Health & Life Magazine April 2017

Treating Food Poisoning
In the majority of cases, you can treat food poisoning at home
without seeking medical attention. To help your body to recover,
make sure you:
Get plenty of rest.
Drink plenty of water to replenish the fluids you lose through
vomiting and diarrhea.
Eat a little bit when you feel up to it – keep to small meals and
neutral foods like brown rice and vegetables.
Avoid foods that will stress your body like caffeine, alcohol, spicy
and fatty foods, and processed foods.
When to Seek Medical Advice
If your symptoms are severe (for example if you’re so sick you
can’t keep any fluids down) or don’t improve after a few days
If you experience dehydration symptoms like rapid heartbeat,
sunken eyes, and not passing urine.
If you’re over 60.
If you’re pregnant.
If your child has suspected food poisoning.
If you have any long-term chronic condition like kidney
disease, inflammatory bowel disease, heart disease or
diabetes.
Natural Remedies for Food Poisoning
Better still, you can soothe some of the symptoms of food
poisoning with some of these natural remedies:
Ginger— a natural anti-inflammatory. Drink hot water infused
with ginger to relieve digestive discomfort.
Apple cider vinegar— due to its alkalizing effect, apple cider
vinegar can soothe your gastrointestinal lining. Mix two
tablespoons with hot water and drink before eating.
Banana— Vomiting and diarrhea can deplete potassium
stores; bananas are packed with potassium and easy to digest.
They’re also great for restoring energy.
Herbal tea— peppermint, chamomile and licorice tea all have
soothing effects on nausea and can soothe an upset stomach.
How to Prevent the Spread of Infection
If you suspect you have food poisoning, keep contact with
other people, especially elderly and young children, to a
minimum. Stay off work or school until you feel better and at
least 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhea. Here are some
general rules to prevent the spread of infection in a household
and keep your family safe:
Everyone should wash their hands frequently with soap and
water.
Keep surfaces, toilet seats, flushes, etc. clean.
Ensure everyone has their own bath towel.
Wash laundry on the hottest washing machine setting.
Cleaning
Keep your kitchen
surfaces, utensils
and cooking
equipment clean.
Make sure you wash
your hands before
preparing food, after
handling raw food,
and after touching
bins or pets.
Chilling
Some foods need to be kept cool – check the
label for storage instructions. Make sure your
fridge is set to between 0 and 5°C.
Preventing Food Poisoning
One easy way to do this is the take note of a food’s expiration date, especially foods containing meat,
fish diary and eggs. You could also implement the Food Standards Agency’s “four Cs”:
1. Cleaning 2. Cooking 3. Chilling 4. Cross-contamination (avoiding it)
Cooking
Cooking food until it’s
steaming hot in the
middle, particularly meat
and most seafood, will
kill the bacteria that may
be present. If you are
reheating food, make sure
it’s steaming hot all the way
through, and don’t reheat
food more than once.
Cross-contamination
Cross-contamination happens when
bacteria passes from one food (usually a raw
food) to another. To prevent this happening:
Wash your hands after touching raw food.
Always store meat and fish in sealable
containers at the bottom of your fridge
(this prevents it from dripping onto other
food).
Clean utensils after using them with a raw
food.
Avoid washing raw meat and poultry—this
may splash bacteria around the kitchen.
The harmful bacteria will be killed
through proper cooking.
Use different chopping boards or
wash your chopping board thoroughly
between foods.
Safe Food Abroad
When you are abroad, make sure
you practice good food and water
hygiene, especially in countries where
standards of public hygiene are low.
Make sure you check information
about health standards before visiting;
if you’re unsure, ask a reliable guide.
The Ministry of Public Health offers
plenty of information on these topics,
check out their website for updates.
Don’t become a victim of
food poisoning – with just
a little care and attention
when you handle, cook
and store food will keep
your kitchen a safe haven
for everyone.
23
APRIL 2017