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Nutrition Therapy for Diarrhea
By eating the recommended foods, you will have less fiber, fat,
lactose, and sugars in what you are eating.
This should help stop the diarrhea and make you feel better.
Recommended Foods
Note: These suggestions are suitable for most people. However, if your
symptoms get worse after eating specific foods on this list, you should stop
eating them until you recover.
Food Group
Dairy
Grains
Fruits and
Vegetables
Food Choices
Buttermilk
Evaporated, skim, and low-fat
milk
Soy milk
Yogurt with live active cultures
Powdered milk
Cheese
White flour
Bread, bagels, rolls, crackers, and
pasta made from white or
refined flour
Cold or hot cereals made from
white or refined flour
Fruit juice without pulp, except
prune juice
Ripe bananas
Melons
Canned soft fruits
Most well-cooked vegetables
without seeds or skins
Potatoes without skin
Lettuce
Strained vegetable juice
Notes
If you have lactose
intolerance, drinking milk
products may aggravate
diarrhea. Try lactose-free
products.
Avoid yogurts with nuts or
dried fruit.
Choose grain foods with
less than 2 g dietary fiber
per serving. (To find out
how much fiber is in a
serving of a packaged
food, look on its Nutrition
Facts label.)
See the Foods Not
Recommended chart for
fruits and vegetables to
avoid.
Copyright American Dietetic Association. This handout may be duplicated for client education.
Nutrition Therapy for Diarrhea Page 1
Proteins
Beverages
Fats
Tender, well-cooked meat,
poultry, fish, eggs, or soy foods
made without added fat
Smooth nut butters
Decaffeinated coffee
Caffeine-free teas
Soft drinks without caffeine
Rehydration beverages
Fats include oil, butter, cream,
cream cheese, margarine, and
mayonnaise
Healthy people need 8 to
10 cups of fluid each day.
You may need to drink
more to replace fluids lost
to diarrhea.
Limit fats to less than 8
teaspoons a day
Foods Not Recommended
Dairy
Fruits
Grains
Proteins
Whole milk
Half-and-half
Cream
Sour cream
Regular (whole milk) ice cream
Yogurt with berries, dried fruit, or nuts
All raw fruits except banana and melons
Dried fruits, including prunes and raisins
Fruit juice with pulp
Canned fruit in heavy syrup
Any fruits sweetened with sorbitol
Prune juice
Whole wheat or whole grain breads, rolls, crackers, or pasta
Brown or wild rice
Barley, oats, and other whole grains
Cereals made from whole grain or bran
Breads or cereals made with seeds or nuts
Popcorn
Fried meat, poultry, or fish
Luncheon meats, such as bologna or salami
Sausage and bacon
Hot dogs
Fatty meats
Nuts
Chunky nut butters
Nutrition Therapy for Diarrhea Page 2
Vegetables
Beverages
Fats
Others
Raw vegetables (except for lettuce)
Fried vegetables
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Collard, mustard, and turnip greens
Corn
Potato skins
Beverages containing caffeine, including regular coffee,
regular tea, colas, and energy drinks
Limit beverages containing high fructose corn syrup to 12
ounces per day
Avoid beverages sweetened with sorbitol
Alcoholic beverages
Limit fats to less than 8 teaspoons per day.
Sugar alcohols such as xylitol and sorbitol; honey.
Meal Planning Tips
Limit foods and beverages that contain sugar, lactose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup,
and sorbitol.
Avoid beverages with caffeine.
Eat a small meal or snack every 3 or 4 hours.
Avoid spicy foods if they make symptoms worse.
Nutrition Therapy for Diarrhea Page 3
Sample 1-Day Menu
Meal
Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Evening
Meal
Snacks
Food Choices
1 cup Rice Krispies
1 cup vanilla soy milk
ripe banana
1 cup decaffeinated tea
6 ounces yogurt or 2 graham cracker rectangles
2 cups chicken rice soup with 2 ounces of added chicken
cup cooked carrots
1 slice white toast with a thin spread of jelly
cup applesauce
2 or 3 saltine crackers
1 cup fruit juice without pulp
4 to 6 ounces baked fish topped with breadcrumbs, a squeeze of
lemon, and 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
cup mashed potato without skins
cup green beans, cooked well
1 cups water or other caffeine-free beverage
cup sorbet
1 cup sugar-free hot chocolate made with water or soy milk
Approximate Nutrition Analysis:
Calories: 1,685; Protein: 110g (26% of calories); Carbohydrate: 252g (59% of calories); Fat: 28g
(20% of calories); Cholesterol: 204mg; Sodium: 2,777mg; Fiber: 15g
Notes:
Nutrition Therapy for Diarrhea Page 4
