• Pectin
• High Fibre - Low fat
• Gluten-free diet
• Drug-separated Moxibustion

Pectin & Diarrhoea

Pectin is a binding agent found in many fruits and other sources such as carob beans. Carob flour is frequently used as a healthy alternative to chocolate. It is rich in pectin and has found in a number of medical studies to be extremely beneficial for those people suffering diarrhoea by normalising loose stools.

Bananas are another traditional and very effective remedy for diarrhoea because not only do they contain pectin, but they also contain magnesium, potassium and many other essential nutrients including easily digested carbohydrates which help replace those lost through diarrhoea and keep energy levels normal and stabilise weight. (3)

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High Fibre - Low fat & Diarrhoea

A high fibre diet has been reported to be of definite benefit to people suffering from chronic diarrhoea as well as those patients diagnosed as having crohn's disease (4) . This is thought to be due to the fact that the fibre absorbs excess fluid and the low fat diet reduces bile acids manufactured by the liver which irritate the lining of the intestines. One medical study showed that patients with chronic diarrhoea (half a dozen or more bowel movements a day) were helped by adding bran to their diet. The effect was even greater than the well known benefits of bran for constipation. After adding small amounts of bran to the diet, all the patients had normal bowel movements.

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Gluten-free diet & Diarrhoea

Many cases of chronic diarrhoea respond well to a gluten free diet (Foods high in gluten are wheat, barley and rye) (5)

Rice on the other hand is low in gluten and has been shown by research at the International Centre of Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, to have a highly beneficial effect on persistent diarrhoea (6)

Ensuring good digestion and assimilation of food is the paramount consideration in diarrhoea. Simple steps can be taken to help in addition to those mentioned above. For instance, chew your food thoroughly, relax when eating, do not mix high protein foods (eg. meats, poultry, fish, eggs, soya and dairy) with high carbohydrate foods (eg, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, wholegrains) are very basic measures we can all take. Sound dietary advice can be obtained from a qualified naturopath or nutritionist (see below).

Footnotes

(1) 'Yoghurt with bifidobacterium longum reduces erythromycin-induced gastro-intestinal effects' Colombel CD et al The Lancet 4th July 1987, 2 (8549) p43.
(2) 'Successsful treatment of relapsing clostridium difficile colitis with lactobacillus GG' Gorbach SL et al The Lancet 26th Dec 1987, 2 (8574) p1519
(3) Reported in The Practical Encycopedia of Natural Healing (Rodale Press) 1976
(4) K.Heaton 'Treatment of Crohn's Disease with unrefined carbohydrate, fibre rich diet' Br Med J 2 (1979):764
(5) Dr John A McDougall 'The McDougall Plan' New Win Publishing Inc P.124
(6) Persistent Diarrhoea: efficacy of a rice based diet and role of nutritional status in recovery and nutrient absorbtion Roy SK et al. International Centre of Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Mohakhali.

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Drug-separated Moxibustion & Diarrhoea

In the present paper it was reported that 24 cases of ulcerative colitis and 23 cases of chronic colitis were treated by drug-separated moxibustion and the total effective rates were 95.83% and 95.65% respectively, which were markedly superior to that of western medicine group. Observation in 15 cases of ulcerative colitis showed that drug-separated moxibustion could inhibit humoral immunity and elevate cellular immune function. The therapy possibly regulated the abnormal ratio of T-lymphocyte subgroups and corrected the abnormal state of autoimmunity of patients, so that pathological changes of intestinal mucosa were corrected effectively.

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