Bratty (sp?) diet?
869683 Clark Patrick S
Help! Michael (16MO) is going through a bout with a virus-caused diarrhea, and his pediatrician has put him on the Bratty Diet for the nth time. (Previous times have been due to virus-induced vomiting.) Anyway, he's allowed applesauce, bananas, bread, potatoes, yogurt, rice, electrolyte solution, sports drinks, and water.
This doesn't jibe with prior times. This time he can't have any crackers, where before he's always been allowed graham crackers. Also, this is the first time dairy products haven't been off limits. Every time Dr. Odell has referred to the diet by the same name, but has never given us hardcopy on what it is. Jennifer and I are confused, since this seems contradictory.
Does anyone out there have a definitive listing of this diet? Please email or post it if you do.
Patrick Clark | "Yeah, even Santa Claus believes in you."
sl...@cc.usu.edu | _Can You Picture That_
"I'm the NRA" | Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
Disclaimer: I'm a graduate student. Only freshmen know everything.
Laura Floom
>
> Help! Michael (16MO) is going through a bout with a virus-caused diarrhea, and his pediatrician has put him on the Bratty Diet for the nth time. (Previous times have been due to virus-induced vomiting.) Anyway, he's allowed applesauce, bananas, br
>ead, potatoes, yogurt, rice, electrolyte solution, sports drinks, and water.
>
Actually it is the BRAT diet. It stands for
Banana
Rice
Apple Sauce
Toast
Laura Floom
Steve Guntly
>diarrhea, and his pediatrician has put him on the Bratty Diet for the
>
> Does anyone out there have a definitive listing of this diet? Please email or post it if you do.
>
When we first ran into something similar with Danielle (around 3 years
ago, as I recall), we were told to use the BRATY diet also. When we
asked "What's that?" we were told:
Bananas
Rice cereal
Applesauce
Toast
Yogurt
Since Danielle was about 6-7 months old at the time (with no teeth,
of course), most of these things weren't yet on the menu. Basically,
as I understand it, the intent is to provide a variety of bland foods
that provide reasonable nutrition while attempting to get the digestive
system to return to normal. Of course, I'm not in the medical profession,
so some details may be vague (and it was some time ago). Hope this
helps!
Steve Guntly
Daddy to Danielle (3.67 YO)
and Courtney (15 MO)
Kami Olsson-Tapp @day
The way we had it explained to us:
The BRAT diet stands for Bananas, Applesauce, Rice and Toast.
Modified BRAT adds in Chicken
Many children experience lactose intolerance when they have an upset
stomach -- I suspect that your doctor is eliminating dairy products
for that reason. Keep in mind that yogurt is a dairy product and
should be eliminated.
--
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Kami Olsson-Tapp ucsd!telesoft!kami
Laurie Hafner
We were told just the opposite - plain yogurt has a natural bacteria that
helps eliminate problems in the gut. There is a medicine called "Bacid"
that does the same thing and can be purchased from a pharmacy without
prescription. Our pediatrician suggested that we try yogurt first since it
is a more natural product. I will double check on this tomorrow as we are
going in for a checkup. It would be worth asking your pediatrician so we
can understand whether or not yogurt should be used with diahrrea.
Laurie Hafner, Weeg Computing Center, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242
lha...@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu
Steven Bellovin
> We were told just the opposite - plain yogurt has a natural bacteria that
> helps eliminate problems in the gut.
Yes and no...
Some forms of diarrhea are caused by a lack of friendly flora in the
intestinal tract. This form is often caused by antibiotics, which lack
the proper IFF receivers to tell which bacteria they should nuke. Or
the symptoms of the upset stomach (i.e., vomiting and diarrhea) could
themselves expel the bacteria, I believe. Eating yogurt can indeed
help in such cases.
However... Sometimes, persistent diarrhea is caused by lactose
intolerance. I've posted on that before, so I'll be brief this time,
but lactose intolerance can occur secondary to a rotovirus infection.
Many dairy products contain significant amounts of lactose, and
undigested lactose is itself an irritant to the gut (and to the child's
rear, I might add). Yogurt is relatively high in lactose, according to
a brochure from the Lactaid Corporation; while it's true that the live
cultures can help in digesting it, we've learned (first-hand....) that
this is insufficient for some children. If you suspect lactose problems,
ordinary yogurt is not a good thing.
--Steve Bellovin
Jane Marcus
>ago, as I recall), we were told to use the BRATY diet also. When we
>asked "What's that?" we were told:
>
> Bananas
> Rice cereal
> Applesauce
> Toast
> Yogurt
From what I've heard, dairy items are not good in this case, so I'm
surprised to see yogurt. The first thing to go when my kids are sick
with diaherra is milk. My doctor recommends the BRAT diet (I thought the
"R" stood for plain rice and not rice cereal though) plus other
things like carrots, chicken and a few other things which don't come to
mind right now; he says the BRAT diet is too restrictive. Of course,
ask 10 doctors the same question, and you'll get 10 different answers,
so I believe you have to find a doctor you trust and go with his/her advice.
Jane Marcus
ja...@hpfclg.fc.hp.com
Kami Olsson-Tapp @day
>In article <7NOV1991...@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu>, lha...@vaxa.weeg.uiowa.edu (Laurie Hafner) writes:
>> We were told just the opposite - plain yogurt has a natural bacteria that
>> helps eliminate problems in the gut.
Laurie suggested we check with our peds to better understand why
sometimes yogurt is recommended and sometimes not.
>Yes and no...
>Some forms of diarrhea are caused by a lack of friendly flora in the
>intestinal tract. This form is often caused by antibiotics, which lack
>the proper IFF receivers to tell which bacteria they should nuke. Or
>the symptoms of the upset stomach (i.e., vomiting and diarrhea) could
>themselves expel the bacteria, I believe. Eating yogurt can indeed
>help in such cases.
>However... Sometimes, persistent diarrhea is caused by lactose
>intolerance. I've posted on that before, so I'll be brief this time,
>but lactose intolerance can occur secondary to a rotovirus infection.
>Many dairy products contain significant amounts of lactose, and
>undigested lactose is itself an irritant to the gut (and to the child's
>rear, I might add). Yogurt is relatively high in lactose, according to
>a brochure from the Lactaid Corporation; while it's true that the live
>cultures can help in digesting it, we've learned (first-hand....) that
>this is insufficient for some children. If you suspect lactose problems,
>ordinary yogurt is not a good thing.
> --Steve Bellovin
I couldn't have said it better ... Steve explains the the same way our
ped and our GI specialist do.
Make sure that any yogurt you are using with the intent to help
maintain good gut bacteria has active cultures. I read somewhere to
avoid the store brands and any brand that has gelatin added.
Kami