Healthy Eating | Health Articles | Salmonella How You Get It, How To Prevent It

HTML clipboard We've had a lot of salmonella scares this summer. First it was said to be tomatoes. Restaurants everywhere had signs up apologizing for not offering tomatoes on salads and burgers. Then it was found that jalapeno and serrano peppers farmed in Mexico and distributed through Texas were major carriers of the bacteria, salmonella. There were over a thousand reported cases connected with this particular scare.

Last year we had a salmonella scare with chocolate. Cadbury chocolate caused some 53 people, mostly children, to become very ill with the bacteria that causes vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache, and abdominal cramps. In 2004, over 350 people were infected by salmonella that had contaminated lettuce. The year 2003 produced an outbreak of salmonella that affected almost 1,000 people who had consumed Spanish eggs. And who could forget last year's bagged spinach scare. Spinach was recalled from 48 states and Canada, after it had tested positive for salmonella.

But what exactly is salmonella and how do we avoid falling victim? Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The bacteria is found in the intestinal tract of animals, birds, insects, reptiles, and seafood, as well as people. The food-borne disease is primarily caused due to unclean conditions associated with food handling and sanitation.

In order to reduce the risk of developing the salmonella bacteria in the first place, it's critical that food preparation areas be kept immaculately clean. Utensils, cutting boards, hand towels, sponges, and all surfaces that come in contact with your food can potentially become a carrier for bacteria. Clean and disinfect them after every time you use them, to ensure no bacteria has a chance to grow. Keep your hands clean, as well, with a pure moisturizing soap that contains shea butter, aloe, wheat bran, vitamin E, peppermint oil and baking soda.

Then there is the matter of food preparation. For years it was believed that salmonella could only be gotten from eggs. We now know that is far from the case. Poultry is very susceptible to salmonella and should always be cooked well, to at least 165 degrees, internally. Experts recommend eggs be cooked thoroughly, including the yolk, to prevent the risk of bacteria growth.

Although the symptoms of salmonella are pretty much the same for everyone who is infected, the severity can vary. A case of salmonella generally lasts anywhere from 3 to 7 days. How quickly a person recovers can depend on a couple factors. If the case is mild, the person may get over it with little or no treatment. The intestinal tract can be restored to health by taking a plant formula that's 100% vegan. One that includes carrot powder, apple pectin, ginger, cloves, black walnut hulls, neem, pau d'arco, myrrh, acacia and guar gum, and goldenseal root.

In addition to all these precautions, you can give yourself an added advantage for avoiding these types of illnesses by keeping your immune system as healthy as you possibly can. Include in your daily routine an antioxidant formula designed to protect your body from damaging free radicals. One that has white pine bark, grape seed extract, bilberry, green tea, milk thistle seed, and gingko biloba that will nourish all the body's cells.

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