Natural Cures: How to Treat Diarrhea with Pomegranate Peels

Pomegranate still remains an exotic fruit for most people. When it is occasionally sold at our grocery store, I hardly ever see anyone buying, and if I pick up one or two of those reddish leathery spheres I am usually asked questions. People do not know how to eat pomegranate or even how to peel it. At best, they have heard of pomegranate juice and are aware that it is healthy.

I have checked articles on pomegranate here at AC; there are many of them, covering many aspects from the fruit's origins and medicinal uses to pomegranate bath & body products. A couple of articles mention that pomegranate has been used to treat diarrhea, but none provide any info on how to do that.

I happen to know the recipe. It has been successfully used in our family for years. In fact, it is pomegranate peels, not the fruit itself, that have constipating effect.

Peel a pomegranate and save the peels. Cut them into small (about the size of a nickel) pieces and lay out in the sun to dry. The peels are ready when they become hard and easily breakable. They can be stored in a tea box or glass jar.

When the need arises to use the pomegranate peels' constipating effect, take 4-5 of those dry pieces, place them into a cup, and add boiling water. Cover the cup and wait until the drink cools off (pleasantly warm is the right temperature). I would not say it tastes great, but it is drinkable. If you are used to herbal teas, you should not have any problem with this remedy.

Drink a half of the cup; it does not matter whether you do it in the morning or in the evening, before or after a meal. In some cases, just one serving is enough, so wait and see how it goes for you. If the desired result is not achieved, drink the other half of the cup in a few hours (say, after your next meal). Severe cases of diarrhea might require taking this remedy for several days.

Pomegranate peels work both for people and animals. I had once picked up a kitten with a bad case of diarrhea, and I treated him with these. Of course, he wouldn't drink the stuff on his own, so I had to make him swallow some, drop by drop. After three days the kitten was fine.