Food Poisoning
This page on HealthMBA.com is about the dangers of food poisoning and the most common ways of contracting a food-borne illness. Dining where the standards are high for sanitation and following your own good practices in the kitchen will greatly reduce your chances for having an unpleasant or dangerous experience.
A direct health concern you face at every turn during the day is the food you eat and not watching what you eat can bring on a food-borne illness. Whether you realize it or not there is no such thing as perfectly sterilized food, and in the worst cases large amounts of bacteria and poisons can build up. The most common cause of a food-borne illness is a bacterial infection, but fungi, parasites, and even heavy metal and poisonous chemicals can be consumed with food. Often there are no visible signs and no way to smell whether the food you eat is clear of bacteria like E. choli, Salmonella or of other harmful substances, and you have to put your trust in those who have prepared the food.
At times when meat is undercooked or stored and prepared in unsanitary conditions there is tremendous risk that you'll be eating food that has dangerous amounts of harmful biological or chemical material. The familiar symptoms are getting a fever, stomach, sweating, then profuse vomiting and diarrhea. These are the body's efforts to flush the intruding elements out, and although the body may be over-reacting sometimes, it does a great job to keep the vulnerable organs safeguarded. Food poisoning usually does not cause more than a day or two of such symptoms, and leaves no permanent effects, but in more severe instances food poisoning can cause serious injury and even death. For those times when the bacteria are too robust and elusive to be caught up by the body's anti-infection fighting teams, it can be grim.
Fortunately, there are medications available by prescription from a doctor to boost the body's immune system and to help flush out the offending substances. Antibiotics help fight off bacterial infections as they are administered by consultation with a doctor, but they do nothing to help against a viral infection or against a chemical poison. The infection may not even be caused by food preparation if a person simply has poor personal hygiene. Eating without washing your hands, using unclean utensils and dishes, and eating in an unsanitary environment can introduce external infections.
In the kitchen there are many dangers to introducing infections and poisons to the food. Raw food often has a degree of bacterial infection, but by washing and thoroughly cooking most of the harmful elements will be neutralized. The Problem then is that food can be reinfected by being placed in and around other unsanitary areas. Commonly a cutting board and the knives and utensils used for cooking preparation still carry infection bacteria on them, and using them again on cooked or prepared foods will reintroduce the poisons. Washing between each use can remove a lot of uncertainty and being mindful of what has been contaminated with potential food poisoning will keep your dining experience safe and enjoyable.
