Value of Banana and Banana Powder in the Treatment of Infants and Children Having Diarrhea

Abstract

The present paper describes a two year investigation of the use of banana powder in the treatment of hospitalized infants and children having diarrhea. The results are compared with those obtained in the study of a similar group of control patients treated with more usual methods.Mashed banana and powdered banana are growing in popularity as foods for infants. Since the initial observation of Haas 1 that "carbohydrate in the form of ripe bananas appears to be tolerated perfectly" by patients with celiac disease, a number of papers have appeared concerning the suitability of this fruit as a carbohydrate supplement, not only in the treatment of celiac disease but for the feeding of normal infants 2 and in high caloric diets for malnourished infants.8 The first writer to recommend its use in the treatment of the acute digestive disorders appears to have been Fanconi.4 The literature dealing with