5 Health Questions You're Too Embarrassed To Ask ... Answered

At one point or another we've all suffered from an embarrassing health issue -- be it minor or a large nuisance that we just aren't comfortable talking about in public. People ask me health- and diet-related questions online everyday. And after working with on "The Biggest Loser" for 12 seasons, I sometimes doubt there's an embarrassing question I haven't been asked! Here are some popular ones:

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Hiccups

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Boo! Hiccups happen when your diaphragm goes into somewhat of a spasm and involuntarily contracts. The diaphragm is a muscle that helps you breathe. After the contraction, an abrupt rush of air flows into your lungs, thus creating a "hic" sound. Most of the time hiccups are self limiting and rarely need medical intervention. Causes: -Sudden excitement -A very full stomach -Carbonated beverages -Alcohol -Dry breads -Spicy foods -Smoking Treatment and Prevention: There are lots of home remedies out there and you may have one that you swear by. Most remedies actually increase the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood. This is thought to stop the hiccups. Some suggestions: -Holding your breath for 10-20 seconds -Breathing into a paper bag for a short period of time -Trying to drink a cup of water bent over in an upside down position -Swallowing a spoon full of sugar or honey -Don't eat too much! Learn to stop when you're comfortable -- not stuffed. -Being startled -- although sometimes, this can cause them, too!

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Boo! Hiccups happen when your diaphragm goes into somewhat of a spasm and involuntarily contracts. The diaphragm is a muscle that helps you breathe. After the contraction, an abrupt rush of air flows into your lungs, thus creating a "hic" sound. Most of the time hiccups are self limiting and rarely need medical intervention.

Causes:
-Sudden excitement
-A very full stomach
-Carbonated beverages
-Alcohol
-Dry breads
-Spicy foods
-Smoking

Treatment and Prevention:
There are lots of home remedies out there and you may have one that you swear by. Most remedies actually increase the amount of carbon dioxide in your blood. This is thought to stop the hiccups. Some suggestions:
-Holding your breath for 10-20 seconds
-Breathing into a paper bag for a short period of time
-Trying to drink a cup of water bent over in an upside down position
-Swallowing a spoon full of sugar or honey
-Don't eat too much! Learn to stop when you're comfortable -- not stuffed.
-Being startled -- although sometimes, this can cause them, too!

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Next week I'll continue with five more embarrassing health questions.

Cheryl Forberg, RD is a James Beard award-winning chef, Nutritionist for NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and NYT bestselling author. Her latest book is Flavor First (Rodale). She lives on a farm in Napa, California. For more nutrition and cooking tips, visit Cheryl's website

 

 

 

Follow Cheryl Forberg, RD on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CherylForbergRD

Comments

[rpattonhrc]

05:06 PM on 09/06/2011

How is "Remember to say "pardon me" after a loud burp" a preventive measure for burping?

[Charlotte1961]

09:51 PM on 09/02/2011

Eating a spoon full of sugar will stop hiccups. However, you have to deposit the sugar on the back of your tongue and swallow it as dry as possible. If your saliva comes into contact with the sugar for more than a second or two you end up with a sweet syrup, pretty tasty but it's not going to do a thing for your hiccups.

[Nelson Montana]

01:48 AM on 09/02/2011

Who's embarrassed by constipation? I mean, who has to know?

[ChrisUtzig]

01:13 AM on 09/02/2011

These aren't embarrassing, they are mostly about digestive health.

[susankhbelen]

11:53 PM on 09/01/2011

facile

[Jillian Joyce Aarsvold]

10:24 PM on 09/01/2011

What works on hiccups for me is holding my breath while plugging my nose. If that doesn't work, I drink a cup of water as quickly as I can. When my dad was in the Navy, he had hiccups for three straight days! TRUE STORY

[dsws]

08:31 PM on 09/01/2011

Holding your breath for ten seconds? The way I use the word, that's not even possible: it doesn't count as "holding your breath" until about thirty seconds.

Run up and down three flights of stairs while holding your breath. That will increase CO2 levels in your blood enough to have a chance.

What works best for me is lying on my back and breathing in as much as possible, then breathing very shallowly (i.e. keeping my lungs very full through the entire cycle) until the urge to hiccup has been gone for a bit longer than the usual interval between hiccups.

[Mochilero]

08:03 PM on 09/01/2011

Priapism, anyone?

[yellowdoggie]

08:34 AM on 09/02/2011

No thanks.

[maribelles]

07:01 PM on 09/01/2011

Re "constipation".... Ah the medical model! Turning everything into pathology, or allowing it to get to that point before health building is actually enacted. Anyone without a movement (fairly habitually) for more than 24 hours should go to a traditional (not medical) naturopath, and stay away from "their doctor". The actual inner ecology "causes" are poor colon tone, poor overall tissue quality, lack of peristalsis, MANY (not "some") medications, including unnecessary "iron" supplements, and microbial imbalance - substandard and unhealthy intestinal flora. Many people suffer for literally years with digestive distress; even loose stools are a form of constipation. Medical science generally allows these conditions to deteriorate until they recommend surgery- this is not health building.

[mary896]

06:56 PM on 09/01/2011

This was UNINFORMATIVE. And not exactly embarrassing either. Oh well, maybe next time.

[miggiepdx]

10:35 AM on 09/04/2011

Oops. That "insightful" badge was intended for comment by "maribelles." So sorry.

[uberengineer]

06:53 PM on 09/01/2011

I firmly believe that hiccups are caused by an AIR BUBBLE trapped in the top of your stomach just below the diaphragm. I say this because I have TRAINED MY STOMACH MUSCLES to flex in such a way that makes hiccups go away immediately. I will say it again, I NEVER GET HICCUPS for more than 1 second because I can flex my stomach muscles correctly. Carbonated drinks bring on the hiccups...proper use of the stomach muscles makes them go away. This is why being SCARED sometimes works, because it makes you tense up your mid section real fast and squeeze out the air bubble. Drinking water upside down works because it displaces the trapped air with water.
The next time you have hiccups, get someone to squeeze you from behind with their fist just below your sternum, and try to time the squeeze just as the hiccup happens, and hopefully expel that air bubble.

[veggiequeenmo]

06:25 PM on 09/01/2011

Farts are funny. So are loud burps.

None of the above are embarrassing.

I would expect better from a nutrionist. Really. You can do better than this.

[sixyfivepercentwater]

06:06 PM on 09/01/2011

These are not embarrassing questions, and I wouldn't be afraid to ask them, EXCEPT that I learned the answers as a child, so I don't need to ask.

What's next? An article about "Gravity - A Shameful Secret"?

[blacksmithn]

05:14 PM on 09/01/2011

Hiccups and burps are embarassing? Really?

Now, a weeping sore on your johnson, THAT'S embarassing.

Or so I would imagine...

[drricklippin]

04:53 PM on 09/01/2011

Let's keep hearing from nutritionists because, unless things have changed since I went to med school, physicians in training get next to nothing on nutrition science.How embarrassing and shortsighted.

Dr. Rick Lippin
Southampton,Pa

[sixyfivepercentwater]

06:07 PM on 09/01/2011

How are they supposed to get training when no one agrees on what good nutrition is? And who was talking about nutrition, anyway?

[maribelles]

06:52 PM on 09/01/2011

Well, unless things have changed since I went to dietetics school, (RD program) they're teaching next to nothing about actual nutrition, either- all they did then was feed us the corporate party line. I am so glad I figured that out early into it. But we did learn about burps and farting.