How clean is your food? Cases of food poisoning have been going around with diarrhea, stomach pain, and vomiting; how can I protect myself from getting food poisoning? The most common form of food poisoning is salmonella food poisoning from contaminated raw meats, milk, poultry, eggs, mayonnaise, and fish. In the US, about 9,000 people die annually from food poisoning. You can avoid the spread of food-borne infections by keeping your hands clean when preparing food. Avoid handling food when you are sick. Wear rubber gloves if you have any open sores or cuts on your hands. Always wash your hands before touching food. Clean your hands well when caring for children, especially after wiping noses or changing diapers. Countertops and cutting boards should be thoroughly cleaned after each use. Ideally, use two separate cutting boards: one for meat, chicken, or fish, and another for chopping fruits and vegetables. This will prevent microorganisms from transferring from animal foods to fruits and vegetables via cutting boards or knives. Eating fruits and vegetables raw that came in contact with animal products can cause illness because no heat was applied to destroy any present bacteria. As a rule, chicken, meat, and fish should be cooked until well done. Always cook ground beef or lamb over the stovetop until no pink color can be detected to ensure that it is cooked well. Do not consume raw eggs; hard boil your eggs. Adding a raw egg to blender drinks, a common practice, poses a risk of food poisoning. Also, never let your children lick any cake batter before you bake the cake. As soon as you arrive home from grocery shopping put meats and poultry in the refrigerator. If you will not be cooking them within one day freeze them immediately. To limit microbial growth, when you remove frozen foods from the freezer to thaw, use them shortly after they have thawed. Never return thawed meat back to the freezer to use again at a later date because bacteria multiplies while the meat is set out to thaw. Freezing this thawed meat will not kill the bacteria. Contamination of food can also occur after it is cooked. Bacteria grow rapidly at room temperature but slowly when cold. Cooked food should not be left sitting out for longer than two hours. Left-over food should be refrigerated promptly. Never buy canned foods with a bulge or dent on the can, expired foods, or packaged foods with broken seals or appear opened. When dining out, make sure that the restaurant is clean and that fresh foods are used if possible. In restaurants specify that you want your hamburger meat, steak, chicken dish or fish fillet well done. What are the basic principles of food combining and how is it beneficial? In short, food combining is eating simple meals with only a few ingredients and not eating many types of food at one sitting. Eating foods from too many groups at once can be stressing on the body and cause digestive problems. Food combining enables us to digest foods properly and maximize the utilization of nutrients from each food. The basic principles of food combining are: n Fruit is eaten only by itself or with other fruits. Fruits can be enjoyed alone any time of the day, but are not eaten with or right after a meal. Fruits are usually eaten in the morning as a small breakfast by themselves. The reason why fruits should be eaten alone is that they contain a lot of water, and simple sugars. Therefore, they are digested rapidly. If eaten with other fruits such as proteins which require longer digestion time, fruits would sit for a long time in the stomach, and many of the beneficial vitamins may be destroyed by prolonged contact with stomach acid. In addition, eating fruits with or immediately after other foods, it may result in gas and poor digestion. n Proteins and starches are not eaten together. Proteins: meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and milk products require high levels of stomach acid for digestion. On the other hand, starches like rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread are best digested in a slightly alkaline stomach. So, when proteins and starches are combined neither food is digested very well. This may lead to indigestion, gas, bloating, abdominal discomfort, and poor assimilation of nutrients. Food combinations such as meat and potatoes or chicken and rice, or hamburgers break this food combining rule. n Ideally meals would combine protein and vegetables OR starch and vegetables. Examples of meals in concert with food combining include: rice and stir fried mixed vegetables, fish and steamed vegetables, roasted chicken and a salad, baked potato with a salsa and vegetable topping, meatless spaghetti in tomato sauce and a salad. n Milk is not taken with other foods. According to food combining practices, milk is not a beverage, but a food. Preferably, you may drink a glass of milk alone at bedtime, at least an hour after dinner. n Drinking with meals is discouraged. You may drink a little less than a cup of water only with your food. Many people consider food combining rather extreme. However, it would be helpful for individuals with sensitive digestive tracts and intestinal problems, or those who have poor absorption, as is common in the elderly. You may want to try it to see how you feel, and whether it offers any health benefits for you.
