Eating junk

Those who suffer from traveller's diarrhoea, may not have to avoid mouth-watering cuisines.

Travellers suffering from "Montezuma's revenge" or traveller's diarrhoea, which is usually caused by a bacterial infection from eating contaminated food, may not necessarily have to avoid mouth-watering cuisines.

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According to an article published in the journal 'Clinical Infectious Diseases', the University of Texas researchers compared two groups of 105 college students visiting Guadalajara, Mexico. The subjects in each group were receiving antibiotic treatment for diarrhoea. One group was told to stick to the bland diet, and the other was given no restriction on what to eat, although both groups were advised to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. Surprisingly, the results showed no real benefit to the diet restriction group.

Dr. Herbert DuPont, study co-author said that one reason for the two groups' equally speedy recovery time was probably their general good health. "Travellers are a different group than children with cholera or people with viral gastroenteritis -young, healthy people with relatively normal intestinal physiology," he said.

Dr. Charles Ericsson, lead author of the study, nevertheless, argued that despite the similarity in the patients' recovery time, the bland diet recommendation might still be advisable for some, especially if they did not take antibiotics to treat the diarrhoea.

"The thought is that simple carbohydrates are easier to absorb during diarrhoea and would be less likely to contribute to osmotic load and worsen diarrhoea, and such a diet might speed the repair of the gut and avoid persistent symptoms. The problem is that we do not know yet how to identify who might benefit from such a diet," said Ericsson.

DuPont said that the best way to cure travellers' diarrhoea is to seek antibiotic treatment and to keep eating so that the diarrhoea bout is not prolonged. He also recommended travellers to stick to safe foods like bread or toast, syrup or honey, citrus fruits and freshly cooked piping hot food.