10 Foods to Avoid When You Have Diarrhea

2. Hot Peppers

Another food that can aggravate diarrhea is hot peppers. The compound capsaicin in peppers is known to trigger diarrhea.

It irritates the stomach lining during digestion, which results in diarrhea as well as gas, bloating and a burning sensation in your stomach. Both the seeds and skin of hot peppers can be hard on your weak digestive system.

A 2007 study published in Neurogastroenterology & Motility found that chili ingestion produced more abdominal pain and burning in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome than in healthy volunteers.

3. Coffee

You must ditch your regular coffee when suffering from diarrhea.

The caffeine in coffee contributes to loose stools. Also, caffeine has a diuretic effect that can worsen the dehydration caused by diarrhea.

A caffeine-free, herbal tea with ginger or peppermint is an excellent alternative beverage that will actually calm your bowel movements.

Not just coffee, you must put on hold on anything that contains caffeine, such as soda, until your tummy troubles go away or else it will irritate your digestive tract and speed up fluid and electrolyte loss.

4. Alcohol

When suffering from diarrhea or any other stomach issues, don’t drink any alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol is toxic to the stomach lining and it also changes liver metabolism. Drinking too much can cause indigestion, which can worsen your condition when battling diarrhea.

Also, it can prevent proper rehydration and trigger water loss, which can make your condition worse.

On top of that, alcohol sometimes interferes with medications being taken to treat diarrhea, Crohn’s disease or colitis.

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