| How to Treat Gastroparesis Naturally Posted: 06 Sep 2016 05:00 PM PDT Gastroparesis is a chronic digestive tract disorder where your stomach muscle becomes weak, due to neuropathy to the autonomic nerves that control stomachs digestive movements. These nerves are inked to the brain and sense when the stomach is full and signals your stomach digestive muscles to contract. When enough nerve cells are damaged, the signals are more weak, which causes your digestion rate to slow down. While there is no cure for gastroparesis, there are natural ways that you can treat the symptoms that are created by the condition. One key way is to change your diet. EditUnderstanding Gastroparesis - Recognize the symptoms of gastroparesis. You might not be certain if you are experiencing gastroparesis These symptoms include:[1]
 - Fullness: You may feel full after eating a small amount of food. This happens because your stomach takes longer to process the food, which keeps your abdomen feeling full.
- Gaseous discomfort: As mentioned above, gastroparesis causes food to remain in the abdomen instead of going into your intestines. This delay can cause a buildup of gas.
- Nausea and vomiting: You may feel nauseous, or even vomit, after eating. This nausea is caused by the buildup of food and secretions in your abdomen.
- Lack of appetite: When you constantly feel full after small amounts of food, you are less likely to feel hungry during normal meal times.
- Weight loss: When you feel full all the time, you are less likely to eat often, which can lead to weight loss.
- Heartburn: When your abdomen is full of food build up, your stomach might send food back up your esophagus; this is known as regurgitation. The food is generally mixed with acidic gastric juices that can cause a burning sensation known as heartburn.
- Acid reflux: the lining on your esophagus and throat are irritated and erode when digestive acid and gases back up to the esophagus.
- Understand the risk factors for gastroparesis. There are some people who are more predisposed to developing this condition than others. These people include[2]:
- Diabetics.
- People who have had surgery that involved the abdomen.
- People taking certain medications that may slow down the digestive process.
- People experiencing an infection that involves part of the digestive process.
- Be aware that smoking and drinking alcohol can make the condition worse. While smoking and drinking alcohol are both bad for your general health, they are particularly bad to take part in if you have gastroparesis. Both of these substances can increase heartburn and reduce your overall health.
EditChanging Your Diet - Visit a doctor or dietitian. He or she can help design a diet that will work for you. It's important to have multiple options that sound good to you. Don't just cut out foods -- find new foods that will help you deal with the disease. Keep in mind that changing your diet is an ongoing project, and you might need to meet with your doctor or dietitian multiple times to get it right.
- Choose low-fat foods. This is because fats reduce the rate at which foods are digested. Fatty foods include many meats, cheeses, crackers and chips, pastries, and creamy sauces. Instead, stick to low-fat options like: [3]
- Cottage cheese
- Nonfat yogurt
- Egg whites
- Lean meats (poultry, lean cuts like rounds and loins)
- Fresh fruits and vegetables that can be pureed.
- Follow a low fiber diet. Fiber usually contains oligosaccharides which are elements of food that are generally hard for your stomach to digest. This is because your stomach may not have the enzyme that digests these compounds so the food remains intact in your large intestine and rectum. Low fiber foods include:[4]
- Ground meat
- Tofu
- Fish
- Eggs
- Milk
- White bread
- White rice
- Canned vegetables
- Eat pureed foods to speed digestion. Pureed foods are much easier for your stomach to digest than whole, chunky foods. Always check the pureed foods for large lumps of food that might be hard for your stomach to break down. Make smoothies with fresh fruits and vegetables. [5]
- Consume plenty of liquids. Because your stomach has a hard time digesting food, you might find it easier to drink calorie-rich liquids. These drinks can include evaporated milk and protein shakes, both of which can replenish your stores of protein. You also might want to consider drinking clear soups and broth, which can replenish electrolytes and provide nutrients, and electrolyte rich drinks (like sports drinks or Pedialyte).
- Make a homemade ginger tea. Ginger has properties that aid digestion. It contains gingerol and shogaol, two properties that are believed to increase gastric juices and secretions that are necessary for digestion. Try to drink one cup of ginger tea each day. To make ginger tea:
- Slice up a three ounce piece of ginger.
- Boil 3 cups of water.
- Mix 3 ounces of ginger into the boiling water and steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Allow it to cool down a little and drink.
- Drink peppermint tea. Peppermint contains two active ingredients, menthol and menthone, that have been known to help the stomach muscle relax. They can also cause the stomach to increase more bile, which helps to digest fat. To make peppermint tea:
- Gather some peppermint leaves and tear them apart so that menthol and other essential components are produced.
- Boil 2 tablespoons of peppermint leaves in 3 cups of water.
- Steep for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool down and drink.
- Avoid carbonated beverages. Even though these are liquids, they do not add nutrients to your diet. It does not hydrate you but at the same time fills you up -- a bad combination for gastroparesis.[6]
EditAltering Your Eating Habits - Chew your food properly. In order to help your stomach digest the food you eat, try to chew your food as thoroughly as possible before swallowing. Softer foods are easier to digest. Try to eat and chew at a slow pace to help your stomach keep up its strength while you eat.While there is no magic number for how long you should chew food for, you should try to chew your food until it is almost completely broken down before swallowing.[7]
- Eat small, frequent meals. Six small, frequent meals can be easier on your stomach than three large meals a day. When you eat smaller meals, your stomach produces less hydrochloric acid, which means that it has to exert less energy.[8]
- Choose foods that are soft and easy to digest. Since gastroparesis impairs the stomach's digestive function, it is important to consider foods that are easily digested.Some foods are more simple than others, so they are able to be broken down more quickly and efficiently. Easy-to-digest foods include:
- White bread
- Soup
- Watermelon
- Peaches
- Pears
- Fruit juices
- Potatoes
- Apples without skin
- Mushrooms
- Lettuce
- Yogurt
- Avoid drinking water during meals. Drinking water while you eat your meals will dilute the hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which will contribute to delayed gastric emptying. Between meals, drink water when you a thirsty to maintain proper hydration.[9]
- Avoid lying down right after eating. When you lie down right after eating, your stomach has a harder time digesting the food that you have just put into it. When possible, try to eat at least two or three hours before getting into bed for the night or taking a nap.
- Exercise after eating. After you eat, go for a walk. Exercise helps to boost metabolism, which aids your stomach in digesting food. Gently walking can help your stomach process your meal more quickly than if you just sit quietly after a meal.[10]
- It is advisable to avoid cooking foods that have a strong smell. This is because this is likely to cause nausea and worsen the condition.
- It is advisable to avoid eating foods that have spices because this will increase heartburn and worsen the condition.
- Stress is linked to many symptoms of gastroparesis.
- Eat only freshly cooked foods and heat up very well every food to avoid food infections that can cause stomach-flu-like problems.
- Eating more bread and pasta because it is easier to chew and swallow does not mean it is easier to digest. It may take more time to be digested by your digestive enzymes.
- If you are diabetic: delayed emptying of foods in your stomach can cause more serious problems and be more difficult to control blood glucose levels.
- White rice, Bread, creams and starchy foods can be easier to digest but may bring other problems if they are consumed in excess.
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| How to Get Silky Hair if You Are a Guy Posted: 06 Sep 2016 09:00 AM PDT Nobody wants straw for hair, but many hair care products marketed for silky hair are aimed at women. To get silky hair if you are a guy, you'll need to comb the hair care aisle for a gentle shampoo, natural conditioner, and natural hair oil; rinse your hair daily but wash it sparingly, and skip styling products with drying ingredients altogether. Treating your hair gently overall should greatly assist your efforts. While exact routines may vary depending on hair type and quality, getting silky hair can actually be quite simple as long as you go about it the right way. EditChoosing the Right Products - Choose a gentle shampoo. To keep your hair silky, you need to keep it clean, but not too clean. The natural oils in your hair are what helps to keep it strong and healthy, but those oils can also trap dirt and become greasy, making you hair dirty. You need to strike a balance between too much cleaning and not enough to have silky hair, meaning that a gentle shampoo is an essential part of your cleaning routine.
- Try to use shampoo made with natural ingredients, and avoid shampoo with strong artificial fragrances. These dry out the hair over time and affect the hair's ability to form its own natural oils. Read the ingredients and avoid shampoos with parabens and an excess of unrecognizable chemical ingredients.
- Even if you are not a child, children or baby shampoos can be quite effective in maintaining silkiness and using a minimum number of ingredients. These are usually gentle on the hair and on the eyes, as well as pretty cheap and available, making it an effective purchase, regardless of how old you are.
- Use natural conditioner as well. One of the best ways to get silky hair is by regularly conditioning, even if you're not washing your hair. Conditioner helps to strengthen the tips of your hair, keeping the individual strands strong and healthy, avoiding split ends and other hair problems that can affect the texture of hair. Just as you would with shampoo, look for conditioner that lacks in artificial fragrances and dyes.
- Though they're commonly marketed to guys, Try to avoid using Two-in-One shampoo and conditioner combos, as well as body wash-shampoo combos, which won't allow you to condition your hair separately, and can have a long-term drying affect, counteractive to the purpose of conditioner. Buy separate products.
- Consider using natural hair oils. Depending on the natural oiliness of your hair, it may be good to supplement your cleaning routine by combing a small amount of oil into your hair, which can help enrich and strengthen it, as well as create the silky texture that you desire. Coarse hair is commonly treated by combing some variety of oil into it daily, or a few times a week. Good natural oils for the hair include:
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Argan oil
- Gingelly oil
- Moroccan oil
- Mustard oil
- Avoid the use of styling products. Hair gel, mousse, and spray are the quickest way to gunk up your hair and leave it feeling like straw. Use natural oils and caps to help style your hair if necessary, and avoid the use of styling products. If you must use artificial styling products, rinse them out of your hair thoroughly at the end of the day and condition your hair with natural oils to help replenish them.
- Most styling products involve alcohol, which leech the moisture from your hair and ruin its ability to stay moisturized naturally. Don't get in the way of your body by using styling products, let your body work for you.
EditWashing Your Hair - Rinse your hair daily. For the silkiest hair, it's good to rinse the dirt and grime out at the end of each day to keep your hair clean and smooth. Using clean fresh water to rinse your hair will help to keep the healthy effects of the natural oils, and will make it easier for them to replenish. It's not necessary to shampoo your hair daily, and doing so will dry your hair out in time.
- If you can't take a whole shower, combing a wet comb through your hair, or even rinsing your hair in the sink can be a perfectly effective way of keeping it clean. If you do take showers daily, you don't need to shampoo every time.
- Wash your hair no more than once every three days. Depending on how oily your hair is naturally, you may need to shampoo more or less often. For some people, once a week is sufficient to keep hair clean, lustrous, and healthy, while others may want to shampoo two to three times a week to keep it feeling good. In general, you shouldn't need to shampoo more than a few times a week.
- Use shampoo sparingly, no more than a small pea-sized amount. Wet your hands and create a lather in your hands before massaging it into your hair, focusing on the tips of your hair and working in toward your scalp. Massage gently and rinse thoroughly with warm water.
- Condition the tips of your hair. Some people elect to condition their hair more regularly than shampooing, perhaps choosing to shampoo once a week and condition the hair three times throughout the week to keep the hair feeling silky, depending on the health of the hair and the oiliness. Use the same technique as when you wash with shampoo, then rinse thoroughly with warm water.
- It's very important to get all the shampoo and conditioner out of your hair every time you wash. If you have longer hair, it's somewhat difficult to get it all rinsed out, which can make your hair gunky and sticky when it dries and forms a residue.
- Towel dry your hair. After rinsing, shampooing, or conditioning your hair, you need to dry it with a towel as much as possible, then let it dry on its own in the air. Drying your hair gently and slowly will help it stay strong and healthy, creating a silky shine.
- Avoid using blow dryers that involve directly heating your hair, which has a tendency to dry hair out and make it bristly. Don't heat-dry your hair.
- Massage natural hair oil into your scalp after shampoo is used. A few times a week, after using shampoo, it's a good idea to use one of the natural hair balms described above to comb gently into your hair. Coconut oil and other types of natural oil can be scooped onto a fine-tooth plastic comb and combed directly into the hair, or can be massaged into the follicles with the hands, then combed out for the same effect.
- Avoid adding hair oil more than once or twice a week, or you can weight your hair down unnaturally and attract more dirt, making it difficult to keep clean. Use hair oil or tonic sparingly.
EditKeeping Your Hair Silky - Get your hair cut regularly. To keep split ends under control and to keep your hair feeling silky, it's a good idea to get it cut regularly. Even little trims help to keep your hair strong, and help it grow more evenly. It's also a good idea to consult with a hair care specialist who can diagnose your issues, recommend products and further techniques if you want to keep your hair feeling silky year round.
- Consider growing out your hair slightly. Extremely short hair is hard to make feel silky in any way, while longer hair comes with a host of care and cleanliness issues. If you want to have silky hair, growing it out to somewhere between one and three inches will give you enough length to be able to run your fingers through it and style in a multitude of ways, but it won't be so long as to be unwieldy.
- Comb your hair every morning. Combing your hair is absolutely essential to keeping it feeling silky and clean. Tangled bedhead will always be difficult to manage and will serve to damage your hair and keep it feeling coarse and rough. Use a fine-tooth plastic comb and run it through your hair a few times each morning to work out the tangles and leave your hair healthy and silky.
- If your hair is especially tangled, use a small dab of oil on the comb to help work it through and treat your hair. You can also use a little bit of water. Depending on the thickness of you hair, it may be more appropriate to brush it, especially with coarse hair.
- Don't color your hair. Coloring gray hair is one of the quickest ways to fry it out and burn it. Using coloring treatments destroys the natural oils in the hair and makes it very difficult for it to stay strong and healthy. The health of a head of hair is much more important to all around looks anyway, than the color, so embrace the suave sophistication of those gray hairs and roll with it.
- Minimize your exposure to sunlight. Sunlight will bleach your hair, dry it out, and leave it feeling coarse. If you want silky hair, you want hair that's well cared for and not left out to fry in the sun. Take care to avoid excess exposure and to treat your hair well with natural oils after being out for too long.
- Wear a hat with a wide brim if you know you're going to be out in the sun for very long. Protect yourself from harmful UV rays by keeping your hair tucked up in a hat and away form the sun.
- Take vitamin supplements. It's important that you have essential nutrients and vitamins as a part of your healthy diet to keep all parts of your body, hair included, healthy. Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Biotin, Iron, and Zinc are all directly related to the texture and health of your hair. Eat foods rich in vitamins and minerals, and take supplementary vitamins if necessary.
- Foods like almonds, carrots, bananas, dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, and bean sprouts are all excellent foods to integrate into a hair-health diet, rich in right right combinations of vitamins and essential nutrients.
- Eating 100 grams or so of red meat can help enhance the production of Keratin, a protein which keeps your hair and nails healthy and shiny. Fish is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which help to keep hair lustrous.
- When grooming your hair, use either a comb or better yet and more affective especially if you have curly hair, a rubber tip brush.
- Just remember it won't grow overnight . Be patient and take good care of your hair.
- Repeat the wash cycle once every three days, though when showering you should always rinse your hair, regardless of whether you are doing the wash cycle or not.
- Do not do too much of this as it could actually make your hair dull & not shiny.
EditSources and Citations |
| How to Get Rid of Mold Smell in Front Loader Washing Machine Posted: 06 Sep 2016 01:00 AM PDT If you have a front loader washing machine, you may notice a moldy smell spoiling all your towels and clothes. This is because front loading washers have multiple parts that can remain wet after a washing cycle. There are multiple products you can use to clean your washing machine, but its best to wipe the parts down as well. There are also lots of tips you can use to prevent mold smell from accumulating in your machine. EditPart I: Cleaning The Washing Machine - Clean the gasket. This is the rubber strip on the door and inside that provides a tight seal when the door shuts. [1]
- Use a rag or towel to wipe the gasket down.
- You can use hot soapy water or a small spray of mildew cleaner. If you use mildew cleaner, be careful with these chemicals as they can irritate skin.
- You can also use a mixture of 50% water and 50% bleach on a rag. [2]
- Make sure to wipe around it and underneath it.
- You might find a lot of debris and slimy residue around the gasket. This is one of the most common sources of mold smell in front loading washing machine.
- If the residue under the gasket is persistent and hard to remove with a rag, try using an old toothbrush to scrub it out of hard to reach nooks. [3]
- If you come across any stray socks or clothing articles, be sure to remove them.
- Clean the soap dispensers. These might be able to be removed from your washing machine to make this easier. [4]
- Soap residue and small amounts of old stagnant water can make your dispensers smell.
- Remove the dispensers and give them a thorough cleaning with hot soapy water.
- If you can't remove them, you can wipe them out with soapy water.
- Use a spray bottle or pipe cleaner to get into the nooks and crannies of the dispenser.
- Run a cleaning cycle on your machine. Use the longest wash with the hottest water setting available. [5]
- Some washing machines have a tub cleaning cycle.
- Pour one of the following directly into the tub of the washing machine: 1 cup bleach, 1 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup of enzymatic dishwasher detergent, or a a commercial washer cleaner.
- Some common brands of washer cleaner are Affresh or Smelly Washer.
- Tide also makes a washer cleaner that you can buy in the laundry aisle of your supermarket.
- Run your cycle completely. If the smell remains, try another cycle.
- If after running the cycle twice the smell persists, try another additive. For example if you used baking soda the first round, try washer cleaner or bleach on the second try.
- Call a repair place. Your washer may be under warranty for an issue like this. Check your user manual. [6]
- If your smell persists you might have a clogged drain or filter. There might also be mold growing behind the washing machine drum.
- A qualified repair person will be able to diagnose any further problems and recommend solutions.
- If you are familiar with washers, you can try to clean the drain and filter yourself. You can find this usually in the small door at the base of the front of the washer.
- Be sure to have a bucket handy to collect any stagnant water.
EditPart II: Preventing Smells in Your Front Loading Washing Machine - Use the right detergent. Most High Efficiency (HE) machines require HE detergent. [7]
- Using non-HE detergent will cause too many suds to form. These suds will leave behind a residue that can start to smell.
- Don't use too much detergent either. This will also cause residue to form inside your washing machine.
- Powdered detergent often is a better alternative to liquid as it tends to produce fewer suds. [8]
- Avoid liquid fabric softener. Use dryer sheets instead.
- Much like liquid detergent, liquid fabric softener can also cause residue to build up inside your machine.
- This residue will develop a bad odor over time.
- Buy dryer sheets instead. These are inexpensive and can be found in the laundry aisle of any supermarket.
- Air out the washing machine between loads. This will decrease the mold build-up as it allows the tub to dry completely.[9]
- Leave the door slightly ajar when the machine is not in use.
- This will allow fresh air to circulate through the drum of the front loading washing machine and will help dry any remaining moisture after a load.
- If you have small children or pets, you should avoid doing this as they can climb into the drum and become accidentally trapped inside.[10]
- Remove wet clothes immediately. Right after a cycle ends, take the wet clothes out.[11]
- Set your washer to beep when a cycle is complete, so you don't forget to take the clothes out.
- If you can't dry your clothes right away, take them out and put them in a hamper or lay them flat until the dryer is available.
- This will prevent excess moisture from building up inside the washing machine drum after each load.
- Wipe down the gasket regularly. Do this is a dry towel. [12]
- Ideally, the gasket, the area underneath it and the inside of the drum should be wiped dry after each cycle.
- This can be time consuming and a nuisance, so be sure to do this periodically at the very least.
- You can also wipe down the gaskets with hot soapy water regularly and allow them to completely dry. This will keep them clean and free of mildew.
- Clean your washing machine once a month. Use a hot water or cleaning cycle. [13]
- Pour two cups of white vinegar into the detergent dispenser and run a hot water or cleaning cycle.
- You can also use a commercial washing machine cleaner such as Smelly Washer, but vinegar is more cost effective and just as efficient.
- When finished, clean the inside of the tub, gasket, detergent dispenser and inside of the door with a mixture of hot water and vinegar and a towel.
- Repeat wiping down the inside parts of the washer with hot water only.
- Run your washer again with hot water only.
- Leave your washer door open to let the inside of the unit dry.
- Put 1 tbsp. baking soda in the drum after each load. It will be there for the next load and will continue to absorb the smells.
- Another way to remove odor from towels is to use baking soda and no detergent in the hottest wash.
- Wash the soap dispenser at least once a month, including the spot that it sits in.
- You can also add vinegar during the rinse or in a Downy Ball (do not use fabric softener at the same time).
- Use vinegar to get the smell out and kill mold. You can use it in the wash or rinse cycle. Using 1/2 cup per load in the rinse cycle will serve as a natural fabric softener as well.
- Soap dispensers come out completely and can be taken apart by tipping it over.
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