Diet for intestinal infection

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

Intestinal infection is a disease associated with the ingestion of simple or pathogenic bacteria into the human body by the enteral (fecal-oral) method. Today OCI (acute intestinal infection) occupies one of the leading places in medicine, in the field of infectious pathologies in children and adults.

According to WHO statistics, at least 1 billion AEI is registered every year in the world, of which 5 million cases of infection in children are fatal.

The course of treatment for a viral intestinal infection consists not only of taking medications. One of the components is the diet - diet therapy. A properly selected diet, both in adults and children, is usually aimed at maximizing the mercy of the affected intestinal mucosa.

Symptomatic therapy against infection should exclude the use of "hungry" and "water" diets. Such types weaken the protective functions of the body, slow down the process of restoration of the digestive system, while the intestines continue to function and “require saturation”.

Proper nutrition for intestinal infections: general requirements

Nutritionists recommend observing the following rules when compiling a diet for adults and children affected by a viral intestinal infection:

• Food should be easily digestible, varied in taste;
• Observe the rules for heat treatment and cooking: cooking, steaming, chopping all products to a mushy or puree-like appearance;
• Limit the amount of carbohydrates and fats;
• Inclusion in the diet of lactose-free / fermented milk products, as well as food containing lactobacilli;
• Reducing the amount of food consumed in the first days by 15–20%, in the acute form - up to 50%;
• The number of meals should be increased by 1-3 times.

It is important to exclude from the diet any flavors, additives of synthetic origin, stimulants that enhance the fermentation processes in the intestine. Do not eat: raw, sour berries and fruits, juices, raw vegetables, sweets, fresh baked goods.

Meals should be formulated so as to minimize the amount of vegetables consumed such as beets, cucumbers, cabbage, radishes. Citrus fruits, plums and grapes are not allowed from fruits.

With a decrease in the symptoms of intoxication (cessation of vomiting, the appearance of appetite), you can introduce low-fat cottage cheese, meat in the form of steam cutlets, egg yolk, omelet, crackers only from white bread, light cereals cooked in water into the diet.

Diet for acute intestinal infection in adults

During an exacerbation of intestinal infection in adults, doctors recommend eating lactic acid products. For example, kefir, acidophilic mixture, etc. Dairy products contain lactobacilli, vitamins necessary for a speedy recovery of the patient.

The use of such food products contributes to:

• improving digestion processes, improving the assimilation of food by the body,
• providing a stimulating and activating effect on all intestinal functions,
• improving the assimilation of vitamins and minerals (including calcium salts, fat).

Kefir, due to the lactic acid included in the composition, also has a bactericidal effect.

Important! During the acute stage of the disease, prevent dehydration of the body (loss of the physiologically necessary level of fluid). For this reason, the diet for an acute infection should include an abundant drink of 2.5 liters daily. In the early days, you can drink black tea with sugar (at least 1.5 liters), a decoction from drying or strained rice water.

What diet for intestinal infection is prescribed by doctors?

When diagnosed with AEI, doctors prescribe a special diet known as diet # 4. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that all the food consumed must be of a semi-liquid consistency, at room temperature, and most importantly, it must be cooked in a double boiler (multicooker).

In this case, it is important to observe a six-time diet. The calorie content of the daily menu is approximately 1980 kcal; while the amount of sugar - 40 g, salt - 10 g per day. Nutrition is considered balanced and curative if the content of fats and carbohydrates is 70 g and 250 g, respectively, proteins - 100 g per day.

If the patient's condition improves, he can be transferred to the "diet number 4B". Its distinctive feature is the increase in calorie content up to 3000 kcal, carbohydrates - up to 400 g; the rest of the nutrients consumed with food remain in the same proportions as in the "diet number 4".

The right menu for diet therapy

Below is an approximate "sparing menu" for an acute form of intestinal infection.

• Breakfast: semi-liquid rice / semolina porridge on the water.
• Second breakfast: white bread croutons, tea with sugar / jelly.
• Lunch: low-fat broth, meat soufflé, currant jelly.
• Afternoon snack: crackers, rosehip broth.
• Dinner: oatmeal in the form of porridge cooked in water, chicken steamed cutlet.
• Second supper: apple compote / tea, croutons.

Recipe for a dietary dish from a gentle menu - "chicken soufflé"

Most of the recipes for dishes allowed for the disease are prepared simply, for example, cooking porridge does not require a detailed description. But in order to cook tasty and healthy meat in the form of a soufflé.

The recipe is as follows:

• Boil the chicken breast.
• Cut it into pieces, which are then chopped in a blender.
• Add raw egg yolk to the minced meat.
• Add 3 tablespoons of chicken stock.
• Add wheat flour (or shredded parboiled rice) and salt to the mixture.
• Stir the mixture until smooth.
• Place it on a greased baking dish.
• To put the form is steamed.

What can you eat with an intestinal infection?

The allowed products of the patient's diet include: white bread rusks, soups for broths, pureed cereals cooked in water, meat dishes, poultry dishes (cooked in a double boiler), soft-boiled eggs or in the form of an omelet. From drinks the patient can use: fruit jelly, sweetened black tea, still water.

What should not be used for intestinal infection?

The diet for intestinal infection does not allow the use of pastries, including fresh bread, as well as such cereals as pearl barley, corn, barley, millet.

Also, the patient's diet should exclude fatty meat and fish, smoked products (sausage, sausages); fresh vegetables (white cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions), garlic, herbs, legumes, mushrooms. In addition, in case of intestinal infection, the following are prohibited: canned food, sauces, spices, sweets (chocolate, confectionery), fresh juices, citrus juices, carbonated water, alcoholic beverages.

Diet for intestinal infection in children

The diet for children with intestinal infection is based on the same principles as for adults. The child's nutrition involves limiting the consumption of carbohydrate foods. The daily amount of food consumed is determined directly by the age of the child, the type of previous (usual) feeding, the phase of the underlying disease, and the presence of concomitant diseases.

With OCI, it is advisable to reduce food in the first two days by at least 15-20%, while it is necessary to increase the number of meals by 1-2 times. On the 3rd day of illness, the amount of food can be gradually restored to the normal amount.

In the acute period of the disease, the child's nutrition should not contain food, which contains substances that lead to an increase in the secretion of bile in the intestine. On the third day of illness, you can expand the range of the diet, for example, adding drying or "dry" cookies, biscuits.

Diet for intestinal infection in children under 12 months of age

For infants who feed on the mother's breast milk, it is recommended to reduce the amount of food by 1/3 (during the first three days). It is not worth completing breastfeeding, since only breast milk contains the greatest concentration of nutrients necessary to restore and normalize the baby's digestion. It is recommended to follow the diet of a nursing mother. In this case, it is important to increase the number of attachments of the baby to the breast by 2-3 times.

Children on artificial feeding with a mild stage of intestinal infection can continue to be fed with infant formula, which the child used earlier - before the disease. Special adapted mixtures can be included in the child's nutrition: "NAS", "Agusha", "Gallia Lactofidus" and others.

For children over 6 months old, you can give "Agusha2", "NAS 6-12", containing bifidobacteria, as well as baby food:, for example, cheese "Tema" and "Aistenok", kefirs "Bifilakt" and "Laktokefir".