What foods can i eat to stop diarrhea

Diarrhoea, or diarrhea, is the condition wherein your bowel movements become loose or watery. It is also characterised by frequent loose bowel movements of at least three times a day. The condition can be uncomfortable but temporary as it usually lasts for just 2 to 3 days.

Common Causes

• bacterial infection

• parasitic infection

• viral infection

• lactose intolerance

• food intolerance

• laxatives

• change in diet

• excessive intake of alcohol

• a side effect of taking antibiotics

• other underlying medical conditions like Chron's disease or irritable bowel syndrome

Symptoms

The first sign of diarrhoea is loose and watery stools that are more frequent than usual. You may also feel the need to pass stools right away. It may be accompanied by bloating and abdominal cramps.

In some cases, a person with diarrhea may suffer from nausea and fever. The stools may appear greasy and may also contain blood or mucus.

Treatment

Diarrhea is usually treatable at home. In fact, mild cases go away even without treatment. However, recovery can be expedited by taking over-the-counter diarrhea medication.

To ease diarrhea, you may take loperamide capsules and oral rehydration fluids. You may purchase these from St Heliers Pharmacy in Auckland. For proper dosage, make sure to follow what is on the label or ask our trained pharmacists for instructions.

Complications

The most common complications of diarrhea are dehydration and loss of electrolytes like sodium and potassium.

Chronic diarrhea, or when the illness persists for weeks, may result in malabsorption of food nutrients. This may also be a sign of a more serious medical disorder.

What to Eat and What to Avoid When You Have Diarrhea

What foods should you eat to stop diarrhoea? Are bananas bad for you if you have a loose bowel movement? Let us find out.

What to eat

Here is a list of foods good for diarrhea.

• Bland foods like white rice, bread, apple, and cereals. These are easy to digest.

• Potassium-rich foods like bananas and potatoes without the skin.

• Skinless chicken or turkey

• Chicken broth and other foods with high sodium content.

• Probiotics. Yogurt is particularly good for diarrhea.

You must drink plenty of fluids, especially water, to avoid dehydration. In addition, try eating smaller meals to aid digestion.

What to avoid

Aside from taking note of what foods to eat to stop diarrhea, it is equally important to avoid certain food groups that may worsen the condition.

A good diet for diarrhea must NOT include the food groups listed below.

Dairy. In some cases, diarrhea is a result of lactose intolerance. Aside from milk products, do not consume cheese, butter, and ice cream.

Fatty foods. These can worsen your diarrhea. Do not eat fried and greasy foods temporarily.

Beans, broccoli, and cabbage. These vegetables may increase gas in the stomach, which may aggravate the condition.

Spicy foods. An upset stomach may not be able to tolerate spicy foods.

Alcohol. It can cause dehydration, especially if taken in large amounts, so it should be avoided.

Caffeine. This may speed up the bowel movements. Limit your caffeine intake or stop drinking coffee and caffeinated tea temporarily.

Sodas and beverages with high sugar content. Sodas contain caffeine. Moreover, foods and drinks with high fructose may just trigger a laxative effect on your stomach.

Diarrhea is no fun, especially if you're not near a bathroom. What can you do to help slow the flow when diarrhea strikes? And are there any foods that help or hurt? That depends, says David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University. Katz says nutrition can sometimes be the fix—but not always.

Read on for the scoop on what causes diarrhea, what to eat when you have diarrhea, what foods to avoid and what drinks can help you feel better.

Related: What the Appearance of Your Poop Can Tell You About Your Health

What Causes Diarrhea?

Acute Diarrhea

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, acute diarrhea typically lasts just a few days. Food poisoning is often the culprit, although other things—the flu, parasites, and even some antibiotics and other medicines—can send you racing for the nearest bathroom. If you're visiting a place where the food or water is contaminated, you may get struck with travelers' diarrhea, even if people who live there are unaffected.

Chronic Diarrhea

Chronic diarrhea lasts four weeks or longer. It can be a sign of something more serious, like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It can also be caused by an untreated infection or parasite. If you're experiencing chronic diarrhea, talk to your healthcare provider.

Symptoms of Diarrhea

Besides having runny, watery poop, you may feel cramping, stomach pain, nausea or bloating. And depending on the cause, you may also have a fever or chills.

Best Foods to Eat

Most likely, you aren't going to feel like eating much, especially if you have stomach cramping or pain. With acute diarrhea, the key is getting over whatever caused the problem in the first place, which usually means waiting things out. In this case, "food isn't the solution," says Katz.

Once you are ready to try food, go easy. For years, many experts recommended the BRAT diet—bananas, rice, applesauce and toast—all soft, bland foods once touted as easy on kids' tummies. It was also thought that the low fiber content of BRAT could help firm up the poop. However, while it probably won't hurt you, "there's not much evidence to support it," notes Katz.

If you have chronic diarrhea, what you eat—and don't eat—can help. "Adjusting your diet will make the biggest difference in chronic diarrhea," says Katz. Cut out foods you seem to be sensitive to, like milk or nuts, for a while, and then gradually add them back. Your doctor may suggest keeping a "diarrhea diary" to track which foods seem to trigger your symptoms.

You might want to consider probiotics—foods with "good" bacteria. Some research suggests foods that contain probiotics may help prevent or treat diarrhea. For example, a 2022 review in Nutrition and Health suggests that fermented foods, which contain probiotics, seem to help treat diarrhea by reducing the severity and duration of it. Probiotics are sometimes used to treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other chronic digestive conditions. You can find them in dairy foods like yogurt, aged cheeses and kefir, and in nondairy foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and tempeh. They're also available as supplements. Check with your healthcare provider first, though, before supplementing with probiotics.

Foods to Avoid

Once your appetite returns, be kind to your stomach.

• Avoid high-fiber foods like beans, raw vegetables or fresh fruits like apples or peaches—they can be hard on your system.
• Alcohol, caffeine and dairy products can all make diarrhea worse, so nix the cocktails, coffee and ice cream while your stomach recovers.
• Ditto for greasy or spicy foods.
• Finally, beware of hidden culprits. Diet sodas, sugarless gum and candy made with artificial sweeteners like sorbitol may trigger an unexpected trip to the toilet.

What to Drink

Sip water—lots of it—to replace the fluids you're losing out of the other end. How do you know if you're drinking enough? Use the pee test.

In general, you should pee at least every three hours, and the urine should be a pale straw color. "If you don't need to pee or if your pee is dark, you need to drink more," advises Katz. Just about any food will help replace lost electrolytes, but if you don't feel like eating, Katz recommends drinking something with sodium and potassium, like a sports or pediatric electrolytes drink—just watch out for the added sugar. Seltzer water can be a great choice as well.

When to See Your Healthcare Provider

Get medical help right away if you have diarrhea along with a fever or severe stomach pain, or if you feel too sick to drink anything. You want to rule out any serious problems like diverticulitis (an inflammation or infection in the colon) or appendicitis, says Katz. Otherwise, see your healthcare provider if you don't start to feel better in a day or two. If you have had chronic diarrhea for more than three or four weeks, call your healthcare provider so they can investigate the cause of it.

Diarrhea is no fun, but here's the good news: It usually clears up on its own in a few days. Give yourself time to rest and recover, and your poop problems will soon be, well, behind you.

What food naturally stops diarrhea?

How do I make my poop more solid?