Frequent passage of loose, watery stool is known as diarrhea. This condition can exist alone or as one symptom of a larger health problem. Nutritional guidance is important for preventing and treating diarrhea. One cause of this condition is incomplete digestion of food, which you can target by choosing nutritious foods that digest efficiently. Other causes are bacterial and viral infections. Find the cause to choose the most effective treatment. Lessen the effect of dehydration due to diarrhea by consuming plenty of liquids.
Increase Soluble Fiber Pectin
Inefficient digestion that results in diarrhea can be attacked by boosting the amounts of food in your diet that contain the soluble fiber pectin. According to “Fight Back With Food: Use Nutrition to Heal What Ails You,” the pectin in foods like applesauce and bananas slows waste's time of transit through the colon. This slowdown makes the entire digestive process more effective and reduces the potential for developing diarrhea.
Magnesium Overload
When diarrhea is accompanied by heartburn or other symptoms of indigestion, the first thing you may reach for is an antacid. These over-the-counter cures for heartburn contain magnesium. While magnesium can help treat heartburn, high doses can actually cause diarrhea or make it worse. Since magnesium is the main ingredient in antacids, heavy use for treating indigestion could be causing any accompanying diarrhea, according to Health.com.
Cook Foods Thoroughly
Bacterial infections bring on diarrhea when your food choices are not handled properly during the cooking process. Salmonella in undercooked eggs, poultry and fish can mean a particularly unpleasant bout of diarrhea. One major cause of bacterial diarrhea in the United States, according the “American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide,” is Campylobacter jejuni. That bacteria can be spread across any raw or undercooked poultry and meat. Bacterial diarrhea is a very good reason for preparing foods properly.
Niacin Deficiency
A deficiency of niacin can result in a disease called pellagra, which includes severe diarrhea as a symptom, according to the National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus. The best way to avoid this stomach problem is to boost the amount of niacin in your diet. You should easily be able to locate foods rich in niacin that you could increase as part of your regular menu. Natural sources of niacin range from corn to mackerel, from peanuts to veal, and from hamburger to wheat germ.
References
- Health.com: Magnesium and Diarrhea
- "Fight Back with Food: Use Nutrition to Heal What Ails You;" Reader's Digest; 2007
- "American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide;" Robert Larson Duyff; 2002
- MedlinePlus: Niacin and Diarrhea
