From HealthNewsDigest.com
Vomiting, Diarrhea and Constipation – It Happens
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Jan 31, 2010 - 8:19:48 AM
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - No matter how healthy you are, at some point we all suffer from a bout of nausea, diarrhea or constipation. It may be caused by the flu, mild food poisoning, or a new medication. Though miserable while it lasts, the problem is almost always self-limiting and short lived. There are some things you can do to make yourself more comfortable.
Nausea is the general feeling of physical uneasiness that often leads to vomiting. Vomiting is the process of throwing up material from the stomach through the esophagus and out the mouth. It is your body’s response to something irritating. It can be caused by too much alcohol or caffeine, early pregnancy, gallbladder disease, food poisoning, a virus, or as the side effect of chemotherapy or medications. Vomiting leaves you weak and mildly dehydrated. You lose some important minerals such as sodium, magnesium and chloride.
Don’t eat anything for an hour immediately after vomiting. Just relax and give your digestive tract a chance to calm down. After an hour, with no further vomiting, sip a little water or chew on ice chips. If this stays down, slowly add other beverages such as ginger ale or tea. Then move on to mild foods – plain crackers, dry toast, pretzels, plain breadsticks, bananas, applesauce, cream of wheat, plain rice and plain pasta. Avoid fried or greasy foods for the next couple of days.
Diarrhea, frequent loose, watery stools, often accompanies vomiting when you have the flu or an infection. It can also be caused by high doses of vitamin C, drinking too much apple juice, or eating large amounts of sugar-free candies, cookies or gum sweetened with sorbitol or mannitol.
It was once believed that eating nothing was the way to stop diarrhea, but the current thinking is to eat anything you desire except fatty foods and apple juice, which may worsen the problem. Apples, bananas, potatoes, dry toast, crackers, breadsticks, oatmeal, rice, pasta, jello, tea, water and any clear liquids are good choices. Many of these foods help to replace lost minerals and water. It may seem confusing that apple juice is not recommended but apples are. The juice is too sweet and highly sugared foods contribute to diarrhea. Fresh apples, on the other hand, contain pectin, a soluble fiber which helps thicken the stools.
Staying hydrated is most important. After every bout of diarrhea drink at least one cup of liquids. If you feel lousy, try sipping slowly through a straw or suck on cracked ice or ice pops. Diarrhea may promote temporary lactose intolerance, the inability to digest milk sugar. Limit regular milk but eat fermented dairy foods such as yogurt, kefir, lassi and buttermilk which contain friendly bacteria that will help cure the diarrhea. For a few days, go easy on foods high in fiber – beans, bran, whole grains, and raw fruits and vegetables. Greasy, fried, spicy and very sweet foods can irritate the digestive tract causing diarrhea to last longer.
Many people mistakenly believe they need to have a bowel movement daily. This isn’t true. Three bowel movements a week is considered normal. Constipation is different. It is defined as stools that are both infrequent and difficult to pass.
Constipation can be caused by medication, calcium and iron supplements, poor eating habits, low fiber intake, too little exercise, and a low fluid intake. Eating well, including fruits, vegetables, and whole grain breads, cereals and pasta will assure you have enough fiber to produce bulky, easy to pass stools. Drinking adequate fluids is also important. The large bowel recycles fluids in the body drawing fluid from the stools to change them into a semi-solid consistency. When your fluid intake is too low the stools become drier and harder, making them more difficult to pass. Getting some mild exercise daily, like walking, also stimulates the bowel to work more efficiently. Being constipated is very uncomfortable making you feel bloated and gassy. Often preventing the problem is far easier than correcting it.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with 12 current titles and sales in excess of 8 million books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller.
Current titles include:
The Calorie Counter, 5th Ed., 2010
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2009
The Fat Counter, 7th ed., 2009
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008
The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Calorie Counter, 3rd Ed., 2007
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to Jo-Ann Heslin
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