If you have diarrhoea it can often be difficult to know what and when to eat. Will it make it worse or should you be guided by appetite? There’s no clear answer, because everyone’s experience is different. It often depends on the cause of diarrhoea in the first place.
Know the foods that trigger your diarrhoea so you can avoid them.
Think about the way you eat too. Try smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day and rest after eating. Relaxing after eating can slow the rate at which food passes through the gut.
There are foods that are more likely to cause diarrhoea or thought to make it worse. Keeping a food diary, recording when you experience diarrhoea and what you had been eating, can help identify foods you may be sensitive to. Think about the following foods and whether they could be a trigger for your diarrhoea:
Creamy or fried foods can trigger diarrhoea if they pass through the digestive system without having been properly digested
Can cause loose stools for some people
Caffeine is found in tea, coffee and chocolate
When you have diarrhoea, lactose found in dairy foods may be hard to digest
Such as dried beans, corn and cabbage family vegetables
Such as sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol – these are found in sugar-free gum, lollies and some medications
Fruits and juices contain fructose and it can be added to foods and drinks
Such as dried figs, dates, raisins and prunes
If you do have acute diarrhoea, whatever the cause, you may find the following foods help introduce you back to your normal eating routine:
It’s important to remember that if you are limiting your diet, it can put you at risk of nutritional deficiencies so always check with your healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet to help manage your diarrhoea.
It’s not just food, but drinks can also be the cause of diarrhoea or make symptoms worse.
It’s important to remember that if you are limiting your diet, it can put you at risk of nutritional deficiencies so always check with your healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet to help manage your diarrhoea.
Drinking water is top priority – to replace fluids, or prevent dehydration, a specially formulated oral rehydration solution is recommended.
If you find it difficult to keep liquids down, or if your diarrhoea persists, see a healthcare professional. Dehydration can quickly become an issue especially with young children so don’t hesitate to seek medical advice.
If you feel that stress or anxiety is the cause of your diarrhoea, then exercise can be a useful way to help manage it. Regular aerobic exercise has been shown to relieve stress, lower anxiety, and improve sleep.
Although exercise is recognised as having significant benefits for our health, there is evidence that certain types of exercise can contribute to digestive issues, including diarrhoea.
For example, it’s common for long-distance or marathon runners to experience urgency with diarrhoea. There’s a number of possible causes, including a drop in blood flow to the bowel during extreme exertion, or an increase in the rate that the bowel contents are moving through the gut.
If your symptoms are mild and only occasional, altering your exercise routine may help. That may involve reducing the intensity of exercise and adjusting the timing of when you eat in relation to exercise.
Traveller’s diarrhoea affects millions of people who travel each year. It can occur anywhere.
Take steps to avoid Traveller’s Diarrhoea
