Nutritional Guide - Flipbook - Page 33
I have odour, colour changes etc. – what will help?
Sometimes there may be dietary causes and this table is a summary of common problems, causes and what
you can change to help. These foods and drinks are most commonly linked to these problems, but can be
tolerated in varying amounts; everyone’s tolerance is different and as your body heals your tolerance can
increase – listen to your body and you’ll learn what works for you.
Problem
Causes
Solutions
Pouch-inflating
and bloating
Stools – onions, garlic, broccoli,
cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage,
beans, chewing gum, fizzy drinks
(including beer) and eating quickly.
Try eating slower & chewing your food
more. Reduce the trigger foods and drinks
in your diet.
Pouch odour
Stools – onions, garlic, broccoli,
cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage,
beans, fish and eggs.
Urine – dehydration, garlic,
asparagus, fish and seafood.
Keep a food and symptom diary and see if
there’s a trend.
Undigested
food and
blockages
Stools – not chewing foods enough, bean
sprouts, sweetcorn, popcorn, mushrooms,
fruit or vegetable skins, fibrous fruit/veg.
e.g. pineapple, raw fruit and veg., nuts
and seeds.
You may find you get pain after some of
these ‘trigger’ foods so ensure they’re
well cooked, you chew well and if needed
then reduce the amount of that food in
your diet.
Increased stool
frequency and
watery stools
Eating quickly, not chewing foods enough,
more than 2-3 portions of fruit a day or
more than 150ml of smoothies/fruit juice
a day, higher fibre fruits and vegetables,
high fluid meals e.g. soups.
Try including: low-fibre starchy
carbohydrates at every meal e.g. peeled
potatoes. Eating 3 marshmallows, 3 times
a day (9 in total per day) has been shown
to help thicken stools.
Colour
changes
Red: beetroots and red berries, red wine.
Purple/dark blue: Stools – blueberries,
blackberries.
Urostomy output – being constipated (not
enough fluid or fibre).
Yellow/orange/dark brown:
Stools – High fat meals e.g. creamy sauces,
fried foods or a gut infection.
Urine – Dehydration (not enough fluid or
high dose B vitamins).
Green:
Stools – High fat meals e.g. creamy sauces
or fried foods.
Black:
Stools – Taking iron supplements or
bleeding in the digestive system; speak
with your Doctor or call the NHS helpline
111 for advice.
Most colour changes are not harmful and
do not need you to change your diet.
Try including: dairy foods and parsley.
Speak with your Doctor or call the NHS
helpline 111 if:
•
•
There are drastic smell, consistency
or volume changes in your stools
or urine.
You have unfamiliar pain at the
stoma site or in your digestive
system (anywhere from the mouth
to anus).
33
