Disease-Essential Practices To Adopt To Avoid Food Poisoning In Summers

Food poisoning is one of the most common health problems people experience in summer. Food poisoning is caused by consuming food that is contaminated with pathogens like harmful bacteria, or parasites, and it can cause a range of symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. In severe cases, food poisoning can even be life-threatening. Warm and damp conditions facilitate the growth of pathogens. This is why there is an increase in cases of food poisoning in summer. So, we need to be extra careful with food during the warm months. To help you stay healthy and safe this summer, functional nutritionist Mugdha Pradhan, CEO and Founder, iThrive, shares some essential practices to adopt to avoid food poisoning. 1. Avoid food from unhygienic places Eat home-cooked food and avoid outside food as far as possible. If eating out, make sure you're not eating at places with poor hygiene practices such as roadside eateries. 2. Proper food storage Don't keep food outside for too long because warm, humid conditions facilitate pathogen growth. Refrigerate the food and try to use air-tight containers. 3. Practice good food hygiene One of the most important steps to prevent food poisoning is to practice good food hygiene. This means washing your hands with soap and water before preparing food, as well as after handling raw meat, poultry, or fish. Additionally, you should clean your kitchen and cooking utensils regularly, and use separate cutting boards for raw and cooked food. 4. Be careful with cross-contamination Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria from raw and unclean food such as raw meat and unwashed products from the market come into contact with cooked food or other ready to eat food items To prevent this, make sure to use separate utensils and cutting boards for uncleaned and cooked food, and never put cooked food back on a plate that held uncleaned food. 5. Build your immunity Very often two different people exposed to the same contaminated food have different, outcomes where only one suffers from food poisoning. This has to do with the immune system strength of the person, especially in the gut. The most important thing here is to have a healthy diverse gut microbiome. This is achieved by a healthy and varied diet of unprocessed foods. Antibiotics, processed foods, and excessive sugar can disrupt your gut microbiome whereas probiotics and fermented foods work to repair and maintain the gut microbiome. Besides, working on the gut microbiome, maintaining a healthy lifestyle overall also has a strong effect on your immune functions. 6. Watch your water Water is one of the biggest carriers of GI infections that cause food poisoning. Make sure to use a quality water filter at home or source your drinking water from reputed suppliers. But it's mostly when people go out that they're caught off-guard. Avoid drinking water from unhygienic restaurants and places. Always opt for packaged water or carry your own bottle. By following these practices, you can greatly reduce your risk of food poisoning this summer. Remember, prevention is always better than cure, so take the necessary steps to keep yourself and your loved ones safe and healthy, the nutritionist adds.