Zinc can be a powerful antidote to diarrhea, and can even stop a severe attack. Researchers discovered the power of the mineral when they were researching ways to treat cholera in Bangladesh.
They found that it was just as effective as an antibiotic in helping children recover. Those who were given the supplement were better eight hours sooner than a child not given zinc.
Their findings mirror earlier studies from Indonesia, India and Bangladesh that have shown zinc reduces the duration of diarrhea by 15 per cent.
(Source: British Medical Journal, 2008; 336: 266-8).