Hello Everyone,
Hope everyone is staying cool today and most importantly keeping your dogs out of this blistering heat. Short walks just so they can do there business then please keep them inside in the cool air conditioning.
I wanted to share with you some great natural wholefood solutions on how to stop diarrhea in your fur baby. As I tell many people when I share Sonnie's story, once I started adding some pureed zucchini and celery mixed with his food, within days I saw an improvement in his stool.
Natural Healing Tips for Diarrhea:
Diarrhea is a symptom rather than a specific disease. It can result from deranged motility, or from infection by bacteria or parasites, or from chronic inflammation. Diarrhea can cause additional problems, such as the malabsorption of nutrients and the inability to absorb water from the colon.
In cases of diarrhea, which is a hyper immune condition, the intestinal tract must be helped first to regain its normal functionality before such condition can heal.
Health tips to heal diarrhea:
• Restore beneficial flora with acidophilus and bifidus micro-blended with organic algae. A good acidophilus strain is DDS, which is known to deactivate most of the harmful bacteria associated with causing diarrhea, such as E. coli, salmonella, staphylococcus….etc.
• Buy fresh baby green Thai coconuts (white husk) and drink the water and eat its meat. Coconuts water, meat and oil have natural anti-bacterial ingredients that will help stop diarrhea.
For example, coconut oil’s anti-microbial effects come from its unique composition of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA). Coconut oil is composed of 48 percent lauric acid, 7 percent capric acid, 8 percent caprylic acid, and .5 percent caproic acid. These medium-chain fatty acids give coconut oil it’s amazing anti-microbial properties which are generally absent from all other vegetables and animal oils.
MCFA are natural substances the body knows how to use for its benefit. They are deadly to certain microorganisms. For example, most bacteria and viruses are encased in a coat of lipids (fats). The fatty acids that make up this outer membrane or skin hold together the organism’s DNA. Lipid coated viruses and bacteria are easily killed by MCFA, which primarily destroy these organisms by disrupting their lipid membranes. MCFA, being similar to those in the micro-organism’s membrane, are easily attracted to and absorbed into it. Unlike the other fatty acids in the membrane, MCFA are much smaller and, therefore, weaken the already nearly fluid membrane to such a degree that it disintegrates. The membrane literally splits open, spilling its insides and killing the organism. The white blood cells quickly clean up and dispose of the cellular debris.
• Stock up on ginger root, anise, fennel and caraway seeds. Buy fresh organic ginger and put a few thinly sliced pieces (4 to 5 pieces) in water mixed with a tablespoon of fennel, anise and caraway. Boil for five minutes and drink this healing tea. Ginger contains a carminative that protects the stomach. Ginger increases circulation so it helps effect a systemic cleansing through the bowels. Fennel treats indigestion, gas and spasms of the digestive tract and increases peristalsis. Caraway and anise are stimulants that reduce spasms in the gastrointestinal tract.
• One of the products I also recommend for diarrhea is organic micro algae. It puts back electrolyte minerals the body might be losing and/or missing.
• Eat organically grown foods high in fiber: Okra, apples (include the skin), carrots, bananas, peas, broccoli, green beans, and pine nuts. These foods have one or more of three ingredients that can help with stopping diarrhea:
1- Tannins that give some foods their astringency, that is, their ability to bind up and contract tissues. They adhere to the protein layer of inflamed mucous membranes (i.e., an irritated intestine in the case of diarrhea) and cause it to thicken, which slows absorption of toxins. 2- Pectin is a type of soluble fiber that adds bulk to the stool and soothes the digestive tract. 3- Mucilage is another potent type of fiber. It soothes the digestive tract and adds bulk to the stools by absorbing water and swelling considerably.
Most diarrheas lasts 1 to 4 days, but if it continues beyond a few days, it can deplete large amounts of fluids and essential nutrients from the body. You should then consult with a holistic doctor if the above natural health tips do not stop the diarrhea.
References:
Duke, James A. Healing Foods. Pgs. 151-154. Fife, Bruce. The Healing Miracles of Coconut Oil. Pgs. 53-76. Nichols, Trent W. Optimal Digestive Health.