Bloating can not only be uncomfortable but embarrassing too. It can make your clothes ill-fitting, mess up your meal plans, and cause gassiness. It can affect anyone, but it’s often far worse (and far more frequent) for women. The reasons are simply biological. To retain more water during pregnancy and facilitate other functions, women have a much longer colon, which means it runs into more problems during digestion, menstruation, and everything else. It’s a perfect recipe for a bloating problem. However, even though bloating seems inevitable, you can use natural remedies to prevent it from occurring and even reduce the bloating you already have. If you’re a woman whose busy week gets waylaid by digestion and bloating issues, it may seem biologically unfair. But these 7 natural remedies can help even the score.   1.   Probiotics Probiotics encourage your gut to produce healthy bacteria that help you absorb nutrients. They also stop cultures of bad bacteria from forming in your intestines, which is a huge cause of bloating. This means that a plant-based, natural source of probiotics is your best soldier on the frontlines of bloat prevention. Dietary probiotic sources include sauerkraut, kimchi, and kombucha. You could also go the dairy route and try kefir and Greek yogurt, though your stomach may not take well to dairy in this instance. Stick to the plant-based alternatives.   2.   Hydrate Hydrating can improve your digestion and the speed with which you absorb nutrients. If you know you’ve had excess salt lately or you haven’t been drinking enough, proper hydration can flush you out, reduce face-swelling and bloating, and make you feel better. Try the water warm with a little lemon for extra benefits.   3.   Fennel Fennel is a natural bloat-blaster, even in raw seed form. You can cook with fennel seeds or even eat them raw as a snack, which can help with bloating particularly when it’s caused by cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts. However, an easy and more palatable choice might be fennel teas, which you can steep yourself or buy in the store.   4.   Cut Back on Coffee I know, I know. Your busy week is a train and coffee is the coal and if the steam runs out, the whole thing grinds to a halt. But caffeinated coffee is not only a mild diuretic, meaning it takes water out of you, but it’s also a gastrointestinal irritant. It has a natural propensity for causing bloating. Since most of us aren’t going to drop coffee cold turkey, one thing you can do besides simply limit your number of cups in the morning is to reduce the additives you use. Less cream and sugar can help reduce the irritation on your bowels.   5.   Ginger Ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory that my grandma often sliced up and made us chew to treat an upset stomach. Turns out, she was on to something, since a homemade ginger and lemon tea does wonders for [...]

If you are already getting hit with muscle cramps during or immediately after a workout, you are walking on the painful wild side. Muscle cramps can end your training quickly and have you crying uncle like a toddler if you are not careful. It does not matter how tough you are! Just ask LeBron James. He had to be carried off the court in the NBA Finals years ago like a wounded soldier because his cramps prevented him from being able to walk. Muscle cramps usually happen because of three reasons: The person is dehydrated, the muscle has been overused, or you have been holding a certain pose too long. More often than not, it has to do with dehydration and a depletion of the minerals your body needs to function properly. Cramps used to be a major problem for me as well. I’d make the trek to the gym only to have my workout cut in half because the tightness and soreness prevented me from going another step on the treadmill or even attempting another strength training set. But after a bit of research, I realized an ounce of prevention can keep the cramps from ever showing up in the first place.   Drink Plenty of Liquid             Coaches always tell athletes to drink water before they are thirsty to stay properly hydrated. Now that I am older and want to avoid cramping up, I fully agree with them! Pick liquids that have plenty of electrolytes such as coconut water and some of the healthier sports drinks if you find you are already cramping up.   Eat Certain Foods             Bananas are really one of the best gifts nature has ever given us! They contain potassium, magnesium, and calcium (all three nutrients relieve muscle cramps). Avocados, watermelon, and Greek yogurt are also good choices. If I am heading out on a run, I will usually have one of these before I venture out and then another one after I finish.   Massage             Around my area, it costs about a dollar a minute for a good massage. This can get expensive rather quickly. But if you want to treat yourself now and then and relieve muscle soreness and cramping at the same time, there is nothing like a massage for those tight and strained muscles.   Take a Hot Shower             A hot and steamy shower can relieve even the most painful cramps. The hot water will feel so good that you won’t want to get out of the shower! Hopefully, you have a tankless water heater that can supply you with an endless amount of hot water without running out. And if you really want to spoil yourself, look for a good shower bench you can sit on while letting the steaming water soothe your cramping muscles.   Stay Flexible       [...]

There have been times in my life when sleep has not come easy. Probably just like you, I have suffered through times of anxiety and sleeplessness where the alarm goes off in the morning and I know for a fact that I never slept more than two hours the entire night. We need a good amount of sleep every night so our bodies and our minds can operate at full function effectively. Sleep is when our bodies repair themselves and our brain is able to clear out harmful toxins that affect our cognitive abilities. Just one night of sleeplessness can cause havoc on our lives for the entire week as you constantly try to play catch up. And if you can’t sleep for days at a time and are a true insomniac, there is nothing pleasant about walking around like a zombie during the daytime hours.   Solutions to Sleeplessness               If you speak to a doctor about your problems with sleeping, they will probably recommend a couple over the counter items or even a prescription drug to help with the issue. I’m not sure about you, but I usually look for an all-natural solution to a problem before I try any medication.   Box Breathing           As you may have never heard of box breathing, there is a possibility that you would recognize it under another name like square breathing. It is the process by which a person will take slow and deep breaths to bring on relaxation. Police officers, medical professionals, educators, and even the military have used box breathing during strenuous moments to relieve stress.   Four Basic Steps to Box Breathing             Box breathing is like a form of meditation and there is nothing difficult about it. If you follow these four simple steps to box breathing, you just might be able to fall asleep quicker every night when incorporating this method into your life.   For a count of four, exhale deeply by eliminating all the air out of your lungs. Now, with all of the air out of your lungs, count to four. Next, inhale only through your nose also for a count of four (seeing a pattern here?). Finally, pause for another four seconds while you hold the air in your legs and your chest swells and expands.   Keep repeating these four steps and soon enough you will not even have to concentrate to achieve this method. It will just become habit over time.   The Research States…           Rather than rely on my sole recommendation to try box breathing when having difficulty sleeping, there is plenty of research that proves it works in enabling better sleep. In fact, a 2015 study conducted by National Yang-Ming University in Taiwan demonstrated that by doing slow breathing exercises for 20 minutes before bed, the people would fall asleep three times [...]