Immediate replenishment of electrolytes and fluid Loss is an essential element of all home remedies for diarrhea
Diarrhea is one of the most common occurrences worldwide. Everyone gets it once in a while. If managed well it can be cured easily, but it is still the number one killer in the developing world.
Diarrhea is characterized by the frequent passing of watery stools and often accompanied by fever and/or stomach ache, nausea and lack of appetite.
The main cause of diarrhea is infection, but it may be caused by many other factors, including allergies, inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), or Crohn's disease.
Diarrhea normally stays for a few days in most cases, but some people may have chronic diarrhea that may last for several weeks or months. Usually chronic diarrhea is an early warning signal of some underlying disease or condition.
Diarrhea leads to a lot of fluid and salt loss in the body. Therefore, fluid and salt replenishment should be the top priorities.
All the following home remedies for diarrhea are supplementary to drinking a lot of salted water or water with electrolytes.
1. Eat Couple of Dates
Dates contain various vitamins and minerals, including calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium and zinc and are a good source of energy. Dates act at two different levels on diarrhea. One is that it provides instant strength and two, the potassium content of dates helps in curbing diarrhea.
- Remove the seeds from 2 ripe Arabian dates. The Arabian dates when ripe are very soft.
- Mix the pulp of these dates in one teaspoon of honey.
- Take this mixture 3-4 times a day.
Dates can be consumed in any other way. Availability of soft dates is seasonal but the dried dates are available throughout the year. If you don't get access to the soft dates, then boil two dried dates in a cup of salt water. Remove the seeds. Eat the softened dates and drink the water.
2. Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate seeds contain powerful nutrients including Vitamin C, Vitamin K and polyphenols such as ellagitannins and flavonoids. Pomegranate juice is very helpful in controlling diarrhea. Although, pomegranate seeds provide good benefits for other conditions, drinking juice is more appropriate in diarrhea and dysentery. The seed have high dietary fiber and are not easy to digest as compared to the juice.
- Make one cup of Pomegranate juice and drink it slowly.
- Repeat the process 3-4 times a day.
3. Salt in Water
Diarrhea leads to dehydration and loss of salts. This makes the patient tired with no energy. Salt helps to replenish electrolytes.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt in 500ml of water.
- Stir it to mix the salt homogeneously.
- Drink the solution slowly.
The common salt contains only sodium, but the rock salt, which also contains other minerals such as potassium, magnesium and manganese along with other minerals, is even better for diarrhea. You can add lemon and sugar to add taste salt. In fact, sugar compensates for the loss of glucose during diarrhea.
4. Mint Leaves Juice
Mint leaves are also very useful for diarrhea. It tames the tummy. Unlike the other remedies mentioned above, which essentially replenishes water and electrolytes, mint controls the stomach to stop diarrhea.
- Prepare mint leaves juice and take 2 tablespoons every two hours.
- Keep drinking a lot of salt water in between.
5. Lemon Juice
Lemon is another excellent remedy to stop diarrhea. It fights with the diarrhea causing pathogens. Take lemon juice as specified under for best results.
- Squeeze 1 lemon in a glass of water.
- Add half a teaspoon of salt and stir it to mix it well.
- Drink the mixture five times a day.
In addition to this, if you add lemon to the salt water and drink then it will provide double benefits of replenishing electrolytes as well as killing the pathogens.
6. Carrot Drink
Carrot is also a very effective diet for diarrhea. Carrot replenishes sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulfur and phosphorous. Raw carrots is difficult to digest so it must be cooked for diarrhea.
- Cook 4-5 carrots in one liter water until they become soft.
- Strain the pulp and drink it every half an hour until the entire one liter is consumed.
- Add salt to the remaining steamed carrots and eat.
7. Rice Water
Rice or rice with banana can stop diarrhea. Refined carbohydrates are better in diarrhea than the high fiber wholemeal grains, that is why white rice works well in diarrhea.
- Boil 100gm of rice in 400 ml of water until the rice becomes soft.
- Strain the rice and drink the water by adding a pinch of salt.
The white starchy rice water is easy to digest and the salt in it helps replace the electrolytes lost.
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