Food For Your Healing

Most of us are likely to experience a bout of food poisoning at some time in our lives and will being seeking remedies for food poisoning, especially when you consider that the Center for Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) estimates that around a whopping 76 million illnesses in America each year are related to the food and drink that we consume¹.

The thing that many people do not realize about food poisoning is that it can in fact be fatal and that there are over 200 known diseases that are believed to be passed on through food².

The majority of sufferers of food poisoning only experience a mild case where they have diarrhea, vomiting, headaches and abdominal cramps for a period of up to 48 hours. And in this instance it is easy to treat yourself to help ease the symptoms of food poisoning without having to pay the doctor a visit.

If your symptoms are more severe of course and include the likes of chills, severe dehydration or blood in stools, a doctor should be consulted. Remember that food poisoning can affect the nervous system, the kidneys, the lungs and can be fatal!.

But if you do only have a mild case then there are many great remedies for food poisoning that you can try out in the comfort of your own home.

1. Stop Eating Solid Foods and Increase Your Fluid Intake

If you find yourself with any of the symptoms associated with food poisoning the first thing to do is to stop eating solid foods. At the same time, you need to ensure that you are keeping your body hydrated in order to combat the effects of the food poisoning.

Therefore it is best to only drink liquids to start off with, especially when feeling sick or nauseous. This is especially important if you are experiencing excessive diarrhea and vomiting.

It is also best to limit yourself to drinking only water, as liquids that contain caffeine such as tea and coffee can affect the hydration levels of the body. In other words your body will not be able hydrate itself as well with these liquids as if you were to just drink water.

2. Avoid Alcohol Completely

It is also highly recommended that you avoid alcohol completely until your bout of food poisoning has completely passed, for the same reasons as avoiding caffeine.  Drinking alcohol ultimately leads to dehydration not hydration!

3. Substitute Milk with Herbal Teas

Milk is a bit of a mixed bag as some people will be able to tolerate it whereas some others will find that milk exacerbates the symptoms. If you cannot live without a hot beverage, then many find that caffeine-free herbal teas are a great way of getting some liquids into their bodies – and herbal teas such as blackberry, chamomile and mint are thought of by many to be wonderful cures for the condition.

Always remember that when you are drinking any liquids it best to sip them slowly as this will be easier on your stomach and reduce the chances of vomiting occurring.

4. Eat Plain and Fat Free

Once you have sorted out your liquid intake and are feeling less nauseous then you can start to look at eating solid foods again.

Amongst the best foods to eat as part of the remedies for food poisoning are those that are plain and quite bland but will give your body the sustenance and energy it needs to recuperate.

This includes foods such as plain white rice, potatoes, bread, wholegrain cereals (that are low in sugar) and lean meats. Where possible try to make the food as soft as you can to aid digestion, eat slowly and eat small amounts frequently.

It is also very important that you avoid greasy, fried foods when trying to get over food poisoning, as well as foods that are spicy or acidic by nature.

5. Increase Your Fiber Intake

The aim is to get rid of all the nasty stuff in your body that has been created by the bacteria from the less-than-healthy food you have consumed and so you want to get as much fiber (both soluble and insoluble) into your system as possible.

Some foods that are best for this task include oatmeal, whole-grains, blackberries, pears, sweet potato, spinach and brown bread.

6. Over-The-Counter Medication Is Your Last Resort!

As a last resort in terms of remedies for food poisoning, particularly if you are having issues with re-hydrating your body, you can try some over-the-counter medicines that are designed to help with the symptoms of food poisoning.

Most of these products have been designed to help re-hydrate the body to a satisfactory level and restore the balance of fluids that has been upset by the invasion of bacteria into the body.

If the person suffering from food poisoning is not an adult then it is best to seek medical advice before giving them any over-the-counter medicines for the condition.

1.   http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm

2.   http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm