Diarrhea is something everyone experiences at one point or another during their lives, hopefully not too often. Diarrhea is a common type of infection or inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
Diarrhea causes frequent fast bowel movements that result in abdominal pain and loose stools which can not only be uncomfortable, can dehydrate you as well.
If you are experiencing these symptoms you probably are suffering from diarrhea in the short term, which usually only lasts about a week or so. Diarrhea can be the result of many different types of things because frequent bowel movements is one way that the body tries to fight off infection and disease.
If you are suffering from symptoms that last for more than two weeks however, you are suffering from long term or chronic diarrhea. This type of diarrhea is not the result of a short term illness, but is usually related to some kind of stress or diet.
Acute diarrhea can be easily treated in most cases, however chronic diarrhea is more severe because it can lead to nutrient deficiencies due to all of that flushing of the system.
Here Are Some Tips You Can Use to Stop Diarrhea Quickly
1-Eat Foods That Are Easy to Digest
When trying to eat healthy, one of the best foods we can eat are raw, whole foods. These foods definitely are healthy however they are difficult for our digestive system to breakdown, can cause gas indigestion and potentially diarrhea.
Don’t eat raw foods, make sure your foods are cooked thoroughly which helps to break them down prior to you eating them and digesting them on your own.
Also when it comes to grains, stay away from whole grains for the same reason. Whole grains contain the entire grain, and is more difficult to digest. White breads, bagels, flour and refined grains only contain the endosperm, or the part that contains the energy.
These refined grains lack the outer part of the grain which holds all the fiber, which our body can completely break down and digest.
Foods to look for are flaxseed oil, raw honey and ginger which can help reduce irritation and inflammation in the digestive tract. Add honey or ginger to tea twice daily to get the most benefit.
Avoid foods that will cause irritation of the lining of the intestinal tract like foods that contain caffeine, carbonation or alcohol. Foods high in sugar are also bad in that they will feed these bad bacteria causing the problems in the first place, giving them a great supply of energy needed to grow, multiply and make problems worse.
2-Take Supplements to Improve Gut Health
When looking to improve gut health, there are many different supplements that are effective. These include probiotics, digestive enzymes, glutamine powder, and aloe vera juice.
Probiotic supplements are full of the “good” bacteria which help with digestion and maintains good overall gut health. Probiotics can be taken in pill form or can be found in a variety of fermented foods like yogurt and kimchi.
Digestive enzymes help digestion by providing the body with enzymes, or the material it uses to perform reactions in a quick and efficient manner. Without the proper enzymes digestion would be much slower, and many nutrients cannot be broken down and absorbed by the body.
Aloe vera juice helps to soothe and repair the lining of the intestines similar to how it acts on other external wounds.
3-Make Sure You Are Staying Hydrated
It is hard to keep drinking liquids when they are essentially coming right out of the other end. The problem is that through all of that water loss you are going to become dehydrated, and it can also help reduce symptoms associated with diarrhea.
Not only are you losing water when you have frequent diarrhea, but you are losing important nutrients as well. Make sure you are not only drinking water but are getting plenty of electrolytes like potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium.
A banana is a great source of these minerals and may also help to slow down the frequency of bowel movements as well.
Make sure you are not drinking too much liquids too fast either, it can make the problems worse. It may sound gross, but use the color of your urine to monitor your hydration levels. If it is clear or light colored, you are hydrated; if darker yellow you need to start drinking more water and fast.
