Car journeys through the free-ways always upset my stomach. To top it, my stomach started grumbling one day, as I was traveling in a car with my friends. I had heard of this expression without having any first hand experience. It was embarrassing as I thought what if they mistook the noise for something else. During another occasion, as soon as I swallowed some food there came a distant unseen noise "BRRRRRRR" from my esophagus that lasted for a few seconds. I tried gulping in some water to suppress it. It is a nuisance if you are in a meeting or in the theatre. Now, I have self-invented, well-rehearsed techniques to muffle them."

Noises from the stomach can be described as rumbling, gurgling or growling. They are normal and show signs of good digestion . A noisy stomach is asking aloud for food. Nevertheless, it still yells at you madly even while eating as the food passes through the intestines.

The main reason for the rumble inside is hunger. A part of the brain called hypothalamus and the gastrointestines work together to signal hunger. The body prepares to welcome the food by muscular contractions, the release of acids and other digestive fluids. Once we have the appetite and the urge to eat just the thought of food, the sight or the smell can trigger of your system. It starts preparing to eat noisily. The stomach is so expressive when gas, fluids, broken down particles of food and fermenting bacteria move around and interact with each other. Doctors push aside the noisiness unaccompanied by any other discomfort as natural and harmless.

You can find your belly growling also when you have a functional disorder like IBS. As your emotional condition worsens you feel a loss of appetite or hunger and you coneveniently skip a meal ending up with a very troublesome stomach. Gastrointestinal disorders also cause a certain grumbling in the tummy along with bloating, flatulence, cramps or diarrhea .

Sometimes, the monologue of your stomach (or deservedly called ‘the language of the digestive system’) can account to ‘gassy’ food. In such situations, you should monitor your diet and remember what irritated your stomach and try to avoid it or reduce the intake. The stomach churns and cries usually while confronting very hot and spicy food, broccoli, garlic and some sauces. The addition of curd or butter milk in the diet helps with acidity. Some people find relief with warm milk while some dread at the thought of dairy products. The gurgling of your stomach after food is normal and a sign of health in most cases. If it is silent then you probably stand the chance of constipation, say experts. However, if your noisy belly troubles you frequently for more than 2-3 weeks, it is good to consult your doctor.

Some common reasons for a roaring stomach are

• Stress and anxiety
• Skipping a meal especially break fast
• Not taking food at the right time (when you are hungry) and not taking sufficient food.
• Use of alcohol and gas-generating food items
• A diet lower in calories or lacking in nutritional options
• Ingesting food that has high fiber or food products like milk, beans, etc.
• Carbonated drinks and caffeinated beverages like coffee
• Excessive air swallowed due to quick eating, smoking or chewing gum.
• Intake of food stuff that may aggravate intestinal gas. Eg: sugar alcohols sorbitol
• An upset stomach gurgles
• Due to some body positions it can make noise
• Using tight belts, tightly knotted pants etc.

The stomach is religiously emptied and cleared of its food particles by the digestive juices. So it is helpful to take snacks (healthy snacks!) even if you have to skip a meal. Food will quieten up things. Drinks lots of water. Lukewarm water can replace cold drinks. And it is good to consciously stop gulping in unnecessary air.

-Aparna KV

Tags: alternative, Ayurvedic, obesity, herbs, herbal, natural, blood pressure, medicine, acupressure, diabetes

Stress the Stress for a Change!

Frequently we find ourselves saying that we are tensed or stressed out at this or that. The thought of waking up early is stressful, the prospect of a traffic jam makes us nervous and the idea of writing an exam worries us. On the whole, anything in our daily life can offer a significant amount of stress. So let’s relax and think about Stress itself for a while.

Analysing Stress can be interesting.

Stress comes to the scene only when we fail to accept and adapt to a change in a positive way. When we cannot stand up to some physical or psychological stimuli it can be said that we are under Stress. Stress is the result of various circumstances. It can be born out of daily life emotional upheavals in school, work or family or it can turn up due to an emergency in life. At times, Stress can be the by-product of an illness too. It gnaws a person’s ability to face and solve a problem. Stress is a killer of humanity. Nervous people are prone to an ultimate nervous breakdown when they fail to handle stress. In all, it not only affects the individual but also the environment he is in.

How does stress show itself?

Stress can be emotional, mental or physical. The manifestation of stress can be in the form of headache, gas trouble and stomach upset, muscle tension, fatigue or insomnia. Psychological symptoms include loss of temper, loss of enthusiasm, nervousness, difficulty in concentration, depression, anxiety and mood swings.

Stress is impartial and can attack people of any age, sex, class or creed. But it seems to have a soft corner for teens. In teen-agers, Stress can cause depression and bring the idea of suicide.

Identify the Stressors

Something that blows up stress is called a Trigger or a Stressor. This can be external to the body or from within. Events in the daily life, the environmental conditions like noise or heat, behaviour of the people around are called external stressors.

Internal stressors include attitude and thinking like pessimism or perfectionism, a busy and tight lifestyle, lack of sleep and excess intake of caffeine. People also tend to lose interest in sex life, indulge in addictive habits, feel irritable, lose or gain weight or develop pain in different parts of the body.

Stress has a huge network

Stress does not end its job there. It accelerates the process of aging in some. In most of the cases, Stress links the body to many diseases and disorders. The medical conditions caused by Stress cover anxiety disorders, depression, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, certain gastrointestinal diseases and some cancers. Migraine headaches and asthma are also in the network. As a result of being stressed out, we tend to fall sick more often. Mental Stress is able to set off Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a chronic functional disorder in most circumstances or even lead to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a psychiatric illness.

It is also held that the level of snoring is also related to the stress level. The higher the rate of stress level the higher will be the chances of snoring.

Stress it out

It is necessary to hear the Stress alarm at the right time and learn to strain it out. Though Stress is complicated handling it is easy. First deal it at the personal level. Since Stressors are individualized identify them yourself.

· Relax and never fret. Find time for yourself and to please yourself. Keep yourself busy in an unwinding routine including Yoga (Pranayama is great) Meditation and therapies. Listening to music often works. There are music therapies to de-stress the mind and body. Watch TV for sometime, but don’t get addicted!

· Grab some time for yourself in the work place, home or wherever you are in. Find a calm and quiet area and position yourself comfortably. Close your eyes and push away the worries and concentrate on your deep breathing. But do NOT sleep.

· Eat well and sleep tight. Have warm meals at least thrice a day. Include herbs in your diet. Some of the herbs which deal with stress are Ashwagandha , Brahmi and Jatamansi .

· Avoid too much of Caffeine (coffee). It can worsen acidity, gastric problems and sleep disorders.

· Ayurveda recommends at least six hours of sleep every night although the required amount of sleep varies depending on your Dosha . It is said that watching TV just before going to bed interferes with sleep. Use Lavender to aid relaxation and sleep. Add the luxurious lavender oil to a steam or hide a few lavender seeds inside the pillow.

· Learning to adjust, accept and forgive will sooth out anger and ill feelings. Try not to get worked up on arguments. Give in, at times!

· At the same time, never hesitate to set boundary to your work and any stressing factor. Be assertive and voice out your opinions. Saying “yes” always may compromise your health.

· Talk it out with a loved one.

· It is seen that people with a healthy social network often cope up well with Stress. Enjoy comradeship.

· And most importantly, see the lighter side of life too.

-Aparna K V

Tags: Kitchen Tips, Ayurvedic Medicine, Natural Remedies, Herbal Supplements, Natural Cures

What is IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome ?

IBS or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the result of a relation between an anxious mind and a troubled body. This relation is explained by few while it is inexplicable to some others. Most of the people suffer from IBS at some point of their life time. IBS is also referred to as spastic colon, spastic bowel, mucous colitis, spastic colitis, colitis, intestinal neurosis, and functional bowel disease. It is not a disease or an illness but just a functional disorder within the body. In short, it is just a digestive disorder and does not lead to any serious health condition. Though it is chronic or a long-term disorder with some discomfort. As the name suggests Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a group of symptoms related to the sensitive approach of the bowels to food items in combination with the mental situations. Interestingly, many people have IBS and either they do not know about it or keep silent about it.

I was shocked to learn of my aunt’s sudden death. As the day progressed, I grew restless and uneasy and started burping. I was distressed and had no hunger or