Dog diarrhoea getting you down? And all the natural remedies recommended on google have failed - mashed pumpkin, boiled chicken and rice, slippery elm etc
Have you tried cooking green bananas??? It is a real thing (tried and tested in our house!) and there are a number of clinical studies supporting the use of green bananas as a treatment for persistent diarrhoea.
Bananas are one of my favourite fruits but I have only ever eaten ripe bananas (and the more black spots the better!). But I have since discovered that unripe green bananas:
1. Is awesome for ridding the body of diarrhoea and firming up stools
2. Calms an irritable gut.
3. Is a nutrient powerhouse. It is a rich source of vitamins like Vitamin B6 and Vitamin C; it is also high in minerals— potassium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorous and manganese.
4. Cooked green bananas are a real dish! It is a popular side dish in many Caribbean islands where they are used like potatoes i.e as a side dish for a meat dish.
5. Unlike ripe bananas, unripe bananas are not sweet. When cooked they have the texture and taste of potatoes. And are actually delicious!
Research
The therapeutic effect of green bananas has been published in a number of clinical studies. The biggest study was published in the Journal of Gastroenterology (Sept 2001). In this study of “persistent diarrhea: dietary management with green banana or pectin in Bangladeshi children”, it was found that:
1. Green banana and pectin are useful in the dietary management of persistent diarrhea in hospitalized children and may also be useful to treat children at home.
2. Green banana and pectin significantly reduced amounts of stool, oral rehydration solution, intravenous fluid, and numbers of vomiting, and diarrheal duration.
3. A rice based diet with green banana or pectin is more effective than a rice alone diet in reducing diarrhoea.
[SOURCE] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11522739.
Note: Pectin is the resistant starch in green bananas
So how exactly does green bananas stop diarrhea?
The antidiarrheal effect of green banana has been attributed to its content of resistant starch. Resistant starch cannot be digested by the body but becomes a fertiliser for your good gut bacteria, also sometimes referred to as our microbiome. It is a fermentable fibre; a prebiotic that feeds your good gut bacteria to promote a healthy microbiome. Resistant starch is not digested in the small intestine and is passed into the large bowel where it is fermented by bacteria into short chain fatty acids. These short chain fatty acids absorb excess fluid making the stools firmer.
What is the difference between resistant starch and normal starch?
Most starch is easily digested. Resistant starch is the non-digestible portion.
What are other sources of resistant starches?
Some other sources of resistant starches are oats, cooked and cooled rice, sweet potatoes, white potatoes and beans. But gram for gram green bananas has one of the highest levels of resistant starches.
Which species of green bananas have the highest resistant starch?
Lady Fingers contain double the resistant starch of their cousins, the cavendish and plantain bananas. Remember they must be green!
Do I have to cook the green bananas? Can I feed it raw?
Although the green banana is simply an unripened yellow banana the green banana is best eaten cooked (boiled or steamed) for better absorption of nutrients.
Click here for my super easy BOILED GREEN BANANAS recipe
Note: Most cases of doggy diarrhoea can be treated at home. But if your dog’s digestive disease is severe or persistent, please see your veterinarian to rule out liver, kidney, endocrine or other more serious problems, parasites, obstructions and cancer.