Astringent diet: how to carry it out and benefits.

A diet widely used to prevent or cut diarrhea. Find out if it is suitable for you.

There are different types of diets, and most people associate them with the slimming process. But not all of them have that function, and not all diets are healthy. One of the diets that aims to improve our well-being and our stomach health is the astringent diet, designed to reduce the symptoms of astringency.It is designed to reduce the symptoms of diarrhea.

The astringent diet is recommended in cases where a person suffers from diarrhea, regardless of the origin: transient, enteritis, Crohn's disease or secondary to intestinal surgery. In this article we are going to talk about this diet and we are going to deepen in its characteristics.

What is the astringent diet?

The astringent diet is a diet that aims to take care of the digestive system when someone suffers from stomach upset or diarrhea.

Basically, with this diet the subject includes in its diet some foods that are easily digestible and with which the and with which the organism does not need excessive energy to process them, in addition to foods with high mineral and vitamin content, which do not contain much fiber and which help to retain liquid.

In this way, the balance between the nutrients ingested and the energy spent in the management of what has produced the disease is restored, while digestive problems are not generated because of the delicate state in which the intestinal flora is. It is a temporary type of diet, usually used in relatively small time windows.

On the other hand, the astringent diet is useful for any age, including children and the elderly.

What causes diarrhea

We have all, at some point in our lives, suffered from diarrhea, that is, when we have an increased need to go to the bathroom to defecate, often without being able to control the deposition of excrement, which has little consistency (it is not very solid). Diarrhea can last from one day to two or three weeks in the case of acute diarrhea, and up to several weeks in the case of chronic diarrhea.

This condition, which is usually a symptom rather than a disease, has different causes. They are the following:

• Some parasitesparasites, such as those that cause giardiasis and amebiasis.
• Viruses. Among which stand out the enterovirus, or the hepatitis virus.
• Distantis infectionseither by ingestion of food (or water) or by person-to-person contamination.
• Bacteria. Some of the best known are: salmonella, shigella, clostridium E.coli.

Some medical conditions that do not include infection are:

• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Celiac disease
• Lactose intolerance
• Inflammatory bowel diseases. For example: ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.
• Small bowel surgery
• Pancreas problems, e.g., cystic fibrosis
• Ischemic bowel disease
• Surgical removal of the gallbladder
• Certain diseases of the endocrine system. For example: overactive thyroid, Diabetes or Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Recommendations for the astringent diet

Some recommendations to follow this diet are:

• At meals, the amount to be consumed should be small.
• Eat more frequently. For example, 5-6 meals a day.
• Drink plenty of fluids, in small sips, to avoid dehydration. A good option is to drink fat-free broths.
• Avoid foods rich in fiber
• Eat in a relaxed manner to promote digestion.
• Avoid very hot or very cold foods
• Do not consume foods that cause gas.
• Foods should be varied.

Phases of the diet against diarrhea

When someone consumes this diet, the stools become progressively harder and, therefore, it is necessary to adapt the diet to the degree of improvement. Therefore, this diet consists of four phases, this diet consists of four phases.

Phase zero

This is the initial phase, in which no solid food is consumed.. In the case of children, it lasts approximately 4 hours, in the case of adults, the first 12 hours. In this phase there is a great loss of minerals and liquids, so it is essential to consume special drinks or drinks with salts (for example, a sachet of dissolved hyposodium serum or medicines to recover minerals).

It is also possible to boil a liter of boiled water, add the juice of 2-3 lemons, half a teaspoon of baking soda, half a teaspoon of salt and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. Also, tea, chamomile, rice water, carrot water are ideal.

Phase two

After the previous phase, it is possible to incorporate other foods, such as boiled rice, boiled potato and carrot, boiled pasta without boiled fish, boiled chicken, boiled apple, boiled apple and carrot water.boiled pasta without boiled fish, boiled chicken, baked apple, and so on.

3. Phase three

In the third phase of the astringent diet, foods that promote recovery are: mashed vegetables (zucchini, carrots, beans, pumpkin), fruit juices, boiled vegetables and legumes, rice, boiled chicken or fish, toasted white bread.

4. Phase four

The fourth phase consists of gradually introducing complex foods until a normal diet is consumed.. For example, banana, boiled vegetables, grilled meat or fish, 0% fat yogurt, decaffeinated coffee, fresh cheese without fat, etc.

Which foods should be avoided

There are a number of foods that should not be consumed as part of this diet, at least during the first phases.. Progressively, it is possible to introduce some foods in the diet, once the improvement is evident. Foods rich in fat are not at all positive for this type of diet, as well as foods rich in fiber.

Neither are industrial sweeteners found in soft drinks or highly digestible vegetables such as garlic, raw onions or peppers. Chocolate, alcohol, fried foods, red meat, butter should not be ingested. Dairy products should not be consumed either, at least until the fourth phase and always in their fat-free versions.

When we should not do this diet

The astringent diet is not a diet that can be harmful; however, when there is no need for it (because there are no stomach problems or diarrhea) it will not be useful.

However, when a person has constipation, it is not advisable to perform the astringent diet since it would enhance this condition and, therefore, constipation is increased.

In addition, it must be taken into account that with time our physiology changes, and therefore it cannot be taken for granted that just because this type of diet worked well for us years ago, it will always do so.

Bibliographical references:

• Ciullo, P. A. (1996). Industrial Minerals and Their Uses: A Handbook and Formulary. William Andrew.
• Dockery, G. L.; Crawford, M. E. (1999). Color Atlas of Foot and Ankle Dermatology. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
• Klemmer P.; et al. (2014). Who and what drove Walter Kempner? The rice diet revisited. Hypertension. 64(4): 684 - 688.
• Valtin, H. (2002). "Drink at least eight glasses of water a day." Really? Is there scientific evidence for "8 × 8"?". American Journal of Physiology. Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 283 (5): R993–R1004.
• White, L.; Duncan, G.; Baumle, W. (2010). Foundations of Basic Nursing. Cengage Learning. pp. 395 - 396.