Food Health Awareness
Why is Health Awareness so important?
For obvious reasons, your health is very important. Therefore it is vital that you are able to detect any hazards to your health but also track your health. For example if you know the signs that some meat is under cooked, then you can avoid eating it, and as a result dodge the bullet of being sick in the following hours. However as previously mentioned, health awareness involves checking up on your current health and making sure everything is running smoothly. This will allow you to address any issues straight away, which is always better. Health awareness is very important. Here are some risks to your health that you should look out for.
Staph Aureus Food Poisoning
Causes and Risks
Staph aureus food poisoning is often caused when a food handler contaminates food products such as desserts, salads, or baked goods (especially custards, mayonnaise, and cream-filled or topped desserts) that are served or stored at room or refrigerator temperature. The bacteria multiply rapidly in the food, and a large colony of bacteria may be present without evidence of food spoilage. Risk factors include ingestion of food prepared by a person with a skin infection, ingestion of food kept at room temperature, ingestion of improperly prepared food, and symptoms occurring in persons eating the same food. Symptoms usually appear within 4 to 6 hours. The incidence is 6 out of 100,000 people.
Shigella enteritis
Causes and Risks
Shigella enteritis is an acute infection caused by 1 of 4 strains of the Shigella bacteria. Outbreaks of the disease have been associated with poor sanitation, inadequate water supplies, contaminated food, crowded living conditions, and fly-infested environments. It is common among travelers in developing countries and workers or people living on reservations, refugee camps, and institutions. The incubation period is 36 to 72 hours.
Although uncommon in adults, neurologic symptoms can develop in children. In up to 40% of children with severe shigellosis, seizures (febrile seizures ), headache , lethargy , confusion , and stiff neck resembling meningitis (nuchal rigidity) can occur. The risk factors are the same as the conditions associated with the disease. The incidence is 5 out of 10,000 people.
Salmonella enteritis
Causes and Risks
Salmonella enterocolitis can range from mild to severe diarrheal illness. The infection is acquired through ingestion of contaminated food or water. Any food can become contaminated during preparation if conditions and equipment for food preparation are unsanitary. The incubation period is 8 to 48 hours after exposure, and the acute illness lasts for 1 to 2 weeks. The bacteria is shed in the faeces for months in some treated patients. A carrier state exists in some people who shed the bacteria for 1 year or more following the initial infection.
Salmonella can be avoided when cooking in your own house. Read this article here to help you be sure never to get salmonella as there is nothing pleasant about having it.
Read the Ingredients!
Be aware of what you are allergic to
Make sure you are up to date about what allergies you have. If you know you are allergic to a particular ingredient then check the back of any product you buy to make sure that it doesn't contain the substance. For example, nut allergies can actually be fatal. Which is why food products containing nuts make it very clear that they do so. Some say may contain traces of nuts. It would be wise to avoid these because they're re not guaranteed to be safe for you to eat.
Be aware of typical ingredients and what they cause
It is always a good idea to learn about what different ingredients assist with in our body. For example salt assists with many of the cells functions. Having said that eating too much can damage the heart. For example, if you buy a supplement from us check the ingredients. Conveniently for you, we have listed the ingredients in great detail and exactly what they do. For example, D.Bal.Max contains whey protein which is a by-product of cheese making. So, if you are allergic then you probably shouldn't buy it.
Conclusion
Always be aware of the products around you. Read the ingredients and know what each one does. This will help you prevent any illness or anything worse. It is definitely worth the time invested in learning what ingredients do what.