How to manage your diarrhea through your diet

Acute infectious diarrhea is one of the world's most common ailments. But most cases of diarrhea are minor and short-lived and can be managed at home with simple dietary measures.

Although diarrhea causes fatalities — due to dehydration — it is seldom a threat in affluent, well-nourished societies, except to such vulnerable groups as babies, the elderly and invalids. In developing countries, many deaths have been prevented with the use of a homemade rehydration fluid that has been promoted through efforts of the World Health Organization.

Diarrhea — the frequent passage of loose, watery stool — is not a disease but a symptom of an underlying problem. Causes of diarrhea include:

• It is most commonly brought on by food poisoning, especially among travellers
• Transient looseness can be caused by over-consumption of laxative foods, heavy use of sugarless chewing gum sweetened with sugar alcohols (such as sorbitol) and over-the-counter indigestion remedies containing magnesium
• Emotional stress that causes irritable bowel syndrome may disrupt the normal bowel pattern with alternating diarrhea and constipation; similar symptoms occur in colitis and Crohn's disease, both inflammatory bowel disorders
• In many instances, however, diarrhea develops without any identifiable cause. Unless the problem persists or recurs often, this is not a cause for concern

• Stop solid food and rehydrate
• Start by eliminating all solid foods and sipping warm or tepid drinks to prevent any further dehydration
• Drinking 125 millilitres (half a cup) of fluid every 15 minutes or so is usually enough
• Suitable drinks include water, mineral water, herbal teas and ginger ale
• Clear broths also help replace the salts and other minerals lost in a bout of diarrhea
• If you choose a commercial sports drink, one with more than 10 percent sugar can aggravate diarrhea

• When you feel like eating (but preferably not within the first 24 hours), start by slowly introduing low-fibre foods such as crackers, toast, rice, bananas, cooked carrots, boiled potatoes and chicken
• Often doctors will recommend bananas, rice, applesauce and toast (called the BRAT diet), especially for children
• Apples and other fruits high in pectin (a soluble fibre) help counteract diarrhea; that's why unsweetened applesauce is a traditional home remedy
• Cooked carrots are also high in pectin. Try them puréed
• Although cooked and puréed fruits and vegetables can usually be tolerated, do not eat raw fruits, high-fibre vegetables or fatty foods until the bowel movements are back to normal
• Other suitable foods include salted crackers and chicken-rice soup, which help to replenish depleted sodium and potassium
• Avoid milk products until the symptoms disappear. Some of the organisms that cause diarrhea can temporarily impair the ability to digest milk

Mild diarrhea can usually be self-managed. But call your doctor promptly for any of the following.

• Diarrhea that lasts more than two days (one day for a child under two, a frail elderly person or someone with diabetes) or if it worsens during that time
• The appearance of blood, mucous or worms in the feces
• Severe abdominal pain
• Diarrhea that is accompanied by vomiting or fever

An estimated five billion cases of diarrhea occur every year, and in North America, it is runner-up only to the common cold as a cause for absences from work. To help get yourself back on track and feeling better as quickly as possible, remember to stay hydrated, reintroduce foods slowly and pay attention to your body.