Gastroenteritis, sometimes called stomach flu, is a highly contagious viral infection that primarily affects the gastrointestinal organs. Gastroenteritis not only affects children, it also affects adults at a high rate. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, or severe abdominal pain. At this time, providing an adequate relief diet can help patients speed up recovery. Here are 4 dietary tips:
1. The most important thing is to add water. If diarrhea and vomiting are combined, dehydration can occur within hours, so the most important thing for gastroenteritis is water replenishment. The 7 choices that can be used as hydration include: 1. water; 2. ice cubes; 3. clear soup; clear juice, such as strained apple juice or raisins.
Note that if your diarrhea is severe, drinking high-sugar drinks is not recommended, because the high sugar content will make the diarrhea more severe. Drinks that are high in sugar include fruit juice drinks, drinks with added sugar, and some electrolyte sports drinks for adults.
2. Reserve electrolyte drinks for young children. You may be wondering, isn’t the electrolyte drink already mentioned in the list above? Here I would like to write specifically about electrolyte drinks suitable for children. Many times in supermarkets or convenience stores, most of the electrolyte drinks we can buy are sports drinks for adults. If you look closely at the nutrition label, all the ingredients are too much for children under 5. In other words, adult sports drinks are not suitable for children, as they contain too much sugar, too much sodium, etc. Basically, if children drink them, they should be distilled with water.
Indeed, suitable for children to drink, you can choose the electrolyte drinks for children. As it is not common in supermarkets, it is recommended that you keep at least 3 or 4 sticks at home at any one time for emergencies. For example, the following electrolyte drink for kids provides 22 calories per 100 mL, 5.5 grams of carbohydrates (sugar), 78 mg of potassium, and 0.2 grams of salt.
3. Eat nutritious foods that you enjoy. No matter adults or children, when you have diarrhea and an upset stomach, it’s not the right time to try new foods. When the family prepares food, try to think of the patient’s top 10 nutritious foods, such as chicken cubes, eggs, mashed potatoes, bananas, etc. I emphasize nutritious foods over snacking, because at this point the appetite is gone and choosing nutritious foods provides nutrients and speeds recovery.
4. During diarrhea and vomiting, avoid the following foods: coffee drinks (may make diarrhea worse), fried foods (may make vomiting worse), foods and drinks with high sugar content (may make children’s diarrhea worse).
In general, when the water shortage situation improves, the diet can return to normal.
(This column is published every Friday)
Written by: Zeng Xinxin Registered Dietitian, spokesperson, writer. Facebook page: Gloria Tsang
Column Name: What Xinxin eats
