Print
Hits: 14429
Diarrhea is a common ailment suffered by children and adults alike. It is defined as loose, watery, unformed stools occurring more than three times in one day.

When it comes to treating or preventing diarrhea, diet is an important factor to consider. Diet is important: Diarrhea diet during and after an acute diarrhea attack
During and shortly after an acute attack of diarrhea, a “Diarrhea diet” should focus on: Replacing fluids and electrolytes
Many people think that drinking fluids during bouts of diarrhea will worsen the diarrhea. This is not true. In fact, drinking fluids is very important during bouts of diarrhea to prevent dehydration, which is the loss of vital fluids and electrolytes (sodium and potassium). Proper hydration is especially important in children with diarrhea because they can die from dehydration within a couple of days.

Although water is extremely important in preventing dehydration, it does not contain electrolytes. Good choices to help maintain electrolyte levels include broth or soups (which contain sodium), and certain fruit juices, soft fruits, or vegetables (which contain potassium).

For children, doctors often recommend a special rehydration solution that contains the nutrients they need. You can buy this solution in the grocery store without a prescription. Examples of rehydration solutions include Pedialyte®, CeraLyte®, and Infalyte®.

Foods to avoid as part of the “Diarrhea diet”
While you are waiting for the diarrhea to end, you should avoid foods that can make it worse. Some foods that can make diarrhea worse include: Foods to include as part of the “Diarrhea diet"
As you recover from a bout of diarrhea, the best foods to start eating are easily digested, high–carbohydrate foods. These include: It is best to avoid milk and other dairy products for 7 to 10 days after the diarrhea improves. A mild case of lactose intolerance often follows cases of diarrhea.

For children, the pediatrician may recommend what is called the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast.

Using diet to help diagnose chronic diarrhea
Any diarrhea that lasts longer than two weeks is known as chronic diarrhea. As part of diagnosing the cause of chronic diarrhea, the healthcare provider will typically ask a number of questions. Based on the answers to these questions (along with the physical exam), your healthcare provider may suspect that a food intolerance or food allergy is causing your diarrhea. In such cases, your healthcare provider may ask you to avoid foods containing: This is to see whether the diarrhea responds to a change in diet.

A traveler’s preventative diarrhea diet
Traveler’s diarrhea may occur when you consume food or water contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites. There are precautions you can take to prevent traveler’s diarrhea when you go abroad.

As part of the traveler’s diarrhea diet You can safely drink bottled water (if you are the one to break the seal), carbonated soft drinks, and hot drinks like coffee or tea.

Medical conditions and the diarrhea diet
There are a number of medical conditions that can cause diarrhea. Two such medical conditions include irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease. Both of these conditions can be improved through changes in diet.

IBS, diarrhea, and diet
Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a condition that interferes with the normal functions of the colon. Common IBS symptoms include crampy abdominal pain (or stomach pain), bloating, constipation, and diarrhea.

For many people with irritable bowel syndrome, diet can help control the symptoms of IBS. However, everyone’s IBS diet will be a little different because types of food that affect one person may not affect another and vice versa. So one of the first steps for anyone diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome is to become familiar with foods that have been known to worsen or improve symptoms of the condition.

Many people with IBS find that they have problems with certain foods, including Celiac disease, diarrhea, and diet
Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, found in wheat, rye, and barley.

For a person diagnosed with celiac disease, treatment begins with a gluten–free diet for life. A gluten–free diet is the only diet for celiac disease that will treat the condition.

Source: diarrhea.emedtv.com