Nutrition

Constipating Diet

Children with a tendency towards diarrhea need a diet and medications that will slow down the colon. Foods that further loosen the bowel movements are eliminated to help the colon move more slowly. The diet is very restrictive in the beginning, and as the diarrhea is controlled, more foods can be added to your child's diet. During this Phase I Diet you will need to give you child a multivitamin with mineral supplement. Anti-diarrheal medications are commonly used as well.

Your child can then choose one new food every 2-3 days and you will observe the effect on his/her colonic activity. If your child soils after eating a newly introduced food, eliminate that food from the diet. Continue to try other new foods, observing the effect on your child. The most liberal diet possible is the goal. If your child remains clean on the liberal diet, the dose of anti-diarrheal medication can gradually be reduced to the lowest dose effective to keep the child clean for 24 hours.

This type of diet is made up of foods to reduce the amount of stool in the lower bowel. Not everyone has the same reaction to the same foods, so learning to identify the foods that control your child's diarrhea best will be important. Using the Foods Recommended List should help you increase the variety of tolerated foods in your child's diet more quickly. Continue to give your child a multivitamin with mineral supplement each day.

Phase I Diet: Use to Constipate Your Child

Food Groups	Food Recommended	Food to Avoid
Milk and Milk Products	Rice Milk	All others
Vegetables	None	All
Fruits	Applesauce, Apples without skin, bananas	All Others
Starches, Bread and Grain	Bread, crackers and cereals made from refined flours, pasta and noodles made from white flours, white rice, pretzels, white potatoes without skin, dry cereals such as: Rice Krispies, Rice or Corn Chex, Corn Flakes, Kixx.	All Others
Meat or Meat Substitutes	Baked, broiled, boiled or grilled meat, poultry or fish	All Others
Fats and Oils	Limit amounts of butter, margarine and oils in food preparation during this phase, non-stick spray is allowed	All Others
Sweets and Desserts	Made from allowed ingredients, plain cake, gelatin or popsicles, Rice Dream Frozen Dessert and limit amounts of concentrated sweets such as jelly and marshmallows	All Others

Some additional tips when beginning to add foods into your child's diet

Avoid extremely hot or cold foods. Foods served warm or at room temperature may be better tolerated.
All vegetables should be well cooked
Avoid raw fruits and vegetables
Avoid foods and things that may produce gas or cause cramps, such as carbonated drinks, chewing gum, beans, cabbage, highly spiced foods, and swallowing air while talking and eating, or using a straw.

Phase II Diet: Use to Increase Variety in Diet

Food Groups	Foods Recommended	Foods to Avoid
Milk and Milk Products	All milk products-limited to 2 - 8oz servings per day, Rice Milk, Soy Milk	Ice cream with nuts, cheese with nuts or seeds
Vegetables: Cooked only--3 or more servings per day	Vegetable juice without pulp, soft cooked vegetables: yellow squash without seeds, green beans, wax beans, spinach, pumpkin, eggplant, potatoes without skin, asparagus, beets, carrots	Vegetable juices with pulp, raw vegetables, cooked vegetables not on the recommended list
Fruits 2 or more servings per day	Applesauce, apples without skin, bananas, fruit juice without pulp, melons, canned fruit except pineapple	Fruit juice with pulp, canned pineapple, fresh fruit other than those on the recommended list, prunes, prune juice, dried fruit, jam, marmalade
Starches, Bread and Grain 4 or more servings per day	Bread, crackers and cereals made from refined flours, pasta and noodles made from white flours, white rice, pretzels, white potatoes without skin, white rice, dry cereals such as: Rice Krispies, Rice or Corn Chex, Corn Flakes, Kixx.	Whole-grain breads, whole grain cereals, brown and wild rice, whole grain pasta, bran cereal, oatmeal
Meat or Meat Substitutes 5 to 6 oz per day	Meat, poultry, eggs, seafood. Baked, broiled, grilled or boiled are preferred methods of cooking	Chunky peanut butter, nuts, dried beans and peas, fried and greasy meats, salami and cold cuts, hot dogs, meat substitutes
Fats and Oils	All oils, margarine, butter, mayonnaise, salad dressings that do not contain foods from the Avoid List	Coconut, nuts, seeds
Sweets and Desserts	Jelly, Rice Dream Frozen Dessert, sugar, marshmallows, angel food cake	Desserts containing nuts, coconut, whole grains or dried fruits, jams and preserves
Miscellaneous	Salt, sugar, ground or flaked herbs and spices, vinegar, ketchup, mustard and soy sauce	Popcorn, pickles, horseradish, relish, jams and preserves

Phase I Sample Menus

Meal	Day 1	Day 2
Breakfast	Rice Chex Cereal with Rice Milk Soft Boiled Egg White toast Jelly Tea	Grits- white Scrambled Eggs English Muffin Jelly Rice Milk
Lunch	Deli sliced turkey White Bread Applesauce Pretzels Rice Milk Sprite	Deli slice roast beef White Bread Applesauce Saltine crackers Sprite Rice Milk
Dinner	Baked chicken Ramen Noodles Banana Angel food cake Tea Rice Milk	Baked fish White Rice Peeled Apple Vanilla Wafers Rice Milk Sprite

Repeat Days 1 and 2 as needed to control diarrhea. Choose "single ingredient" food that your child wants most to increase variety in the diet. To increase calories try adding butter or margarine to bread, rice or potatoes as a new food. To improve nutritional content of the diet add new fruits and vegetables. If a food is not tolerated then do not try it again for a while. This does not mean it is permanently off the list; you may go back and try it again later if it is a highly desired food.

Adding to Phase II Diet: Adding Fats

Meal	Day 1	Day 2
Breakfast	Bagel with butter, & jelly, Scrambled eggs, Tea, Rice Milk	Cream of Rice Cereal, & butter, Poached egg, White toast & butter & jelly, Tea, Rice Milk
Lunch	Deli sliced turkey, White Bread, Mayonnaise, Banana, Pretzels, Rice Milk, Sprite	Deli slice roast beef, White Bread, Mayonnaise, Applesauce, Saltine crackers, Sprite, Rice Milk
Dinner	Roast Beef, Boiled Potatoes, & butter, Applesauce, White Bread & butter, Sprite, Rice Milk	Baked Chicken Ramen Noodles, Peeled apple, Vanilla Wafers, Sprite, Rice Milk