Eating with diarrhea: features, recommendations and reviews

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Diarrhea often starts suddenly and goes away on its own after a while. The frequency of the stool usually increases and the consistency changes to a more liquid one. Diarrhea can be caused by many things: a viral or bacterial infection, food poisoning, irritable bowel syndrome, or a food intolerance. Regardless of the cause of loose stools, it becomes difficult for the body to digest food. Diarrhea can also be dangerous for babies and older people due to the loss of large amounts of fluid and the risk of dehydration. Therefore, it is important to take precautions and carefully follow the diet for diarrhea in adults and children.

Reasons

Diarrhea can be caused by several of the following:

• infection with bacteria, viruses or parasites, such as food poisoning;
• taking antibiotics;
• food intolerance;
• stress and anxiety;
• drinking alcohol;
• overeating.

Signs

Diarrhea symptoms may include:

• cramping abdominal pain;
• bloating;
• nausea;
• watery stool;
• frequent bowel movements;
• temperature increase.

Diarrhea can make people feel really bad. Most people with diarrhea improve within a few days. Dehydration is the most serious complication of diarrhea.

Treatment

Compliance with the basics of nutrition for diarrhea is primarily aimed at maintaining the natural water-s alt balance in the body. Due to repeated stools, the body loses a large amount of fluid and trace elements. Clear liquids such as water, weak tea, broth, apple juice, or rehydration solutions are essential to restore gut microflora.

Don't stop eating and starving. It is recommended to simply adjust your diet a little. The diet for diarrhea (diarrhea) in an adult and a child is based on the use of foods that are easily digested and do not burden the intestines. It may not be a high starch solid food such as:

• bananas;
• flakes;
• rice;
• noodles;
• gelatin;
• eggs;
• toast;
• apple puree.

If an adult has diarrhea, dairy products and caffeine should be excluded from the diet. Return to normal dietmaybe in 2 or 3 days. Also, in the near future, you should stop consuming the following products:

• fresh fruits (except bananas);
• fresh vegetables;
• alcohol;
• fast food;
• greasy, spicy food.

Be careful when taking antidiarrheal medicines. Some of them may make your condition worse. Various side effects, such as blood in the stool and constipation, may occur due to overdosing or inappropriate use of the drug. If you have chronic he alth problems, check with your doctor before taking any medication for diarrhea.

Proper nutrition

What and how we eat is of great importance for our digestion. Below are some dietary tips for diarrhea:

1. Include a variety of foods in your diet.
2. Eat simple vegetarian food.
3. Chew thoroughly.
4. Don't read or watch TV while eating.
5. Eat regularly. The amount of food and the time of intake should be the same every day. The optimal time for breakfast is around 7 am, lunch around 12 noon and dinner around 6 pm.
6. Eat small meals often.
7. Avoid eating when you are emotionally aroused or upset. First you need to calm down.
8. Eat washed, fresh, organic, seasonal and ripe foods.
9. It is not recommended to eat food that is too hot, spicy, cold, fatty or raw.
10. Try not to eat anything 2-3 hours before bed.

Diet

Diarrhea is a common digestive disorder characterized by loose, watery stools. This condition causes a frequent need to defecate. Treatment of diarrhea should be carried out in conjunction with the correction of consumed products and the appointment of a special diet. Below is a sample list of he althy and dangerous foods for diarrhoea.

Dangerous include:

• Fried or fatty foods (such as sausage, meat, bacon, chicken nuggets, fried seafood or pizza).
• Regular milk, kefir or high fat cheese.
• Raw vegetables, especially those with thick skins, seeds or fibers such as broccoli.

What can I eat with diarrhea and diarrhea? These could be:

• Boiled vegetables. Potatoes will help firm up your stool due to their high starch and low fiber content.
• Boiled poultry meat. If your stomach is ready to eat meat, great! First, the skin must be removed, as it is the source of the fat. Also do not add spices. If you're making homemade chicken soup, simply eat the breast meat after the broth has cooked.
• Boiled rice. This product also helps improve stool consistency in disorders.
• Chicken broth is a food that will help replenish your supply of nutrients and electrolytes. Chicken soup also helps boost a weakened immune system.

Baby diarrhea

What diet is prescribed for diarrhea for children? As with adults, nutrition should be based on the use of non-solid and quickly digested foods. It is worth bearing in mind that a baby loses sodium during diarrhea, so it is recommended to add some s alt to the baby's food.

What can you eat with diarrhea? The diet consists of the following foods:

• bananas;
• boiled rice;
• boiled chicken;
• meat broth;
• apple puree;
• whole grain bread;
• vegetables such as carrots, mushrooms, beets, zucchini;
• baked or boiled potatoes;
• liquid desserts like ice cream and sorbet.

For better digestion, cooked foods should be crushed and given to the child in the form of mashed potatoes.

Food for children

What food should I avoid with diarrhea in children? If diarrhea is the result of a food allergy, the offending food should be avoided. If you are lactose intolerant, avoid formulas or milk-based products.

In addition, the following foods should be excluded from food with diarrhea:

• Cow or goat milk (breast is allowed).
• As well as all other dairy products. Lactose with diarrhea is poorly digested. Even if lactose intolerance has not been observed before, the body can become sensitive to the protein with diarrhea. All types of dairy products should be avoidedsuch as milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. You can add low fat yogurt to your diet. Since the sugar lactose is broken down into lactic acid by millions of bacteria, such a product is easily digested in the intestines. Probiotic-fortified yogurt can also help you recover from diarrhea.

• Raw foods. Such food with diarrhea is difficult to digest due to the fiber content. It is very useful for the body, as it improves intestinal motility, and also due to the content of vitamin B. But in cases of diarrhea, excessive irritation of the intestinal walls can only aggravate the situation.
• Fried foods. For example, chicken or vegetables.
• Foods high in sugar, such as pastries, cakes and cookies.
• Vegetables that cause gas, such as beans, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and peppers.
• Fatty food. Chips, french fries, bacon and sausage. Fat is difficult to digest. Eating fried and fatty foods while recovering from diarrhea will harm the digestive system.
• All varieties of fruit juices (any natural, homemade, store-bought juices with or without additives). The acid in these drinks is irritating to the intestines.
• Dried fruits. Dates, raisins, prunes.
• Caffeine. It has a laxative effect, has an irritating effect on the intestinal wall. Foods containing caffeine also contribute to dehydration. This includes coffee, tea, chocolate andother products.

Diet

The best diet to restore and normalize the intestinal microflora consists of foods that contain all the necessary substances for good nutrition. But besides this, eating with diarrhea should not burden an already weakened body.

Most cases of loose stools disappear after correction of food and products consumed. The diet will help shorten the duration of diarrhea without depriving you of optimal nutrition and essential micronutrients.

Recommendations

What can you eat with diarrhea? Approximate diet for one day:

• Breakfast: low butter semolina and 1 toast.
• Lunch can consist of broth with rice, pasta or mashed potatoes with boiled vegetables, and a couple of slices of whole grain bread.

• Snack: banana or applesauce, cottage cheese.
• Dinner is not recommended to eat a large amount of food. You can limit yourself to boiled lean meats such as chicken, turkey or lean beef.

During snacks between meals, you can eat boiled vegetables, waffles, pancakes, toast, low-fat dairy products. It is also recommended to drink plenty of fluids. It can be plain water or weak tea.

Dehydration

One of the complications that can occur with diarrhea is dehydration. And children are the most affected. Signs of lack of fluid in the body are as follows:

• decreasequantity and frequency of urination;
• thirst;
• sluggishness;
• fatigue;
• dry skin.

A feature of the diet for diarrhea, diarrhea in an adult and a child is to replenish the water-s alt balance. To combat dehydration, you need to increase your fluid intake. If the baby is breastfed, it is recommended to apply it to the breast more often. If he is formula-fed, offer a bottle of water more often.

In some cases it may be necessary to use rehydration solutions. Such drugs are needed to maintain the balance of fluid and electrolytes in the body, the loss of which occurs during frequent and loose stools. Rehydration solutions can be bought at any pharmacy.

Preventing dehydration in a child with diarrhea is a top priority. It is recommended to carefully monitor the he alth of the baby. If the condition worsens and new symptoms appear, you should consult a specialist.

Prevention

To prevent intestinal infection and, as a result, the appearance of diarrhea, it is necessary to follow some recommendations.

Always wash your hands after using the toilet and before eating

• Make sure the dairy products you eat and drink are pasteurized.
• Serve food immediately after it has been cooked or reheated.

To prevent the risk of transmission to other peoplestick to the following rules.

1. Avoid unnecessary contact until all symptoms are gone.
2. Don't cook food for other people. Wash your hands thoroughly or cook with gloves.
3. If you work in a catering industry (such as a cafe or restaurant), it is not recommended to go to work until the symptoms disappear.

When to see a doctor?

You need to call an ambulance or go to a medical facility if you experience the following symptoms:

• Diarrhea lasts more than 3 days.
• Convulsions.
• Abdominal pain lasts several days, becomes intense or is focused on only one area of the abdomen.
• Dizziness.
• Blood and mucus in the stool.
• Temperature above 39 degrees.

Reviews

Everyone at least once in their life faced with the appearance of loose stools. The duration and severity of diarrhea depends on the causes that caused this condition. In addition to drug treatment, first of all, it is necessary to adjust the diet. Food for diarrhea should be easily digestible, not irritate the intestines, and also contain an increased amount of potassium, sodium and starch. According to reviews, the exclusion of fatty or spicy foods, fast food, sweets, dairy products, raw vegetables and fruits, alcohol and caffeine helps to cope with diarrhea much faster and return to the previous regimen. Some faced a situation where frequent loose stools led to severe dehydration. The use of clear liquids helped to cope with this:broths, water, rehydration solutions.