Diarrhea

Acute Diarrhea

Acute diarrhea is usually caused by an intestinal bug or food poisoning (viruses, bacteria, or parasites). Food poisoning is typically much more severe. People often describe it as coming out “both ends” and being so sick they would almost rather die.

Chronic Diarrhea

If you have frequent or chronic diarrhea, there are several possibilities:

Foods and beverages can be causing your problems; see allergies for more information on allergies, food sensitivities, and food intolerances.

Intestinal parasites, such as giardia or candida overgrowth. Candida can cause a lot of different symptoms, including diarrhea and constipation. Giardia doesn’t cause diarrhea in everyone; about 40% of people become intolerant to dairy and sugars as a result of the giardia scarring the lining of the small intestine, which then leads to diarrhea and possibly vomiting. Once the lining is scarred, you may need B-12 injections, because the small intestine is no longer capable of absorbing this necessary B-vitamin.

Trigger points in the abdomen can cause diarrhea.

Medical conditions such as intestinal malabsorption, irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, diverticulosis, hyperthyroidism, or some types of cancer.

Some medications, radiation therapy, or digestive tract surgery.

Laxative or alcohol abuse.

Loose or pencil-thin stools can be caused by a weakened digestive function, known as “Spleen Qi Deficiency” (the ancient Chinese thought that the Spleen digested food, but it actually refers to the digestive function of the stomach in modern day). Other symptoms may include fatigue, lethargy, bloating and gas, weakness, dizziness, poor appetite, weight gain, diabetes, hypoglycemia, eating disorders, cravings for sweets, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, easy bruising, obsessive worry, and/or some kinds of headaches (it doesn’t have to be all of these, and this is only a partial list of potential symptoms). The digestive function can be weakened by eating too many cold and raw foods, undercooked grains, too many fruits, juices, and sweets, too much cold water or iced beverages/frozen foods, too many hard-to-digest herbs, and herbs that are not the correct ones for your particular set of symptoms. Dairy and tofu will also aggravate symptoms. Spleen Qi Deficiency can lead to conditions such as Fibromyalgia, since it causes dampness to literally accumulate in your body and muscle tissues. Spleen Qi Deficiency is usually part of the Chinese Medical diagnosis for IBS (if the Spleen is weak, it is easy for the “Liver Qi to invade the Spleen” and cause alternating diarrhea and constipation).

My recommendations:

If you have severe diarrhea (especially if it is bloody), nausea, vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain and/or cramping, you may have an intestinal bug serious enough to be life-threatening, so seek medical care immediately. If you have blood in your stools, you should always see your health care provider immediately to rule out serious conditions.

It’s a good idea to have grapefruit seed extract and/or oil of oregano in the house for acute diarrhea, whether from a virus going around or food poisoning. It can usually kill the intestinal bug and have you feeling better almost immediately, but you likely won’t feel like going to the health food store once you are really sick.

If you have chronic or chronic-intermittent diarrhea, see your health care provider for diagnosis. You are losing too many nutrients and electrolytes, which can lead to many other health conditions, such as pain, sleeplessness, headaches and migraines, and fatigue. You will need to take a good multivitamin-mineral in an easily-absorbable form to replace lost nutrients.

If you are having frequent diarrhea you are probably also getting dehydrated. Be sure to drink room temperature or warm/hot beverages, and drink small amounts frequently. Organic chicken broth will likely be helpful.

Eliminate any foods and beverages that may be causing your diarrhea. There is likely more than one, so that makes it hard to sort out at first. But as your diarrhea becomes less frequent, it will be increasingly easier to identify the remaining foods and beverages.

Any time you have chronic diarrhea it is worth testing for parasites. A cheaper alternative is just to treat with herbs like grapefruit seed extract or oil of oregano and see if your symptoms improve. Since these will also kill off the good intestinal flora, you will want to follow treatment with a good multi-acidophilus supplement, as you would after any antibiotic. (A good-quality acidophilus has to be shipped refrigerated; you can get it from the refrigerated section of your local health food store.

Try treating abdominal trigger points to see if it will relieve your diarrhea.

If you have symptoms of Spleen Qi Deficiency, it will be aggravated by dairy, tofu, raw foods and undercooked grains, sweets, hard-to-digest foods, and cold or frozen foods and drinks. It will be relieved by foods that help to fortify the digestive system such as squash, white rice, ginger, oats, cinnamon, yams, onions, black beans, pine nuts, soups, and small amounts of animal proteins. Drink room temperature or hot beverages instead of cold, and cook your foods enough to start the chemical breakdown process so that your digestive system doesn’t have to work so hard.

If you have alternating constipation and diarrhea, see IBS.

Identify any medications that may be causing your diarrhea.

Acupuncture and Naturopathy can help resolve chronic diarrhea from most causes. Acupuncture point Liver 14 is very good for diarrhea and IBS.

If you are abusing laxatives or alcohol, or have an eating disorder, seek help.

Disclaimer: The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated these statements. Information on this web site is provided for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional. The products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases or, medical problems. Nutritional benefits may vary from one person to another.