Example Diet against Dysentery

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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.

Dysentery

Dysentery refers to an intestinal disease characterized by the appearance of diarrhea mixed with mucus and blood, abdominal pain and, sometimes, nausea and vomiting.

Dysentery can be caused by infections, intestinal infestations and chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease); more rarely, it is the result of food intolerances (gluten and lactose) or other types of poisoning (mushrooms, poisons, etc., which in any case aggravate it).

Even in the short term, dysentery can lead to very serious systemic complications. Furthermore, it is associated with significant losses of: fluids, mineral salts and blood; to these follow: dehydration, alterations of the hydro-electric balance, anemia, neurological complications (delirium and shock) and generalized malnutrition (also due to malabsorption, if the impairment also affects the small intestine).

Diet

La diet for dysentery is a nutritional system aimed at restoring the nutritional status and normal fecal consistency.

WARNING! The effectiveness of the diet and supplementation depends on the presence and / or severity of the vomiting.

When vomiting cannot be countered or lasts for a long time, it is necessary to rely on hospitals for the application of parenteral nutrition.

First of all, food therapy must take into account the responsible pathological agent; however, certain precautions are to be considered universal:

• Gluten exclusion for celiacs. This should be eliminated even without dysentery; however, any contamination during illness would greatly worsen the diarrhea.
• Lactose exclusion.
• Elimination of unnecessary laxatives, medications and food supplements.
• Removal of alcohol and nerves.
• Absence (as far as possible) of irritating additives.
• Spicy removal.
• Elimination of cooking systems that release carbonization residues, promoting the healthiest ones.
• Minimum quantity of fiber necessary for the intake of complex carbohydrates.
• Average intake of lipids.
• Hydro-saline wealth.
• Presence of probiotic foods (if NOT involved in the onset of dysentery).

Dysentery supplements

There are several supplements that can be used to reduce the symptoms and complications of dysentery; however, a prior medical consultation is always required.
When the diet is not able to slow down the diarrhea of ​​dysentery, in the absence of vomiting, it is essential to use a hydro-saline type product (to be diluted) containing potassium and magnesium (eg Pedialyte, Milupa, Biochetasi, etc.); these products are able to compensate for faecal losses, counteracting the effects of dehydration and mineral nutritional deficiency.
When dysentery is linked to infectious agents that pervade the entire intestine (sometimes up to the stomach), the onset of generalized malabsorption is frequent, requiring the supplementary integration of all nutrients; in this case, it is better to give priority to vitamin factors.
Your doctor may choose to aid in the restoration of bacterial flora by using the probiotic supplement in the form of supplements or medications.
It is very common to use food supplements that act by improving the fecal consistency, for example: clay, charcoal, etc.

Diet Example

Sedentary and slightly underweight university student; has no food intolerances and has contracted viral gastroenteritis. He has been suffering from dysentery for about 7 days, without vomiting but with more than 6 diarrheal discharges per day; mucus is present in the stool but no blood. It has some signs of dehydration.

WARNING! In similar cases (underweight), the diet is initially normocaloric and supported by food supplements of various kinds (salts, vitamins, essential fats, amino acids, etc.).

To restore a normal gastrointestinal function, it is essential to ensure the achievement of a normal weight thanks to the use of a high-calorie diet.

*Given the underweight, however difficult to estimate due to dehydration (reduction of the total liquid volume by at least 2% and frequently up to 4-5%), it was decided to slightly increase the protein intake (normally between 0,8- 1,2g / kg).

DAY 1

As can be seen from the summary table, the diet for dysentery is rich in liquids (it provides about 100% of the water needed only with food) and very low in fiber.

On the other hand, it must be pointed out that certain nutrients are present in scarce doses; in this case the use of food supplements becomes very important. Among the nutrients that require supplementation we mention: potassium, calcium, zinc, folate, vitamin C, vitamin D, carotenoids (provitamin A) and vitamin E.

NB. In order to increase the calcium intake with food, it is advisable to prefer fortified soy milk and yogurt (with added calcium).

On the contrary, if you want to eliminate an additional portion of dietary fiber, increasing the amount of water and maintaining the other nutritional levels, it may be a good idea to replace whole fresh vegetables and fruit with their centrifuged.

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

DAY 6

DAY 7