What to Eat and Avoid with Diarrhea - Soothing Food Guidelines

Understanding Your Food Tolerances and Intolerances

When you experience digestive issues like diarrhea after eating certain foods, it can be frustrating trying to figure out exactly what food is causing the problem. Getting to the bottom of your food intolerances can greatly improve your quality of life and allow you to take control of your health.

Paying Attention to Your Body's Signals

After every meal, take note of how your body responds. If you regularly experience diarrhea, bloating, stomach pain, or other digestive issues after eating specific foods, your body may be signaling an intolerance. For example, some common intolerant reactions include:

• Diarrhea, gas, or bloating after drinking milk or eating dairy products may signal lactose intolerance
• Loose stools after eating foods high in fat may signal a bile acid malabsorption issue
• Stomach pain and diarrhea after eating gluten-containing grains may be a sign of celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity

Identifying Problem Food Components

In addition to gluten and dairy, there are other types of foods that commonly cause intolerance reactions for many people including:

• FODMAPs - Fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols found in foods like garlic, onions, beans, apples, and more can trigger IBS symptoms
• Food additives - Ingredients like artificial sweeteners, MSG, and sulfur dioxide preservatives found in processed foods can cause problems
• Fats - Fatty and fried foods put extra strain on your digestive system and lead to diarrhea, gas, and bloating
• Fiber - While fiber is healthy, too much insoluble fiber from foods like nuts, seeds, whole grains can spur diarrhea

Eliminating Likely Culprits

To help identify your unique food intolerances, try an elimination diet that removes the most common trigger foods for set period of time, then slowly reintroduces them while monitoring your reactions. Be sure to avoid:

• Gluten - wheat, barley, rye
• Dairy - milk, cheese, yogurt
• FODMAP-containing foods
• High-fat fried foods
• Food additives - MSG, artificial sweeteners
• Too much fiber - more than 30 grams per day

An elimination trial for 2-4 weeks removing these foods allows your body to reset and show you how it responds without disruptive triggers.

diarrhea what

Diarrhea can be caused by a variety of factors including food intolerances, infections, medications, and more. Understanding what brings on diarrhea in your case is key to getting it under control.

What Causes Diarrheal Episodes?

Some main causes of diarrhea include:

• Food intolerances - dairy, gluten, FODMAPs, fats can induce diarrhea
• Viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections disrupting the gut
• Medications like antibiotics, laxatives, anti-inflammatories
• Diseases affecting digestion like IBS, IBD, celiac disease
• Anxiety and stress altering gut function and motility

Pinpointing Diarrhea Triggers

To identify likely causes behind your diarrhea:

• Make note of when diarrhea episodes occur - during stressful times, after taking medications, or consuming certain foods/drinks?
• Notice if diarrhea happens randomly or follows a consistent pattern related to triggers
• Watch for accompanying symptoms like stomach pain, gas, bloating, nausea
• Consider recent lifestyle changes like new medications, changes in diet, travel

Testing for Clues

Work with your doctor who can check for potential causes via:

• Blood tests checking for celiac disease, food allergies, inflammation
• Stool tests to identify infections from bacteria, viruses, parasites
• Breath testing for lactose intolerance and SIBO
• Endoscopy to visualize the GI tract

Identifying diarrhea triggers leads to more targeted treatment options to control symptoms.

What to Eat and Avoid with Diarrhea - Food Guidelines

Adjusting your diet can help manage diarrhea episodes. Learn which foods to emphasize and which to remove from your meals plans when diarrhea strikes.

Diarrhea Diet - Foods to Focus On

When coping with diarrhea, stick to foods that are gentle on your digestive system including:

• Bone broths provide hydrating fluids and electrolytes
• Plain chicken, turkey, tofu, trout - easy to digest proteins
• Cooked carrots, winter squash, peeled apples and bananas
• Quinoa, white rice, toasted white bread
• Marshmallows, peanut butter, puffed rice cereal
• Ginger tea, mint tea, chamomile tea
• Probiotic foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi contain beneficial cultures

What Foods to Avoid with Diarrhea?

Steering clear of certain foods when diarrhea flares up helps calm symptoms faster. Restrict:

• Dairy products if lactose intolerant
• Fatty greasy fried foods which are difficult to digest
• Nuts, seeds, high-fiber whole grains, raw veggies which may irritate
• Prunes, apricots, apple juice, caffeine which stimulate bowel movements
• Sugar alcohol sweeteners like sorbitol and mannitol that can have laxative effect
• Alcohol, caffeine, carbonation, and other dehydrating drinks

Pay attention to your unique intolerances too - eliminate gluten, dairy, FODMAPs, or other triggers.

Stay Hydrated

Dehydration is a real concern with diarrhea lasting more than 24 hours. Sip electrolyte drinks like broths, coconut water, or oral rehydration solutions from the pharmacy. Your doctor may suggest IV fluids for severe dehydration.

Give your gut a rest by sticking to a bland BRAT diet for 24 hours with Bananas, Rice cereal, Applesauce, and Toast. Then slowly add back gentle foods watching for reactions.

Treating and Preventing Diarrhea Episodes

Both prescription and natural supplements can treat diarrhea by firming up loose stools.Improving diet, managing stress levels, and treating underlying conditions helps prevent recurrences long-term.

Anti-diarrheal Medications

Over-the-counter anti-diarrheal options include:

• Immodium - Antimotility agent slowing digestion so the colon absorbs more fluid from stool
• Kaopectate - Bismuth subsalicylate coating and soothing irritated bowels

For stubborn diarrhea, especially with infection or IBD flares, your doctor may prescribe:

• Antibiotics killing infectious bacteria or parasites
• Steroids and immunomodulators calming severe bowel inflammation

Natural Supplements

Some over-the-counter natural options to try for diarrhea relief include:

• Probiotics restoring healthy gut bacteria
• Prebiotics feeding probiotics and supporting your microbiome
• Digestive enzymes improving breakdown of trigger foods
• Gamma-oryzanol reducing inflammation in the gut
• Slippery elm and marshmallow root supplements coating and healing the GI tract

Preventing Diarrhea Long-Term

Steps to keep diarrhea at bay involve:

• Avoiding trigger foods based on your intolerances
• Managing IBS, IBD, celiac disease, and other gastrointestinal conditions
• Reducing anxiety and chronic stress affecting digestive function
• Taking probiotics to support your microbiome

Staying hydrated, getting nutrients, and letting your colon rest after a bout of diarrhea helps recovery. But seek medical care if symptoms are severe or diarrhea lasts more than 3 days.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.