Q. I’ve read in your column about coconut macaroon cookies as a treatment for chronic diarrhea. My dog has been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, for which he has been prescribed prednisone.
I know you were suggesting the cookies for people, but I figured why not for my dog? On two coconut macaroons a day and no prednisone he is getting much better. I wish I had known about this approach for my mother who had Crohn’s disease.
A. Donald Agar in Pittsfield, MA, contacted us in 1998 to tell us that two Archway Coconut Macaroon cookies daily controlled his chronic diarrhea due to Crohn’s disease. We were skeptical, but many people have written since then to let us know that the cookies help.
No one really knows why coconut macaroons work, though folklore from around the world suggests that coconut is known for its anti-diarrheal properties. Dogs are presumably not susceptible to placebo effects, so your experience confirms this approach.
