Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (110 page)

Apply capsicum cream for pain relief.

Lie down with a hot-water bottle placed under your lower back. The heat is soothing to the kidney area and gives warm relief to your sore back.

Do gentle stretches to release stiffness and prevent muscle spasms.

Do not sit for long periods of time. If you have a desk job, make sure that you get up every hour, on the hour, and move around. Dance on the spot, go for a walk, just move your body. If you sit all day, you can really stiffen up and pain can feel more intense.

Lose weight if you need to. When you are overweight, the intestinal area weakens and you end up with your belly sticking out. This extra frontal weight will pull your posture out of line and cause undue back strain.

Strengthen your center core. You can do this with an exercise regime called Pilates. When the muscles from stomach through to back are strong, there is less likelihood of injury or spinal shift. And you get a washboard stomach as a bonus, so that can’t be bad! Once you learn the movements, you can do the mat work at home.

Correct posture and bending are worth learning. The Alexander Technique teaches a series of movements and proper usage of the body.

Get regular massages. This can help to soften muscle tissue and release pain. It is critical that the buttocks be massaged, too, as back pain can be exacerbated by tension and holding in the buttock muscles.

Acupuncture has been shown to relieve pain in many sufferers.

Rolfing can be helpful for spinal misalignment, scoliosis, and other back issues. It helped me a great deal. It is a deep, muscle-tissue and fascia massage, which can help pain and posture.

For further information go to www.gillianmckeith.info/backpain.

I suffered a slipped disc following a mountain biking accident and had to take painkillers to be able to do anything. Anyway, I knew that there was something seriously wrong with my digestion at the time (due to the drugs), and through using Gillian’s book, I helped myself get back into step. I still constantly refer to it now, when I am aware something is not right (low energy, mood swings, etc.) and it works really well for me. To note, I’m young, fit, and healthy, and have never been overweight…I use the book to keep me away from the doctors and away from additives and junk food!

BLOATING

It is normal to have gas occasionally. But continual bloating, farting, and/or burping is not the norm. For the sake of yourself and those around you, do something about it now. Junk diets, too much sugar, wheat, and dairy make the problem worse. Those who suffer from this affliction will testify to its untimely, unwelcome arrival at critical moments. The good news is that it’s completely avoidable.

CAUSES

Eating the wrong foods at the wrong time or in the wrong combination.