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Food poisoning: We'd prevent it if we could...

By Megan Roth

Isn't it true that there's no way to avoid food poisoning? I mean, honestly, if there was, wouldn't we all be doing everything in our power to ensure that we don't contract an illness? (I tell you, one of the girls at work left early today after a bout with food poisoning. I feel confident stating that, if she could've predicted and prevented the illness, she would have (judging by her behavior and physical appearance today - which was haggard, to say the least - she was not enjoying herself).

Point is, she had no way of knowing she was going to get sick. She had no way of knowing the crab cakes she ate in midtown last night would upset her system so.

So why, then, are there countless articles, websites blogs, etc detailing how to avoid food poisoning? The only legitimate piece of advice they could offer in terms of avoidance is "don't eat." And I'm pretty sure none of us are down with that...

What they may be useful for, however, is explaining why some people are more susceptible to food poisoning than others.

As with almost every illness, a weakened immune system increases one's susceptibility to food poisoning. There are numerous factors that can affect the strength of one's immune system in addition to genetics and exposure, such as pregancy, cancers, AID, and other diseases.

In addition, age is one of the most important factors in determining just how susceptible one is to foodborne illnesses, and also in determine the lengthiness and severity of that illness. Young children's immune systems aren't yet fully developed and senior citizens immune systems are weakend (the inevitable result of aging); thus, these two populations are particulary at risk in the event that a food-borne illness is contracted.

My fellow Iowans would kill me for saying this, but another, less controllable factor that influences just how susceptible we are to food poisoning? Red meat consumption. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm by no means vegetarian and I enjoy a good burger as much as the next guy; but a study released in Nature shows that there are molecules in my good burger that can actually attract toxins from certain strains of E Coli to human cells.

As can be seen, there are certain factors which can increase your susceptability to food borne illnesses; however, I'm a firm believer that "if it's gonna getcha, it's gonna getcha." Now, the question is what to do in the event that food poisoning sets in?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on November 07, 2008 (boomark / email).