Diarrhea, or loose stool, has a number of causes ranging from eating certain foods that upset the stomach to food poisoning, acute illnesses or chronic disease. Although there are numerous medicines, supplements and herbs available to treat diarrhea, starting at home in your own kitchen may be the best place to find a quick remedy to help relieve diarrhea and get your system back on track.
BRAT Diet
Harkening back to days gone by, the BRAT diet has been recommended for diarrhea by doctors, natural medicine practitioners and moms for many years. BRAT is an acronym meaning bananas, rice, applesauce and toast. These four seemingly magical foods are low in fiber, easy to digest and all have the ability to bind stool in the intestine and slow down the rate of diarrhea, according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital (UMICH). Even though the BRAT diet has been recommended for treating children, the same foods work well for adults too. Diarrhea caused by a virus or from chronic problems may respond well to one or more of these foods. Depending on the origin of your diarrhea, this is a good place to start. Similar low-fiber, easy-to-digest foods are pasta, soda crackers and cook cereal (not whole grain due to having too much fiber).
Liquids and Electrolytes
Diarrhea that lasts for more than a few hours may cause dehydration in young and old alike. This may be come very serious and even life-threatening, needing hospitalization. To avoid becoming dehydrated, replace lost fluids and electrolytes with sports drinks or other oral rehydration drinks. UMICH suggests that you can make your own electrolyte rehydration solution by mixing 1 quart of clean water with 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Allow the ingredients to dissolve and drink liberally.
Herbal Teas
You may also drink ginger, peppermint or licorice tea, all which soothe the mucus lining of the digestive tract and help to rehydrate. To make any of these teas, slice and soak a 1-inch piece of ginger root, licorice root or several fresh mint leaves in a cup of boiling water or 15 minutes. Strain, cool and drink as needed. You can also buy tea bags for any of these herbs in a health food store.
Yogurt
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) discusses the affects of eating yogurt and other foods with live, active cultures known as probiotics for the treatment of diarrhea and bowel health. Probiotics are organisms found naturally in the bowel whose colonies often get out of balance or become completely wiped out due to antibiotic treatment and other factors. Probiotics help to maintain bowel health, and by eating yogurt, kefir or other foods high in live cultures, diarrhea can be managed more easily as bowel health returns. Other food sources of probiotics are soy products such as miso and tempeh, certain soy beverages, saurkraut and other fermented foods.
