Food poisoning

Food poisoning, also called food borne illness is an illness caused by eating or drinking food or water contaminated with viruses, bacteria, toxins, parasites, or chemicals.

Psychological Cause:

Food poisoning shows a great lack of dietary balance on the part of the person, and, consequently, a great imbalance at the level of his roots, his position in the world, and the people he associates with.Food poisoning may happen to a group of people, which shows that they feel a tension associated with the emotion of losing everything at one time, though individual reasons may differ. This ‘everything’ is subjective. ‘Everything’ may be an exaggeration, but that is how the person perceives what he experienced. In reality, it may be a relationship, a dear person, or money, and the person feels that it is not worth living like this. It is a sensation of momentary collapse, but a very intense one. The stomach is associated with the digestion of emotions, namely in what concerns roots (home, money, work, place where we live, close friends and relative, and biological mother).The small bowel is associated with discernment. The person expels without telling what is good from what is bad. In the small bowel, like in the stomach, tensions are related to roots, close relatives and friends.

Food poisoning is generally classified as dampness and heat in the spleen, stomach and intestines. Digestion is controlled by the spleen and stomach. The spleen is thought to transform the food we consume into qi or energy that the rest of the body can utilize. Therefore, if something disruptive like a food-born pathogen assaults this system, the whole body is affected, not only the digestive organs. When food-born toxins invade, the food stagnates, its
transformation and transportation are disrupted and this often causes stomach qi to rebel upwards resulting in acid regurgitation or vomiting. The tongue has a thick and often yellow sticky coating. The pulse usually feels slippery and forceful during the illness.

Symptoms

Food poisoning symptoms vary with the source of contamination. Most types of food poisoning cause one or more of the following signs and symptoms:

·         abdominal pain

·         diarrhea

·         vomiting

·         mild fever

·         weakness

·         nausea

·         headaches

Two categories of food poisoning

The causes of food poisoning can be categorized into the following two groups:

•         Infectious causes
•         Toxic causes

Contaminant	Onset of symptoms	Foods affected and means of transmission
Campylobacter	2 to 5 days	Meat and poultry. Contamination occurs during processing if animal feces contact meat surfaces. Other sources include unpasteurized milk and contaminated water.
Clostridium botulinum	12 to 72 hours	Home-canned foods with low acidity, improperly canned commercial foods, smoked or salted fish, potatoes baked in aluminum foil, and other foods kept at warm temperatures for too long.
Clostridium perfringens	8 to 16 hours	Meats, stews and gravies. Commonly spread when serving dishes don't keep food hot enough or food is chilled too slowly.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7	1 to 8 days	Beef contaminated with feces during slaughter. Spread mainly by undercooked ground beef. Other sources include unpasteurized milk and apple cider, alfalfa sprouts, and contaminated water.
Giardia lamblia	1 to 2 weeks	Raw, ready-to-eat produce and contaminated water. Can be spread by an infected food handler.
Hepatitis A	28 days	Raw, ready-to-eat produce and shellfish from contaminated water. Can be spread by an infected food handler.
Listeria	9 to 48 hours	Hot dogs, luncheon meats, unpasteurized milk and cheeses, and unwashed raw produce. Can be spread through contaminated soil and water.
Noroviruses (Norwalk-like viruses)	12 to 48 hours	Raw, ready-to-eat produce and shellfish from contaminated water. Can be spread by an infected food handler.
Rotavirus	1 to 3 days	Raw, ready-to-eat produce. Can be spread by an infected food handler.
Salmonella	1 to 3 days	Raw or contaminated meat, poultry, milk or egg yolks. Survives inadequate cooking. Can be spread by knives, cutting surfaces or an infected food handler.
Shigella	24 to 48 hours	Seafood and raw, ready-to-eat produce. Can be spread by an infected food handler.
Staphylococcus aureus	1 to 6 hours	Meats and prepared salads, cream sauces, and cream-filled pastries. Can be spread by hand contact, coughing and sneezing.
Vibrio vulnificus	1 to 7 days	Raw oysters and raw or undercooked mussels, clams, and whole scallops. Can be spread through contaminated seawater.

Prevention:

The best way to prevent food poisoning is to handle your food safely and to avoid any food may be unsafe.

·         Meat, poultry, eggs, and shellfish. These foods may harbor infectious agents that are killed during cooking

·         Sushi and other fish products that are served raw or undercooked.

·         Unpasteurized milk, cheese, and juice.

·         Raw, unwashed fruits and vegetables.

Always wash your hands before cooking or eating food. Make sure that your food is properly sealed. Store refrigerated and frozen foods appropriately. Thoroughly cook meat and eggs. Anything that comes in contact with raw products should be sanitized before using it to prepare other foods. Make sure to ALWAYS wash fruits and vegetables before serving.

Those who are at high risk of severe reaction to food poisoning—infants and young children, the elderly, people who have compromised immune systems, and pregnant women—should avoid eating high-risk foods such as sushi, deli meat, soft cheeses, and unpasteurized milk or juice. 

Home Remedies

·        Ginger: It adds flavor to your dishes, but is also an excellent home remedy for curing almost all types of digestive problems. Take a tablespoon of honey with a few drops of ginger juice to reduce inflammation and pain. It has been found to increase the secretion of gastric juice and the production of hypochloride. This means that food is digested more quickly; creating an unfriendly environment for bacteria that could wreak havoc with your stomach and intestines.
In fact, ginger can be used for most digestive upsets that involve nausea, vomiting, cramping, abdominal pain, indigestion or diarrhea.

·        Cumin: Cumin or jeera seeds are a good way to soothe the inflammation in your stomach, reduce the tenderness and aid healing. Crush a tablespoon of cumin seeds and add it to your clear soup.

·        Basil: Basil is another excellent home remedy to cure infections of both - the stomach and the throat. Strain the juice of a few basil leaves and add it to a tablespoon of honey. It’s bound to show positive results within a couple of hours.

·        Bananas: Bananas are a rich source of potassium. They aid recovery and reduce the effects of food poisoning to an impressive level. Mash a couple of bananas and apple, or whip up a quick banana shake.

·        Apples: Apples are as effective against food poisoning as they reduce heartburn and acid reflux. Apples are known to have enzymes that inhibit the growth of the bacteria that cause diarrhea and stomach ache.

·        Lemon: The acidity of the lemon juice kills most of the bacteria that cause food poisoning. Squeeze the juice of a lemon and add a pinch of sugar to it. Drink it as you would take any medicine, or you can even add lemon to your tea.

·        Water: It is very important to keep yourself fully hydrated during the period of food poising, as your body tends to lose more water through diarrhea. Also, keeping up your water content, rapidly flushes out the toxins and bacteria, which enhances your recovery.

·        Apple cider vinegar: Being alkaline in nature, vinegar, specifically apple cider vinegar soothes the gastro-intestinal lining. Also, it makes the environment of the stomach inhospitable for the bacteria to breed in, which helps speed up the recovery.

·        Peppermint tea: Peppermint oil is known to have a soothing effect, which is extremely beneficial for people suffering from stomach spasms due to food poisoning. Add a few drops to your tea; your cramps will vanish in a couple of hours.

Acupressure Points

SP6, CV4, ST36, ST25, P6

Reflexology Points

3,8,10,16,19,20,21,22,23,27,29,37,26