At least once in your life, some of you have certainly had to deal with annoying problems related to diarrhea. How to behave in these cases? To help once again we can come nutrition, with astringent foods for diarrhea that can help mitigate and relieve the disorder and those painful cramps that accompany it.
Today, therefore, we focus on the ideal diet to do in those days not only to feel better, but also to avoid worsening the already critical situation.
And as always we want to give you even more: in addition to astringent diarrhea foods, we will also make you a practical list with foods to avoid, which could therefore increase diarrhea.
Diarrhea: causes and problems
Doctors use the term diarrhea to indicate a disorder that originates from some physiological, pathological causes and sometimes also linked to external factors. The phenomena can be acute, chronic or recurrent and when the discharges are continuous and show a more serious disorder, the term dysentery is preferred. But what are the most common causes? Here are some:
- Bacterial or viral infections
- Intestinal dysfunctions
- Intestinal inflammation
- Taking medications
- Parasites in the intestine
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Bowel flu
- Endocrine causes
- Contamination from infected food
- Food intolerance
- Excessive stress and nervousness
- Liver problems
And then there is the so-called "traveller's diarrhea" which almost always originates from the unpurified water of some less developed populations, from the lack of hygiene standards and from the excessive temperatures to which the body is not used to when traveling to foreign countries.
Diarrhea also causes side effects but equally annoying, such as stomach cramps, fever, vomiting, nausea.
Diarrhea astringent foods: what to eat
What foods to bring to the table to facilitate the disappearance of diarrhea? Meanwhile, let's start from the assumption that you need to drink a lot to restore lost fluids and avoid the risk of dehydration. But be careful not to do it suddenly! Only small sips are recommended at a time. As for nutrition, the astringent foods for diarrhea are as follows:
- White bread
- Rusks
- Rice
- Semolina
- Pasta (not wholemeal)
- Lean meats, such as veal, chicken, beef
- Fish
- Fresh cheeses, such as mozzarella or robiola
- Egg
- Bresaola
- Vegetables, such as lettuce, carrots, spinach
- Fat free ham
Tightening fruit includes pineapples, apples, peaches, grapefruit, apples and apricots. And then you will certainly have heard of the combination of bananas and diarrhea: it seems that it is the ideal fruit to give a change to the problem in more rapid times.
Vegetables should preferably be eaten cooked, but they absolutely must not be missing from the table to guarantee the supply of minerals.
Finally, it is not enough to know the so-called "astringent diarrheal foods" but also to know how to cook them. For example, meat and fish must be cooked lightly, grilled or grilled, absolutely avoiding frying which can worsen the initial situation.
Diarrhea: foods to avoid
And after having clarified what astringent foods are, it is also necessary to make a parenthesis on those that are potentially dangerous during the acute phase because they can increase symptoms and lead to an even more compromised state of health. Which ones are they? Here is the list:
- Wholemeal bread or pasta
- Raw vegetables and greens, such as cabbage, broccoli, artichokes
- Legumes, including chickpeas, lentils, peas
- Fermented cheeses
- Fatty sausages like bacon
- Spicy salami
- Sweets
- Lard
- Spices
- Creams and chocolate
- Fruits like coconut, dates, raspberries, pears, strawberries
- Dried fruit, such as almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, walnuts
Ultimately, these are fatty, fermented, fried, processed foods, and rich in fiber of vegetable origin. Even recommended foods, such as eggs, become negative if the chosen cooking method is wrong. Consequently, say no to fried eggs too!
This list contains an irritating diet that only backfires and increases diarrhea.
What to do in case of diarrhea: advice
In the case of episodic diarrhea there is usually no need to be alarmed because it resolves spontaneously within a few days. However, it can be the symptom of a more serious ailment, such as stomach flu, and therefore require more attention to heal faster. After consulting your doctor, who will give some basic indications for replenishing fluids (for example, he will tell you to take mineral salt supplements), you can decide to take lactic ferments which help restore balance in the bacterial flora.
The advice is to avoid medication immediately, unless explicitly recommended by the doctor, as in most cases stopping diarrhea suddenly can increase abdominal cramps and tend to delay the natural course of the disorder. In fact, they do not allow the body to completely eliminate toxins and bacteria.
Even more, avoid antibiotics! Before taking initiatives that can be harmful to health, it is always recommended to consult a doctor and not self-medicate with do-it-yourself solutions that are not very useful for healing.
Remedies to get better? What not to do
And then there are the classic grandmother's remedies, that is to say all those solutions that help alleviate the problem and have no health contraindications. Among these are lemon infusions: tea is not recommended because it could be irritating, but lemon juice is fine because it is considered astringent.
Is eating white really necessary? If we talk about boiled rice and white meat, or boiled or steamed vegetables, then there are benefits in the intestine to fight diarrhea. But be careful not to let yourself be tempted by the classic chicken soup you see in the movies: it will be fine for the flu, but it is not suitable for diarrhea at all.
Finally, evaluate well a possible contribution of probiotics. Yogurts can increase discharges, while probiotic lactic ferments instead help improve intestinal functions by blocking excessive motility.
Finally, we add that the best remedy is not to abuse food during the diarrheal phase. The stomach needs to fix itself and not getting any more food helps it recover more quickly. It is always better not to abuse and eat moderately, but only with the astringent foods for diarrhea we told you about before, without allowing yourself exceptions and whims that could compromise any progress towards definitive recovery.
