Gillian McKeith's Food Bible (267 page)

Establish a regular bedtime routine. Avoid watching television or using the computer late at night, as these are not relaxing activities for the brain. Instead, have a warm bath with some lavender essential oil, listen to relaxing music, and light some candles.

Do not expose yourself to bright lights in the evening or if you wake in the night. Light reduces levels of melatonin, the sleep hormone, making sleep less likely to occur. Use lamps instead.

Get up at the same time every morning in order to establish a routine. Even if you have taken a long time to get to sleep or have woken in the night, do not be tempted to sleep in. This will just perpetuate the problem. Avoid sleeping in on weekends, as this can disrupt the rhythm.

Learn relaxation techniques or visualizations. These can involve relaxing each part of the body one by one or visualizing peaceful scenes. They can be great for getting the body into a relaxed state. Meditation and playing “white noise” can also be useful. There are many CDs and tapes around that have white noise, such as rainfall or waves crashing on the shore, that can induce a state of relaxation.

IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME

Symptoms are unpleasant and varied but usually a combination of stomach pain, bloating, cramping, constipation, and diarrhea. A tell-tale sign is also mucus in your stools. What’s happening is that the muscular contractions of the intestinal tract are irregular. Food and waste movement is badly affected as a result.

Many people say it is caused by stress (see page
373
). Certainly, stress can induce gastrointestinal spasms, but the main cause is what I call the “body plumbing back up.” Your digestive system is shot and your intestines do not work properly. There is an erratic quality to the strength of contractions that move your food waste through the intestinal tract. When the contractions are too fast and strong, you get diarrhea; when they are too slow, you become constipated. You end up quite depleted nutritionally, as this condition interferes with the absorption of nutrients.

Sometimes IBS can be mistaken for a more serious condition such as ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, or Crohn’s disease, so do get checked out by your GP.

CAUSES MAY INCLUDE

Food sensitivities (see page
178
).

Imbalances in bacteria in the gut.

Stress.

Magnesium deficiency.

Lack of digestive enzymes.

Low stomach acid.

Poor diet.