When it comes to stopping diarrhea, which no one wants to have to deal with, it is almost always more desirable to do so naturally, with whole foods, rather than take some synthetic supplement or something along those lines. Luckily there are a lot of natural foods that can help with this unwanted condition… And in this post we will be going over fruits that help diarrhea.
Fruits might not be the best choice out there, as I will discuss in a bit, but they are a nice tasty way to help overcome ridiculously frequent bathroom visits that may be plaguing your life.
You probably already know this but...
The key characteristic of diarrhea is loose and watery stools. But there are a number of other symptoms that sometimes come along with this, such as abdominal cramps, fever, bloating, and sometimes even blood in the stool, but watery stool is the main thing people think of.
Sometimes it's not too big of a deal, but other times it is. Either way, no one wants to have their day ruined by a bad case of diarrhea and spend half the time on the toilet when they could be out getting things done... Not to mention the other half of the day trying not to crap their pants as they are out and about.
Why fruit helps..
There are a number of reasons why different fruits can help settle your stomach and put an end to your diarrhea. These include things like providing your body with the necessary amount of fiber, helping support a healthy gut microbiota, providing nutrients necessary to strengthen your immune system and so on.
And why some fruits are better than others..
There are 1001 different things that could be the cause of watery stools but some common causes are lack of fiber, bacterial and viral infections, an unbalanced gut microbiota, too much insoluble fiber, etc.
Some good things to look for when deciding upon what types of fruits to eat are things like the amount of pectin that they contain, which is a soluble fiber that is well known for helping get rid of diarrhea and even return bowel movements to normal if you are constipated.
Pectin is a complex carb that is found in the cell walls of plants. It has an incredible ability to absorb water and is actually a common ingredient in jams and jellies, being used as a thickening agent. You can imagine how it can help get rid of watery stools… It helps soak up the water. And besides this it also is good for the gut and helps feed the healthy bacteria that you want living inside of you.
7 Fruits to Eat to End The Unwanted Bathroom Visits
- Apples - It's no wonder that apples are part of the famous BRAT diet, which is a popular diet used to get rid of diarrhea among other things. It is composed of around 1-1.5% pectin and in a 2017 study published in the Nutrients journal apples were also found to benefit healthy gut microbiota.
- Bananas - Bananas are a smooth and easily digestible snack that is easy on the stomach and can provide you with a lot of healthy nutrients. It is also a very good source of pectin and has a good amount of what people call 'resistant starch' that passes through into later stages of digestion and helps feed good bacteria.
- Pears - Not only do pears provide a good source of pectin, some of the fiber is fermented with aids healthy gut bacteria.
- Oranges - There is some controversy around whether or not citrus fruits are good or bad for diarrhea, but overall I think they are a pretty good choice. They contain a small amount of pectin, up to around 0.5%, which can help soak up some of that excess water, and we all know that they contain a lot of vitamin C, around 51mg in just one small orange (source: USDA), that can help keep your immune system strong.
- Grapefruit - Grapefruit is another citrus fruit that contains a lot of vitamin C, according to the USDA about 38 mg. It is also a good source of pectin and contains most of it in its peel.
- Apricots - Apricots are another good choice. They contain a modest amount of pectin, around 1%.
- Grapes - Grapes are on the lower side when it comes to the amount of pectin they have, but they still provide some. Also, a 2011 study found that gapes help increase the biodiversity of your microflora, which is thought to be likely from the high amounts of phenolic compounds contained.
Often it is the peel of fruit or the skin (depending on what type of fruit you are eating) that is high in insoluble fiber, a.k.a. the fiber that does not get broken down in your digestive system. If you get too much insoluble fiber you may get diarrhea, although you do need some to help aid with the digestive process. This just all depends on how sensitive one is to such.
Just Don't Go Stuffing Yourself on Fruit
The last thing you want to do is go out and start stuffing yourself with fruit to try to put an end to the diarrhea… It is all about moderation and eating too much of just about anything can cause digestive issues like diarrhea.
One big downside to eating fruit as a cure for this condition is the high fructose content, which is well known to cause upset stomach and diarrhea. Fructose is a sugar that isn't digested very easily and some people are much more sensitive to it than others. If you are someone who is, you may want to avoid fruit altogether.
Everyone's Body Responds Differently
One key point to understand here is that everyone's body responds differently. Bananas might really help sooth one person's stomach and lead to firmer stools, whereas they might upset someone else's stomach who is easily irritated by the high fructose content. The same goes for a lot of fruits... Orange juice could cause diarrhea for one person because of the acidity it has but for others it could help.
It all depends. If you have been eating fruit and are still experiencing diarrhea in the same amount, or maybe even worse, then you may want to look at eliminating all foods that are high in fructose as well as foods that are high in fiber, because although fiber can be great and is necessary, some people are just too sensitive to it.
