and heal your skin. The Good Skin Solution: Natural Healing for Eczema, Psoriasis, Rosacea a...

What is kefir? What are ‘Kefir Grains’ and how is kefir made? 

The Chuckling Goat

Kefir is a fermented milk product that originated in the Black Caucasus Mountains of Russia. Kefir is now a billion euro industry in Russia and Eastern Europe but has only recently become widely available in the UK.

Kefir is a tart, fizzy beverage similar to drinking yoghurt in texture and consistency, Kefir has “non-transient” bacteria that survive the digestive process and powerfully impact the gut microbiome.

The chuckling goat kefir is a live product and will not go “off,” but will simply continue to ferment, getting stronger over time. It is recommended that you consume 170 ml every day, first thing in the morning before food.

To support the action of the kefir. it is suggested that you avoid sugar, cow dairy and high-GI processed foods, and add good fats to your diet during this time.

The importance of drinking water

THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER

Why do we need water?

• Our bodies are 50 – 70% water but the average adult looses 3 litres of water a day.1 litre is lost through breathing,1 ½ pints expelled in urine, ½ litre in perspiration.
• Water is necessary to regulate body temperature, transport oxygen and nutrients to cells, flush toxins from the organs, keep skin moist and to lubricate our joints.
• Water also guards against kidney stones, helps prevent constipation, colon cancer and bladder cancer and may reduce the likelihood of developing heart disease.

What can water do?

• By drinking at least 2 litres of water a day, it will help increase metabolism by up to 30% so helping with weight loss.
• It is a natural energy booster and helps prevent tiredness and exhaustion
• It helps with concentration
• It helps prevents headaches.
• It improves you skin and complexion – helping you to look younger!
• It helps relieve joint pain
• It prevents fluid retention
• It reduces cystitis
• It helps reduce infections
• It decreases high blood pressure

What should you do?

• Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water a day but gradually rather than all at once!
• Have a glass of water when you first get up.
• Keep water with you all day long and periodically check if your mouth feels dry or you feel thirsty or tired- if so - drink water. You will find that immediately you have more energy and your mind feels clearer!
• For every drink of coffee, alcohol or other stimulants, drink an extra glass of water to help with the body’s detoxification.
• Notice if your urine is strong and bright yellow as that could indicate dehydration!
• Keep pot plants in the room as regular watering increases humidity in the air.

However do not substitute water for tea, coffee and fizzy drinks as they contain caffeine which is a diuretic and causes increased urination. This results in more fluid being flushed out than taken in. 

How can you get water?

• Bottled or Tap water - Find a water which tastes best to you;

Spring water is collected directly from the spring where it rises from the ground and is bottled at source. It is the closest to tap water which is typically treated with chlorine to reduce bacteria. Mineral water emerges from the ground, then flows over rocks before it is collected, resulting in a higher content of various minerals and this may affect the taste!

• Approximately 19% of our water needs can be met by high water content foods-:

 An apple contains 84% water, an orange 87%, a tomato 97%, broccoli 91%, cabbage 93% and lettuce 96%.

Model Lily Tea for constipation

I had a very interesting lady who came to see me today who suffers from constipation and bloatedness.  She told me that she found this Chinese herbalist, Herbal Inn in Oxford Street in London and was given 2 different teas.  She said they worked like magic and she had tried every other sort of treatment she could. Her bloatedness disappeared! So I am simply sharing this information with you for another tool for your tool box for those people suffering with these symptoms.

You can buy these teas from Herbal Inn. This product is for constipation and I was told this is the stronger version!  Model Lily Tea And this is the milder version Papaya Tea.

Benefits of Colonic Hydrotherapy

THE BENEFITS OF COLONIC HYDROTHERAPY

The aim of colonics is to restore bowel function and regularity. If some one has too much old faecal matter in their bowels, their bowels will not work efficiently and even if a person embarks on a good diet and lifestyle, they may not notice any obvious changes in their well being if they have not had a bowel cleanse. Colon hydrotherapy treatments can result in many benefits both physical and emotional:-

A Gut Workout

• Removing faecal matter enables the bowel muscle to work better. This helps with absorption of nutrients and the production of the B and K vitamins that the bowel requires for optimal functioning.
• As better fermented heavier and moister stools are created, they give a better workout to the bowel muscle. A properly exercised muscle is more aware of the signals sent by the nerve endings, and delivers the stools through the rectum and anal canal for regular elimination.
• With a more satisfactory release, the muscle remains in good shape, no plaque develops on the bowel walls and the effective absorption, assimilation and elimination continue.

Massage and support internal organs

• The regular peristaltic action massages the stomach, spleen and liver and provides support to the small intestine and abdominal cavity organs. An oversized gut stifles rather than supports the organs.
• A prolapsed transverse colon puts the whole of the abdominal cavity under pressure as well as the kidneys and abdomen which rely on the transverse colon for support.
• Getting rid of the excess ‘baggage’ that constipated carry around in their bowels can relieve back and chest pain, help with the constant urge to urinate by reducing pressure on the bladder, stop heavy bleeding during periods and increase the chances of pregnancy.

Restore healthy brain - gut connection

• Feelings of butterflies in the stomach and ‘gut feeling’ are examples of the brain – gut connection.
• The water flow causes the bowel to evacuate wastes and this rebuilds the fundamental links that are compromised in so many people - the urge to open the bowel followed by immediate evacuation. The head and the gut remember it feeling natural and right and this re-establishes the neural pathway and the basic reflex which we were born with. 
• Following treatments, often people find they ‘know better’ when to go and are more aware of the need to give themselves time to evacuate wastes.

Emotional Release

• Colonic hydrotherapy helps people who bottle up their emotions to start the process of emotional clear out. 
• Emotions on a basic level are electric charges. Storing a lot of negativity in the gut upsets the balance.
• Getting rid of it may cause a person to feel upset or tearful but in others can also result in a feeling of ‘incredible lightness’ at every level -: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual.
• The emotional release during a colonic can be quite amazing! Often for those who find it normally difficult to let go, a colonic treatment can be the catalyst for emotions and wastes to leave the body together, creating space for new, positive emotions in the soul and for better absorption and assimilation in the body.

Mood Elevator

• About 95% of the available serotonin, the neurotransmitter better known as the mood regulator is stored in the gut. 
• The bowel and the head constantly exchange messages, although in most people 9 out of 10 messages are sent upwards, so in a way our gut determines our mood! When constipated, this is compromised.

The Second Brain

• The bowel is often called the ‘second brain’ as the nervous system that operates the digestive system, can and should work independently from the head. 
• Once a portion of food has been swallowed, the next time any conscious control is exercised over it is when we consciously open our bowel. The whole process of transforming food into nutrients and nutrients into our cells happens virtually with out involving the ‘head-brain’. So ‘listening to your body’ makes a lot of sense. 

But there are a lot of factors that shut down communication between the bowel and the brain -:

• Not opening the bowels due to bad timing, shyness or dirty toilets.
• Ignoring signs of satiety
• Eating for pleasure, consolation or greed rather than to satisfy hunger.
• Not chewing
• Not hydrating.

So it is hardly surprising that the gut send messages upwards to say it is bloated, irritated, constipated, spastic and full of indigestible materials, which even bacteria refuse to deal with. Seratonin overflows, causing diarrhoea which turns off the serotonin receptors in the gut causing constipation. So this IBS cycle results in spasms and irritation of the bowel wall and the head brain receives lots of unhappy messages. 

Relieving Bowel Spasms

• Where people suffer from IBS symptoms and the bowel is going into spasm day after day, virtually after every meal, it may be caused by the bacterial imbalance, mucosal wall irritation, inflammation and the presence of allergy triggers. Colonics done with very warm water helps relieve the bowel spasm by mechanically relaxing the muscle layer of the bowel.
• Relaxation of the muscles gives a positive message to the nerves that regulate serotonin production. As a temporary measure, this often helps reduce the symptoms of IBS, giving the body and mind a welcome break from its niggling symptoms.
• This in combination with proper chewing, small warm meals and more specifically dietary measures, brings relief from IBS much faster than dietary measures alone.
• Mechanical removal of allergy triggers from the bowel helps calm down the inflamed nerve endings, regulating serotonin production and relieving the symptoms of chronic diarrhoea.

Healthy Lifestyle 

• Many people, seeing how much waste their bodies are able to store, are amazed. 
• They decide there and then to change their diet for the better, chew food more thoroughly, drink water, to exercise more and never again let their body collect so much rubbish!!