Example Diet against Diarrhea

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Premise

The following indications are for informational purposes EXCLUSIVELY and are not intended to replace the opinion of professionals such as a doctor, nutritionist or dietician, whose intervention is necessary for the prescription and composition of PERSONALIZED food therapies.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea refers to a condition of intestinal discomfort that causes at least three daily bowel movements of very soft or liquid stools. To be defined as such, it must have a duration of at least two days, before which the discharges have no diagnostic significance.

Beyond 14 days it is defined as persistent and, if accompanied by mucus, blood, pain and poor control of the evacuation, it is called dysentery. NB. In infants, liquid (but not watery) stools are considered normal.
Diarrhea causes significant fluid loss and, if continued, can lead to dehydration and mineral deficiencies.
Among the most common causes of diarrhea we mention intestinal infections or infestations (viruses, bacteria, parasites), food intolerances (lactose, celiac disease), hyperthyroidism, the use of drugs or food supplements, the abuse of laxatives, the intake of irritating or osmotic molecules (lactulose, caffeine, capsaicin, etc.), irritable bowel syndrome, intense cold, alteration of the intestinal bacterial flora, the psychosomatic action of catecholamines, diverticular disease and chronic inflammatory diseases intestinal (ulcerative rectal colitis and Crohn's disease).
The prevention and treatment of diarrhea are specific, therefore based on the triggering causes; a specific diet is always required.

In developing countries, diarrhea is a very frequent cause of mortality.

Diet

The diet for diarrhea is a diet necessary for the restoration of normal fecal consistency.
As with prevention and treatment, dietary therapy must also take into account the triggering agent. However, since in many cases the diarrhea is idiopathic (the reason is unknown), it is good to follow a diet that can be effective in each of the cases mentioned above.
The basics of a good diarrhea diet are:

• Absence of nutrients subject to intolerance; it is always advisable to temporarily eliminate lactose and, for celiacs, it is advisable to take particular care of food hygiene by preventing contamination with gluten
• Absence of drugs, synthetic laxatives and unnecessary food supplements
• Absence of alcohol and other nerves (caffeine, theine, theobromine, etc.)
• Absence of intestinal irritating additives (xylitol, polyphosphates, mannitol, etc.)
• Absence of spicy ingredients (capsaicin, piperine, gingerol, allicin, isothiocyanate, etc.)
• Absence of carbonized molecules in cooking
• Absence of laxative foods
• Few fibers, trying to prefer the soluble ones
• Fats in quantities not exceeding the norm (25-30%)
• Increase in the supply of mineral salts and water, paying attention to the osmotic concentration of any hydro-saline drinks
• Consumption of probiotic foods (yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, tempeh, miso etc)
• Possibly, consumption of astringent foods.

Diarrhea supplements

Potentially useful food supplements, to be associated with the diet for diarrhea, are different.
In the event that the power supply is not sufficient, it is advisable to use a hydro-saline type product, containing mainly water, potassium and magnesium; these will compensate for faecal eliminations even in the case of persistent diarrhea.
Some choose more complex products, meaning that they also contain a good pool of vitamins. This choice is justified by the fact that, in case of diarrhea, it is necessary to reduce the quantity of laxative and / or vegetable foods containing a lot of dietary fiber.
It could be useful to supplement the diet with probiotic-based products, in order to preserve the integrity of the intestinal bacterial flora.
In addition, many choose to take products capable of increasing the fecal consistency, such as: clay, vegetable charcoal, etc.

Example

Office worker and shift worker. Celiac. He has been complaining of diarrhea for about a week, which begins immediately after breakfast.

Diet Day 1

As can be seen from the summary table, the diet for diarrhea is rich in liquids (it provides about 50% of the water needed only with food) and low in fiber. However, it is also necessary to point out that some nutrients are supplied in insufficient quantities; here is explained the usefulness of food supplements. Of these, we mention: potassium, calcium, zinc, vitamin C, vitamin D and carotenoids (provitamin A).
NB. To increase the calcium intake, it is sufficient to prefer fortified soy milk and yogurt (with added calcium).

DAY 2

Diet Day 3

Diet Day 4

Diet Day 5

Diet Day 6

Diet Day 7