The diet for fecal incontinence should be high in fiber and poor in foods that increase bowel movements, such as coffee or alcohol. It is a diet indicated for diarrhea as well.
Foods allowed diet for fecal incontinence are:
- whole grains: black bread, oat bran, wheat bran, oat flakes, brown rice;
- vegetables: tomato, pod, okra, peppers, cucumbers, spinach, yams, onions, carrots, sprouts, corn, squash, chard, watercress;
- fruit: apple, pear, banana, avocado, peach;
- beans, lentils, peas, grain.
As with bowel incontinence, the rectal sphincter is less able to cope with large amounts of liquid feces. Consumption of these foods, which increase faecal feces, can reduce the occurrence of liquid feces.
Other foods should be avoided for anyone with fecal incontinence, such as:
- coffee and other beverages with caffeine;
- alcoholic beverages;
- sweeteners that are found in diet products like sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol.
Some people should also eliminate dairy intake that is often associated with diarrhea, because of the inability to digest lactose - a sugar found in most of these products.
Useful links:
- Fecal incontinence
- Urinary incontinence
