|
How a cabbage can protect you while you sleep
9th December 2005
At Christmas, my grandfather was his own worst enemy.
He used the festive season as an excuse to polish off all the cheap whisky in the house, (especially if it wasn't HIS house.)
What's more, he couldn't resist a single treat offered to him.
Nuts, cake, turkey sandwiches heavily laden with sauces and pickles... you name it, he washed it down.
And it would be entirely OUR fault.
'Ooh,' he'd angrily exclaim, swaying to his feet at the end of each night. 'You lot shouldn't have fed my all that grub. I'll never get to sleep tonight.'
And off he'd go to bed, grimacing and rubbing his chest.
I used to think this was just a theatrical gesture, done for our benefit. But these days I know that he was suffering a common digestive problem.
It's one that he could have avoided, had he known what I'm about to tell you...
---------------------
Have you heard of GERD?
---------------------
Now, we all know that going to sleep on a full stomach of spicy food can cause heartburn to flare up and spoil your night, if you suffer from night time heartburn, it may not be bad eating habits that are causing the problem...
It may be GERD.
G.E.R.D. (or Gastroesophageal Reflux) can be the result of a faulty Lower Esophageal Sphincter valve that is damaged and fails to close properly...
Or it could be a possible stomach problem such as gastritis, peptic ulcers, H.pylori bacterium...
Or your pH levels might be out of balance...
Whatever the problem is, they all increase the pressure in the stomach which forces the Lower Esophageal Sphincter valve to open just enough to allow stomach acids and gases to escape and creep back up into your gut.
If this happens regularly over a period of time, the constant attack of your stomach acids (which should be safely stored away but are escaping) can cause sores to form on your esophagus, especially at night when you're lying down and the acids can settle.
This condition is known as erosive GERD... a nasty disease that's best to tackle as early as possible.
But rather than turning to a prescription drug for help, the honest cabbage could be the answer...
------------------------------------------
How a cabbage can protect you while you sleep
------------------------------------------
The Coallis Lombarda cabbage is a small, red cabbage that's been used in natural healing for ages, stretching back to the times of the the MayaQuiché civilization.
And it seems it still has a use today...
You see, this cabbage contains a very rare and superpowerful vitamin Vitamin U that is one of nature's strongest weapons against gastric and intestinal disorders.
Dr. GarnettCheney, professor of medicine at Stanford Medical School, published a report about the use of Vitamin U in the treatment of gastric ulcer.
The results are astonishing...
Of 65 cases reported, 62 were cured at the end of three weeks.
So naturally, when it comes to ways to treat GERD, Vitamin U tops the list protecting the gastroesophageal system and relieving painful heartburn like nothing else (well nothing else I can find).
And of course, being a natural substance, Vitamin U helps your body in other ways...
It's a great local anaesthetic, so it reduces pain naturally, it reduces spasms and it strengthens capillaries.
If you are bothered by frequent NIGHTTIME heartburn (two or more times a week is frequent in my book), you may be suffering from erosive GERD.
Talk to your doctor about it as soon as possible, and in the meantime, use Vitamin U to help relieve the unpleasant symptoms of erosive GERD, and get a good night's sleep!
Now, that brief mention of the coming Christmas feast has got me thinking about something else...
|
-----------------------------------------------
How to lose 'winter weight' and get a trim, healthy body
-----------------------------------------------
If there's one thing I hate more than giving up the good things in life, it's going down the gym.
It costs a fortune, it's full of poseurs, and you end up spending a lot and doing very little.
Which is why I'm so interested in a 73-year old man called Vince Graham.
You see, Vince says he has developed a system that can get you as trim and fit as you want, without busting a gut, jumping up and down to pop music in a gym, or forking out a fortune for nothing.
He's done this by ignoring step, spin, jazzercise and a whole of fad systems - and going to the library instead!
---------------------------------------------------------
How a 1001 trips to the library created the perfect fat-burning, muscle-building workout
---------------------------------------------------------
Vince was once an overweight, desk-bound man who wanted to lose weight and improve his shape, but never could. He tried everything, and everything failed.
So Vince spent months and months in the library, studying every last medical book or weight loss, fat gain, muscle building, how the body worked... you name it, he read it.
And as a result, he's come up with some truly innovative ways to beat the bulge.
Here one of the best, for one of the biggest trouble spots on the body:
Abdominal inching. This unusual exercise is rarely used, but it's one of the only exercises that concentrates solely on the lower abdominals - a body part that tends to pile on the weight!
- Sit on the floor, legs together stretched out in front of you. Clasp your hands across your chest.
- Using only your tummy muscles, move your hips and try and inch 10 feet across the floor. Don't bend your knees, and keep your arms up.
- Rest for 90 seconds, then repeat the movement backwards, till you're back where you started.
That's all there is to it, but boy does it work! Honestly I don't think any exercise has ever challenged me as much as this one. You can really feel your body working - far more than any fancy bit of gym equipment.
For me, finding a way to get trim, build muscle and look and feel a whole lot healthier without stepping foot inside a gym was a God send.
And the best bit...?
There are dozens of imaginative exercises Vince has created to exercise your whole body. And you only have to follow this programme 7 minutes a day to make this work.
Interested?
Here's all the info you need:
Body Sculpting
---------------------------------------
Simple ways to avoid heartburn
---------------------------------------
Now I'm sure you aren't suffering from GERD. But I bet heartburn mugs you once in a while.
I certainly suffer from it from time to time.
But there are simple measures you can take to stop it happening to you:
- Eat your big meal at lunch time instead of dinnertime. This way your stomach won't still be battling that big meal when you go to bed.
- Eat at least two to three hours before lying down. If you take naps (Lara says it's my new profession), try sleeping in a chair. Lying down with a full stomach can cause stomach contents to press harder against the LES (lower esophageal sphincter - the gateway to your stomach), which increases the chances of acids forcing their way back into the esophagus.
- Avoid foods that irriate - like spicy foods, coffee, citrus fruit and juices. If you eat any of these foods at dinnertime you'll increase your chances of having night time heartburn. |
- Figure out what food is your enemy. Over two weeks, keep a note of what you eat and when you suffer heartburn.
You'll find there are one or two suspects that are always near the scene of the crime. Try cutting these out and see what effect it has.
- Sleep with your head and shoulder on an incline. Lying down flat presses the stomach's contents against the LES. And we've seen what that does. With the head higher than the stomach, gravity will keep your stomach contents from creeping back up into your gut.
- Sleep on your left side. Weird but true! Studies have shown that sleeping like this aids digestion and helps remove stomach acid. Sleeping on the right side has been shown to make heartburn worse. Don't ask me why.
Remember, if you continually suffer from night time heartburn, go and check it out. It's probably nothing, but it's best to be safe.
In the meantime, stack up on cabbage (well, Vitamin U at least), and don't eat spicy, hearty food late at night...
After all, why wait that long? What's wrong with lunch?!
That's it for today.
Have a great weekend, and I'll be back very, very soon.
Yours as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
|
|
|
|
