Irritable Bowel Syndrome encompasses many symptoms associated with the gastrointestinal tract and is much more disruptive than pain and discomfort when attempting bowel movement. For some it is pain every day and can be all day. Moreover, abdominal pain, or alternating bouts of constipation and diarrhea may accompany this syndrome. Here are 5 natural remedies to try for IBS.

1. Avoid emotional stress and pressures as this can bring on severe bouts.
2. A high-fiber diet can help alleviate the symptoms.
3. Keep a diary of what you eat and drink to determine the cause of pain. This is your number one plan of attack for future comfort.
4. Peppermint capsules can reduce the pain and bloating.
5. Probiotics have been shown to reduce not only abdominal pain and bloating, but allow for easy bowel movement as well.

Because the symptoms of IBS are often brought on by tension and strain in your lifestyle as well as a poor diet, it is recommended that your diet consist of low-fat, high-fiber meals. Adding plenty of greens and fruits, including spinach, whole-grain products, and drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water a day can also alleviate the problem. Also, prune juice may be recommended as a stimulant to improve bowel movement. Smoking should be avoided as it often intensifies the symptoms.

A daily diary noting the foods you eat will help to reveal the sources of the problem. Perhaps fried foods are the cause, or you are not consuming enough vegetables or fruits. A diary can be quite helpful in ascertaining why your bowel movements are not only irregular, but painful as well.

Peppermint is known to reduce the abdominal pain and bloating of irritable bowel syndrome due to the fact that it blocks the movement of calcium into muscle cells in the intestines, and eases muscle contractions. It is also helpful in eliminating excess gas in the intestines.

Probiotics, which are primarily found in dairy products such as yogurt and fermented foods, offer a natural remedy for IBS. In a recent study of women with IBS, probiotics were found to be more effective in reducing abdominal pain, bloating, bowel dysfunction, incomplete evacuation, straining, and gas. Probiotics are probably the best known microorganisms one can utilize to effectively act as one of the natural remedies for IBS.

photo credit: size8jeans

This is perfect for the hot, summer day dessert. Fresh and sweet, but not heavy. Plus, we all love a make-ahead recipe!

Ingredients:

4 slices watermelon (3/4 inch thick)
3 medium pears, peeled
1/3 cup sugar free apple juice
2 cups blackberries

Instructions:

Chill the watermelon slices. While watermelon is chilling, peel and slice pears into 4 pieces each. Be sure to remove the cores. Pour the apple juice into blender and add pears. Blend until pureed. Remove watermelon slices and cut each slice into quarters. Remove the seeds and rind. Place watermelon quarters on large plate. Pour pear sauce over the watermelon slices. Arrange the blackberries decoratively on top. Serve cold.

Guacamole a Little on the Lite Side

Ingredients:

1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut in chunks
1 tomato, peeled and chopped

Instructions:

In a food processor add onion, salt, lemon or lime juice, cottage cheese, garlic, cayenne pepper, and avocado. Blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and gently stir in the chopped tomato. Cover with plastic wrap allowing the plastic to actually touch the entire surface of the guacamole.

Refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours and serve with low-fat tortilla chips, carrot sticks, celery, green pepper strips, and pita chips.

I love this salad because I can fix it so far ahead and in the mornings when it’s too warm to cook.

Ingredients:
2 cups canned butter beans
2 cups canned kidney beans
2 cups canned green beans
2 cups yellow beans
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup red onions, chopped
1/4 cup red pepper, chopped
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp celery seeds

Method:
Add all drained cans of beans to a large serving bowl. Add chopped celery, pepper and onion and gently stir.

In a saucepan, combine vinegar, olive oil, celery seeds and sugar and bring to a quick boil. Pour the mixture over the beans and gently toss.

Cover and marinate for 24 to 48 hours.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped green onion
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon reduced-sodium chicken bouillon granules
1 cup uncooked semolina pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 medium yellow summer squash, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Saute stirring often, until onions are translucent.

2. Add water and bring to a boil. Once boiling add chicken bouillon. Be sure to stir often so that the bouillon will completely dissolve.

3. When bouillon is dissolved remove pan from stove. Blend in remaining ingredients. Cover pan and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes. Make sure all the liquid in the pan is absorbed before serving. Tossing noodles gently to make sure that all seasonings are spread throughout.

Wonderful with some grilled chicken.

photo credit: Antonio Ilardo

It’s safe to say that I’m working on the growth of Busy Momma Wellness and this means visiting others. Do you have a blog about your personal weight loss and fitness? I’d love to add you to my feedreader. Just make a quick comment here with your biggest challenge and include your blog in your profile. Only personal weight loss and fitness blogs will be approved so don’t bother spamming me with your weight loss product links please

Also, if you are looking for a guest blogger I’d be happy to talk about a topic your readers would enjoy reading more about.

I’d like to have everyone say hello to my friend Murphy. You know, the one that created Murphy’s Law!

I’ve been excited this week, got a jump start on training, wrote out my training schedule for the next 14 weeks and then was dealt a blow…walking pneumonia. I only got 12.3 miles out of my 20 planned. It was difficult, but I just figured that was because of my allergies that have been horrible for weeks due to our horrible weather and mild winter. Alas, it is partly from it. All the drainage from my allergies helped cause it.

I went to run my 10k route on thursday and I had to walk after 4.5 miles. This is a well traveled road and I’m always worried someone I know will pass (and has) and see me, so I NEVER WALK. It’s the competitive in me. lol But I was done. In fact, not only did I walk, but I mentally called out to everyone that I knew could possibly drive by and hoped with all my might that hubby would drive by to pick me up. I felt so bad that if one of the engines or medics had driven by I would have flagged them down and sucked up the embarrassment for a courtesy transport. Needless to say I finally got home, took a shower and headed to the clinic.

I bet the doc got a good little laugh at me after I left. I asked if I’d have to stop running and he said no, just listen to my body. Of course he knew that this was going to make me so tired I wouldn’t think of running and my lungs would burn just walking around the grocery store right?

I’m disappointed that this happened right now, but not swayed. I won’t go running again until Monday at the earliest and will scale everything back. I won’t be able to put up a good training schedule until I see how fast recovery really is and where this leaves my lung capacity. Already having asthma I’m just not sure how fast it will heal.

I’m listening to my body and sleeping and resting. I really have no choice. But I want to recover quickly and not prolong this any more than necessary. Walking pneumonia is definitely not fun. Take this from someone that has had asthma from an early age and has always done many sports. I’ll take my asthma any day to this as I know that I can use my inhaler and get at least a brief reprieve. Right now there is the constant labored breathing and no relief until some more healing has happened. My fingers are crossed that much of it is done over the weekend.

photo credit: szalik

I posted last night that this week is a minimum of 20 miles. On Monday I ran 5 and Tuesday I ran 2.8. Today is a rest day. I’m going to run my 10k route tomorrow so I want to let my knees rest a little. Plus today has been very busy with work and errands.

Rest days are just as important as your run days. As long as you have them scheduled in. That’s not an excuse to take most of the week off for recovery as that’s not going to help you get to your half marathon goal. lol I will have only a 1 day rest between running unless I a) run a race or b) do a much longer distance run than my body was ready for. I don’t plan on making any big jumps in distance, so it will most likely be if I need to recover after a run.

Although I have to say that I ran just fine the next day after the Sound to Narrows and my knees were really hurting after that event of nothing but hill climbing. So that said, I guess I’m not going to have a ton of excuse to pull from and YES, please hold me to that.

Even a coach needs a coach

Well it’s just under 15 weeks until my first half marathon. 13 miles is going to be a long way and my goal is NOT to just finish it. I want to do it in a decent time. Decent time to me would be a 10 minute or under mile for that far of a distance. Hubby, friends and I did the Sound to Narrows a week ago and with all the hills (was unprepared for how hilly) I finished the 12k with an 11:38 mile. Wasn’t impressed with my run and it’s given me motivation for this half marathon.

We have a big group of girls that decided to commit to run. A good friend and I are running it for sure and we’ve snagged another friend. I am excited to possibly have some training partners to run with, but we’ll see. Running at someone else’s pace doesn’t always work out.

My training schedule will consist of miles to run per week with a minimum of 4 days running a week. These first 3 weeks will be 20 miles per week with one of the days being my 10k route and one other day has to be my 5 mile route. 1 day will also be my short 2.8 route to try and help work on my mile pace.

Let’s just map out a little what my next 15 weeks will look like as a countdown.

Week 15 – 20 miles total/ 10k, 2 days 5 mile, 2.8 (leaves 1 mile easy day) Have 7.8 miles ran so far on day 2
Week 14 – same as above
Week 13 – 22 miles total/2 days of 10k route, 2 days 5 mile route
Week 12 – same as above
Week 11 – 24-27 miles total
Week 10 -27 miles
Week 9 -27
Week 8 – 30 miles
Week 7 -30 miles
Week 6 -34 miles
Week 5 – 34 miles
Week 4 -34-37 miles with one run of 10 miles minimum
Week 3 – Running a 10k race! light week of running 5 miles 2 days and 1 days short 2.8 route
Week 2 – 34 miles
Week 1 – 13.4 miles easy week of 5 miles 1 day and 3 days of 2.8 route
Sept. 26 – RACE DAY!

I want to get some more races scheduled in there. Maybe just 1 more, it is difficult to schedule anything extra in the summer. I will definitely get more details up for the later weeks as I get a groove going. Plus I need to find some longer routes to run so I can calculate things better. My longest route right now is the 10k (6.2miles).

I’ll keep updating as I progress. Especially as I start working some pace stuff in there. I guess I better start timing myself so I can track that progress as well. I have a few weeks before I’m worried at all about my times. But it’s great to know where you first start out.

Nutrition is essential in order for you to stay fit, healthy and well balanced internally. Your body uses over 45 different types of nutrients, each nutrient is used in a separate way; from creation of new cells and tissues to helping create energy. In order to optimize your muscle and fitness levels it is important to understand how nutrients work and affect your body as well as your everyday life.

Nutrients can be taken in many forms from, fruits, vegetables, meat, some drinks and in the form of supplements. Good nutrition is accountable for treating many illnesses found in the body as well as support the body to stay healthy. Plant compounds (phytochemicals) which are found in such things as soybeans and tomatoes have been seen to have disease battling properties. Zinc supplements have been found to reduce the duration of the common cold and decrease acute diarrhea. You do not have to eat a variety of foods either to ensure you get the correct amounts of nutrients, there are, of course, supplements. You can buy supplements from any major supermarket, online, or on some occasions, from a knowledgeable specialty shop.

Supplements have received a lot of attention from the media about being bad for the body. However, the media failed to mention the fact that they are only harmful to the body if they are taken over the recommended daily amount. Even with good things, everything is about moderation. Too much of a good thing is still not healthy.

Vitamins and minerals play an essential and crucial role in our body’s basic growth, metabolism and development. As you may already know a vitamin in itself is not a source of energy for the body but it does aid in the production of energy and helps to burn fat when carrying out everyday activities such as walking to work or to your corner shop. A better metabolism also helps to burn fat and reduces weight as food is passed throughout the body at a better rate and the essential substances needed are also better absorbed, hence making you feel less hungry and less likely to eat snacks in-between meals. A lack of vitamin such as vitamin A can lead to night blindness and this is linked with zinc as zinc is used in order to absorb the vitamin.

Vitamins and minerals play an important and essential role in our everyday lives and you should take care of your body by making sure you take in the correct amounts of vitamins daily. It can reduce the risks of heart attacks, reduce obesity and make your skin look healthier and hair healthier as well.