foods for constipation and for diahhrea

We are going through some diahhrea issues right now... and I was hoping someone had a quick link or list of foods that are good to eat when the babies need to get back to firmer stools.

Then I thought it would be great to have the "opposite" list for times when they are constipated...

anyway, if anyone has this, maybe we can add it to the Sticky for the 2nd year, or if anyone knows if this exists please point me in the right direction!

I know about BRAT-Y for diahhrea - Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast and now Yogurt. But wondered if there are any other great ideas.

thanks so much.

 

I don't know that there is such a formal list out there (I would like to have it if there is)...however my son frequently gets constipated and this is what we do to get the party started if you will:
Fruit (apples, fruit cups, grapes, prune puree, pears), plenty of water or fruit juice mixed with water-those seem to help him at this age.
As for the reverse for diarrhea, I have only heard of the BRAT diet (and found out through your post that yogurt is included).

 

For constipation, our doctor recommended fruit juice, and also whole pears and strawberries. If it's chronic, she said to give a tablespoon of flaxseed oil once a day, but I haven't been driven to try that yet.

Dairy products are also constipating, so while they should be avoided during diarrhea episodes because they irritate the stomach, you should also try to cut back on them if a child is severely constipated. (Tough, I know, especially since one of my kids lives mainly on dairy products!)

 

my friend said that yogurt was recently added... and my pedi's office said that yogurt is great for the digestive system... I think they are referring to the "live cultures"... but now I'm wondering if the Stoneyfield whole milk yogurt has it in it... I need to research, a lot of other brands at the store show it on their label, but not the Stonefield one...

 

When my boys were going through a horrible round of diarrhea, my doc told me to give them plenty of carbs and give them extra fat. He said (I kid you not) "You could give them a happy meal if you want".
I thought this was such weird advice that I had to look it up and apparently its true! (Oh, and it worked!)

 

My doctor had us add Flora-stor to their yogurt when they had diarrhea. You buy this at the pharmacy (behind the counter, from what I remember, but it doesn't need a prescription) & it has the probiotics that are supposed to help the intestines with healthy digestion. Worked great for us!

 

thanks everyone, and I love the suggestion of that florastar... I 'll have to look into that.

 

I did look up on the website and the Stonyfield brand has 6 live cultures:
"The exclusive blend of natural probiotic cultures in our yogurt includes the premium probiotic Lactobacillus Rhamnosus. By definition, yogurt must include the starter cultures Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Other major-brand yogurts include one or two additional cultures. But we add four more probiotic cultures to all our yogurts: L. acidophilus, Bifidus, L. casei, and L. rhamnosus. Our yogurt provides a probiotic powerhouse in every serving!

Probiotics—also known as beneficial bacteria—naturally live in your digestive tract, but they need regular replenishing. This dynamic community of micro-organisms is disrupted by antibiotics, poor nutrition, surgery, stress, alcohol, smoking, pollution, and aging. But you can replenish and maintain these beneficial bacteria by eating a cup of Stonyfield Farm yogurt each day. Each serving provides you with more than five billion natural probiotic cultures!"

http://www.stoneyfield.com/

at least until I get to the store to check out that other additive I can know that our current supply has something good in it.

I was doing good w/the babies, gave them carbs - cereals etc and grilled cheese etc yesterday. then b/c I didn't think I needed to back off of everything I gave them lentils... well, I think they are too high fiber... and I'm back at square 1 again today. so now I'm trying get back to the nice firm stools before adding in anything!

 

Just wanted to throw out an idea -- usually when my kids have diarrhea, it's accompanied by vomiting, and dairy is BAD BAD BAD for that. Even yogurt -- although the live cultures/probiotics in it are excellent for the digestive tract.

So, what I do is buy rice milk, which is basically just brown rice and oil, and blend that with banana to make a smoothie. I also put in a pinch of probiotics powder that we normally use anyway. My kids lived on this during their last stomach bug, and it was a life saver!

We haven't dealt with constipation, but I know pureed baby food prunes are supposed to work great.

 

Oh, wanted to add -- we use Garden of Life's Primal Defense Kids for probiotics. All of my kids get this every day in their milk, and I think it really helps to keep them healthy.

 

Thanks!

I did find these websites that are helpful at explaining what to eat and avoid for diarrhea.

http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/feeding-a-baby-with-diarrhea.html
http://wholesomebabyfood.com/baby_diarrhea_foods.htm

this last website seems really great since its geared more for older than babies children...
http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_diarrhto_hhg.htm

 

My older son had severe constipation issues and his gastrointerologist told me to give him juices or fruits that start with the letter P, like pear juice, peaches, or prunes. His rule was "P makes you poop." Also when that wasn't working my son would take Miralax. Back then it was only available with a prescription, but we now buy it over the counter and he takes it when needed.

Also, my grandma who is 94, swears that popcorn will help with diarrhea. I've never tried it since my kids seem to have the opposite problems.

 

Diarrhea- our pedi always says feed them JUNK. Literally like french fries and tater tots. We've also been told rice and lots of it.
THey also said to avoid milk when you have diarrhea as it causes intenstinal upset. You can restart milk again 24 hours after the diarrhea has passed...

Constipation- Fruit juices, lots of water, fruit (pears, plums, prunes, apricots) peas.

 

Constipation is a problem at our house and I finally went to a pharmacy that promotes natural and traditional remedies. The kids were only 18 months at the time so he told me to use a blender or food processor to mix all the ingredients, but he gets adults just to eat them on their own. It's 4-6 raw baby carrots, 4-6 purple grapes (must be purple), and 2T of All Bran Buds. For adults, the amounts are a little higher and he asks them to eat everything within about 30 minutes. When I blended it up, my kids wouldn't touch it, but I do put Bran Buds through a chopper and add the powder to cereal, applesauce, pudding...

Thanks to the pp who mentioned rice milk blended with bananas. I may get some during our next tummy bug.