What Is Diarrhea?
It is a condition in which your bowel movements are frequent and discharges in a liquid form i.e loose watery stools. It’s a common health issue which can occur due to infection in the small or large intestine. When your bowel movements increases and are more frequent, your body is secreting toxins, viruses and bacteria from the digestive tract, if the bowel movements or bouts of diarrhea are common and occurs very occasionally, it is not a cause for concern but it can be bad if it causes severe dehydration. Diarrhea also indicates that you are having a serious health issue or an infection if your diarrhea remains for more than three days then visit your doctor immediately for medical help.
What Causes Diarrhea Generally?
Diarrhea occurs due to the presence of virus in your intestine but there are several other reasons also which may cause frequent bowel movements they are listed below:
- Eating Unhealthy Food
- Allergy
- Diabetes
- Laxative Intolerance
- Surgery On Your Digestive System
- Trouble In Absorbing Certain Nutrients
- Infection Caused By Certain Bacteria
- Overactive Thyroid
- Radiation Therapy
- Some Cancer
What Are The Symptoms Of Diarrhea?
- Nausea And Throwing Up
- Watery Loose Stools
- Abdominal Cramps Or Pain
- Bloating In Your Belly
- Feeling An Urge That You Need To Have A Bowel Movement
- Weight Loss
- Fever And Chills
- Mucus In The Stool
Most of the time diarrhea goes away on its own within 4 days, chronic diarrhea must be observed and requires medical attention. While
Dealing with intestinal infection you must be concerned regarding eating and drinking habits, maintain your hygiene, wash your hands regularly, do not consume contaminated water and avoid eating food outside, especially street food. Eat healthy food cooked at home.
Diarrhea is an uninvited inconvenience that troubles your body from top to bottom. When you are dealing with diarrhea it is necessary that you keep a check on your food. You must avoid eating fibrous, spicy, oily and fried food. Try to consume bland food which is helpful in dealing with gastrointestinal conditions.
What Is A Bland Diet?
It is a diet that consists of food which is generally cooked soft and low in dietary fiber, avoid eating fried and fatty foods, strong cheese, whole-grain and certain medications that might be affecting your digestion, eating bland food helps in soothing your digestive tract. Bland food is a non flavor food but it helps in fixing your diarrhea issue. Bland food helps in treating ulcers, heartburn, nausea, vomiting and gas. You may need to eat bland food after the stomach or intestinal surgery.
Foods That Goes Well As A Part Of A Bland Diet Are:
- Consume Cooked, Canned Or Frozen Vegetables
- Potatoes
- Canned Fruits
- Applesauce, Bananas And Melons
- Fruit Juices And Vegetable Juices
- Bread Crumbs And Pasta Made With Refined Wheat Flour
- Refined Hot Cereals Such As Cream Of Wheat
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Pudding And Custard
- Vanilla Wafers
- Milk And Dairy Products That Are Low In Fat Or Completely Fat Free
- Popsicles And Gelatin
- Tofu
Let’s discuss further in the article regarding food that stops diarrhea
What To Eat When You Have Diarrhea?
While dealing with frequent episodes of loose, watery stools remember about your meals or foods so that you can bring your digestive tract back on the track.
List Of Foods To Eat When You Have Diarrhea
Boiled Potatoes:
They are good for you in diarrhea if consumed without the skin as skin or peel of potato may contain fiber more than your system can deal with it, it’s necessary that you eat peeled plain potatoes as they are rich in potassium and helps to replace nutrients your body has lost, eat bland diet when having diarrhea as it is easily digestible consuming boiled mashed potatoes is an healthy option.
Soup Broth:
Consuming chicken broth soup replaces fluids back, when you have diarrhea. Your body gets dehydrated and you lose salt and mineral consuming soup replaces salt and saves you from chronic illness. Chicken soup is the best food for people dealing with diarrhea, it contains a lean component that allows you to benefit from protein and not too much fat as protein helps in recovering your body from infection. Broth based soup does not contain any high fat, such as cream of tomato or cream of chicken as high fat food is hard to digest especially when your stomach is healing of inflammation. Broth soup contains a lot of sodium that quickly depletes the vomiting and diarrhea, do not consume spicy soups as it may not be good for your digestive system and also do not consume bean soups as it is hard to digest the legumes.
Coconut Water:
It’s an electrolyte rich beverage that is considered good when you have diarrhea, significant amount of fluid loses from the body which could cause the dehydration to cure yourself from diarrhea you must consume coconut water, which rehydrates your body, coconut water is effective in treating dehydration it is a low calorie beverage that provides several nutrients to your body. It contains potassium, sodium, magnesium, and calcium that maintains proper fluid balance in your body. Drink coconut water in a moderate amount and it’s better if you consume unsweetened coconut water. It hydrates you due to its natural electrolytes but it has a laxative effect which in some people may cause diarrhea, if consumed in large amounts. That’s why moderation is the best key to maintain fluid balance in your body.
Electrolyte Water:
With each bowel movement in diarrhea your body keeps losing fluids, salt and other minerals,if fluid is not replaced in the body, it may lead to severe dehydration, drink plenty of fluids in small sips to maintain fluid balance. Consume electrolyte water after a bout of diarrhea to replenish your body with fluids and sodium. The Homemade electrolyte solution is the best way to replace fluids. You need 3 ingredients: water, salt and sugar. Take boiled water, cool down completely add sugar and salt in moderate amount, the salt and sugar drink in diarrhea is not a cure for diarrhea, but the salt helps to maintain electrolyte balance, while water replaces fluid and sugar is a good source of energy, consuming this solution prevents your body from dehydration
Hot Cereals:
Occurrence of diarrhea naturally is a common issue and the discomfort is real to overcome this stop consuming high fiber food and go for cereals that are good for your tummy. When dealing with frequent bowel movements choose low fiber food like hot cereals that helps in soothing and healing you from inflammation such as cream of rice, oatmeal, cream of wheat, farina and grits, you can also eat cold cereals such as rice, krispies, corn flakes, special k, golden grahams, rice and corn chex. Hot cereals are easy to digest, contains vitamins. You can add oatmeal also to your diet as they are a great source of soluble fiber that helps in binding and firming the stool to reduce diarrhea. Isn’t it a great choice of food that stops diarrhea?
Eat Probiotic Food:
Probiotic is food that stops the diarrhea and considered best, it provides all sorts of powerful health benefits and aids in improving digestion. You can get them from fermented food such as yogurt which is the best source of probiotics, consuming it helps in reducing diarrhea and relieves you from the discomfort.
Consume Kefir:
It’s another probiotic food, basically a milk drink made by adding kefir grains to cow’s milk or goats milk. It helps in improving digestion problems and protects against infections.
Consuming something salty and sweet: the best way to protect yourself during diarrhea is to consume plenty of liquid that contains salt and sugar, the salt slows down the fluid loss whereas sugar helps the body to absorb salt when you are having significant diarrhea. It is necessary that you maintain an appropriate intake of salt and enough sugar to keep yourself away from the emergency as diarrhea causes loss of water and nutrients from the body and you become dehydrated easily. It is necessary that with frequent bowel movements you must begin drinking fluids, dehydration may cause serious complications if not treated at best.
Brat Diet
It’s one of the most recommended diets for diarrhea. The idea of this is to give your gut time to rest and reduce the amount of stool produced. A brat diet is the best option for the children and adults who are ill or dealing with gastrointestinal issues. It is a low fiber binding food that treats stomach illnesses. It’s a bit starchy and a nutrient rich diet that replaces the nutrients your body has lost due to vomiting and diarrhea it also helps in easing the nausea and vomiting. Let’s explore more about brat diet and find which food is effective and provide relief in diarrhea
What Should I Eat If I Have Diarrhea?
Well BRAT DIET is a great option that means you can eat bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast.
It quickly brings you back on the track with much-needed energy and important nutrients including:
- Fat
- Protein
- Fiber
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B12
- Calcium
Children or adults who are dealing with dehydration due to diarrhea they need to drink plenty of fluids and consuming this diet lets learn how this diet helps you and saves you from inconvenience
Bananas:
What should I eat if I have diarrhea? This question has a very simple answer i.e consume bananas as it contains pectin that absorbs liquid present  in the intestines and reduces the duration of diarrhea. It also helps in dealing with weakness and dehydration. You can eat 1- 2 bananas twice a day to resolve tummy issues, they are also rich in potassium that helps to replace nutrients that are lost during bouts of diarrhea. You will be amazed to know that bananas have probiotic effects. Unripe bananas have starch that contributes to the growth of good bacteria which maintain the good health of your gut. Bananas are great at digestion. They easily get digested and produce energy as your body easily gets exhausted due to frequent visits to the washroom hence eating bananas restores energy.
Rice:
It is a low fibrous and easily digestible food which helps in stopping diarrhea, eat plain rice without including any fat or spices, you can boil rice and strain the starchy water, save it for consumption. Rice water is great at providing your body enough fluid to prevent dehydration it also reduces duration and number of visits to the washroom, consuming rice water forms firm and bulkier stools you can also consume curd and rice together for better results.
Applesauce:
Its pureed form of apples most commonly consumed in North America, applesauce is considered best when you are thinking what to eat to stop diarrhea, it is easy to digest and has plenty of nutrients specially pectin, a fiber that dissolves in water it also adds bulk to your stool and helps in getting rid of diarrhea, consuming applesauce is a great choice than apple as the fruits contain insoluble fiber that can put strain on your digestive system, applesauce suits your stomach when it is upset this adjustable food helps in relieving constipation and in diarrhea.
Toast:
Roasted bread with better is something that everybody likes to eat specially it is liked when you do not want to eat anything but you would surely love to eat a toast, toasted bread is great in diarrhea it helps in firming and binding the stool. Toast is an anti diarrhea diet.
What to eat when you have diarrhea and vomiting well, The BRAT diet is helpful for people who have frequent bouts of diarrhea and feel an uncomfortable twitch for a rush to the washroom. This diet soothes your stomach lining , reduces inflammation and makes you return to your normal food in two days. It is better to consume a BRAT diet than eating no food with diarrhea. However Brat diet is not recommended for children and infants as its a restrictive diet that doesn’t provide body with good amount of protein and other nutrients to heal your body whereas studies have shown that bananas and rice have good impact on treating diarrhea
How Can You Determine What Is The Cause Of Diarrhea After Eating
Diarrhea that occurs after eating your meal is unexpected and you may need to go to the washroom urgently. Let’s discuss further in the article regarding reasons for having diarrhea and how you can prevent frequent bouts of diarrhea after eating your meal.
Acute diarrhea after meals is a common problem that resolves on its own within two days. It happens when the muscles in your large intestine contract and empty your bowels when you have infection, food poisoning, irritable bowel syndrome or other conditions. These contractions may cause strong and more pain than usual below here are listed the causes of acute diarrhea:
- bacterial infection
- food poisoning
- viral infection
- parasites
- medications
- lactose intolerance
You can protect yourself from acute diarrhea by staying hydrated and choosing food wisely which is easy to digest. You can visit your doctor immediately if you notice blood in your stools, dehydration symptoms, fever above 100 degree fahrenheit, fever and stomach pain.
Chronic Diarrhea After Meals: may be due to a wide variety of health problems may diarrhea trigger after meal, the common causes that are known for chronic diarrhea are infection, lactose intolerance, sugar malabsorption, inflammatory bowel diseases, microscopic colitis, bile acid diarrhea, Gallbladder removal dumping syndrome, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency and cancer. If the diarrhea doesn’t go within 5 days you must reach medical help immediately. Try to eat small foods that are easily digestible, avoid eating fatty foods, fried food, thick gravies and large meals.
Can You Eat Eggs When You Have Diarrhea
A person can eat boiled eggs if they have diarrhea as consuming boiled eggs helps the patient to recover. Eating eggs helps in reducing the bowel movements and cooked eggs are easy to digest unless you are not allergic to them. They are protein rich nutrient dense food that helps in building and repairing tissues but making sure eating eggs in moderate amounts in diarrhea is fine as it is high in protein and takes time to break down so eating eggs in diarrhea can be tricky. Eat Brat diet that is soft , easy to chew , gets digested easily and aids in the recovery process
Is Peanut Butter Good For Diarrhea
Eating peanut butter in diarrhea can be tricky if you are allergic to peanuts the energy can range from mild skin rashes and stomach pain to severe anaphylaxis or cardiac arrest.The Other symptoms that may occur due to peanut allergy is swelling, stomach cramps, diarrhea, dizziness, nausea vomiting, sneezing, watery eyes with some people peanut allergy occurs only after consuming a tiny amount of peanuts which causes serious reactions that can be life threatening.
What Not To Eat When You Have Diarrhea
While dealing with frequent bowel movements you must be aware of what not to eat so that you do not upset your stomach more by eating things which you must avoid to consume
When you have diarrhea avoid eating gaseous food, eating fruits and vegetables in generous amount is fine but consuming it in excess may cause intestinal gasses do not consume fruits and vegetables that produces gasses such as cabbage, beans, broccoli and cauliflower for a short period of time, it’s fine to eat them once you get over with diarrhea
Do not eat food that is stale spoilt or mishandled when you have a diarrhea your stomach is already in a trouble do not cause more trouble by eating and unhygenic or unhealthy food or food that has been stored in your refrigerator for too long Raw meat or fish can be problematic to you do not consume them if you are in doubt it’s better that you throw away and eat fresh healthy food.
When you have diarrhea it is advisable not to consume alcohol and sodas which may cause you to lose more fluid from your body, alcohol acts as a diuretic that is dehydrating whereas sodas are rich in sugar which can cause problem when you have diarrhea large quantities of sodas can overwhelm your digestive system and may cause bloating or diarrhea.
It’s not safe to consume sweeteners during diarrhea as they have a laxative effect on the digestive system consuming sugar including artificial ones may cause more stress on the intestine to produce water and electrolytes consuming fructose in excess causes watery and frequent bowel movements leading to diarrhea.
It is strictly advised not to consume fatty foods as they are highly fried, greasy and covered in gravy which may worsen your diarrhea.
Is Cheese Good For Diarrhea
There are numerous foods that can cause diarrhea even if people don’t have any intolerance or allergy the specific triggers may upset your stomach Some people have lactose intolerance under which some people do not have enzymes that breakdown certain sugars available in dairy products instead of breaking it down your body disposes these sugars very quickly in the form of diarrhea that is why it is advised not to consume milk and other dairy products such as milk and cheese You may eat other products for few days such as bread, pasta, white rice, cereals, cream of wheat, oatmeal and corn flakes. Yogurt is a dairy product and it’s the best dairy product that can be consumed in diarrhea .
Bottom Line:
Diarrhea episodes are truly uncomfortable your body gets exhausted easily keep drinking plenty of healthy fluids to maintain hydration, very commonly diarrhea last only for a few days and get over easily with home treatments and with proper intake of simple diet, increased fluid intake and using over the counter medicine if required but if your body does not respond to these treatments after 2 to 3 days of diarrhea a person must visit its medical service provider for proper diagnosis and treatment.
