How do I know I have diarrhea?

• You’re pooping more than 3 times a day
• Your poop is loose and watery
• You may also have painful stomach cramps 

What happens in the gut?

Normally, the gut is where we absorb nutrients and water, making your poop more solid and easy to pass. When your gut  isn’t functioning properly, your poop can become watery and pass through your gut too fast, causing symptoms of diarrhea. 

Are there natural remedies that can help?

• Firstly, if you’re experiencing diarrhea it’s important to stay hydrated using water and electrolytes.
• Soluble fibres such as oats, beans, seeds and carrots are recommended for diarrhea. These fibres hold onto water and create a gel-like consistency. This helps with slowing down digestion and allows for more nutrients to be absorbed too. Even better, they can help to make your poop more solid and improve the frequency of your bowel movements.
  – Psyllium husk supplements can help you incorporate soluble fibres into your diet and help relieve your symptoms. Tip: Slowly introduce fibre into your daily regime to prevent short term digestive discomfort, spread out doses throughout the day. For example, take 5mg of psyllium husk in the morning and 5mg in the evening.
• Peppermint oil capsules can help to alleviate symptoms of pain and improve your quality of life. It prevents the painful muscle spasms that are experienced in the abdomen and may relieve nausea.
• Black tea tablets have  scientific evidence to show that it may be just as effective as prescribed drugs for diarrhea.
• Ginger has been used as a herbal remedy for thousands of years. It has been shown to help relieve pain and improve the consistency of your poop. Taking ginger tablets or drinking ginger tea may be more pleasant than chewing raw ginger.
• Test your reaction to different FODMAPs. Discovering a FODMAP intolerance may have an improvement in your symptoms. For some people, certain FODMAPs like fructose, may draw water into your gut, making your poop watery and soft. They can also increase your hydrogen and methane fermentation levels, which for people with a sensitive gut, may cause painful abdominal symptoms.

You can track your response to these natural remedies using the FoodMarble app. Testing your hydrogen and methane fermentation levels, logging your poop, symptoms, stress levels and sleep to help understand what is working for you and improving your digestive symptoms. 

While these natural remedies can be used at home, we recommend discussing your symptoms with your doctor and any remedies you intend to use.