What foods should be avoided during diarrhea? Hot glutinous rice products are indeed easy to digest. Traditionally, glutinous rice was considered a stomach-nourishing food that could replenish deficiencies and stop diarrhea, suitable for those who are weak or experiencing loose stools. Especially for those with a cold stomach, eating warm glutinous rice porridge can be quite soothing, and even corn porridge or millet porridge are acceptable.
However, for tangyuan (glutinous rice balls), some varieties are made with glutinous rice mixed with lard. The fatty coating prevents the rice from fully mixing with digestive juices in the stomach and intestines, making tangyuan difficult to digest. The fat can also irritate diarrhea.Additionally, the fillings inside tangyuan—such as sweet sesame paste, peanut paste, or red bean paste—are rich in sugar, which is detrimental to diarrhea. Some fried tangyuan are high in oil, making them even harder to digest.This is because the glutinous rice becomes stickier when cold, making it difficult to chew thoroughly and challenging for stomach contractions to break it down. In the small intestine, this stickiness may reduce contact between digestive enzymes and the rice mass, slowing its passage through the digestive tract. Consequently, eating cold tangyuan can cause a feeling of bloating.
For individuals with robust gastrointestinal function—characterized by abundant digestive secretion, high enzyme activity, and strong peristalsis—consuming cold tangyuan poses no issue. However, given your current state of gastrointestinal weakness, stomach discomfort, and intestinal diarrhea, tangyuan are not advisable.If you really crave them, choose plain, unfilled tangyuan without oil. Even then, consume them sparingly. While glutinous rice products nourish the stomach, they are harder for the intestines to digest than regular rice. Since your intestines are already struggling with diarrhea, it's best to give them more rest.
What foods should be avoided during diarrhea? The list above covers common triggers, and I trust you now have a clearer understanding. Wishing you all good health.