Treat Diarrhea With The BRAT Diet

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Diarrhea, one of the most common summer ailments. It is the condition of frequent bowel movements. They are of two types - acute and severe. Generally, it occurs in the acute form. Diarrhea can be caused due to several factors, basically faulty diet.

Two Major Causes Of Diarrhea are -

1.Gastroentritis – Gastroentritis which is one of the major cause of diarrhea occurs in the Sporadic form. Sporadic form is the result of infection caused due to a family of virus called caliciviruses. The basic symptom of the Gastroentritis is stool along with blood or pus and stays on for 48-72 hours. It is often accompanied by nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

2.Food Poisoning – Food poisoning happens due to the toxins which are formed in the food before it is eaten. This happens when the food is contaminated. The symptoms of food poisoning start to appear several hours after the food have been eaten. The common symptom of food poisoning is abdominal pain and vomiting. It lasts for more than three days.

A diet has been invented by the Duro and Duggan in 2007 for diarrhea treatment. The diet is called the BRAT diet. BRAT diet for Diarrhea treatment stands for banana, rice, apple sauce and toast. This diet cures the gastrointestinal symptoms. The major aim of this diet is to sooth the stomach inflammation and control the bowel frequency.

How The BRAT diet for Diarrhea Treatment work?

One of the major feature of the gastrointestinal condition is the onset of the peptic ulcer and non-ulcer peptic. This condition is well handles by the banana in the BRAT diet. Banana has the amylase resistance starch which reduces the onset ulcers and thus controlling the internal inflammation which results in blood in the stool. Rice on the other hand is of the anti-secretory nature. It decreases the stool volume, thus, controlling the bowel movement. Rice helps in the oral re-hydration by maintaining salts and electrolytes .

The pectin component in the apple sauce and the amylase resistance starch in banana together arrests diarrhea completely. It checks the bowel movement, feeling of nausea and vomiting. The inclusion of toast helps to keep up the energy level. Along with the BRAT diet plan for diarrhea treatment one needs keep the body hydrated with the intake of fluid like coconut water. It is essential that the body maintains the proper balance of fiber, protein and vitamin. If the symptoms persists even after three days of following the diet, one should consult a doctor.

This diet does not restrict a person to the intake of only these four food forms. All you need to keep in mind is to avoid complex food like egg, fish, chicken etc, which are difficult to digest. Avoid spicy food as it adds on to the inflammation and follow a plain diet along with 10 glasses of water everyday. Out of ten, five glasses of water should be a solution of one spoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. This will keep the body hydrated.