A sudden occurrence of diarrhea after eating salad can be a resultant of any food borne bacteria and unhygienic salad preparation methods. The following HealthHearty article enlightens you about the major causes of the condition along with a few tips for its treatment.
Diarrhea or the looseness of the bowels is a medical condition that is caused by several temporary problems of the stomach, like infections, or due to some intestinal diseases. Normally, diarrhea can last for only a few days, and the duration can increase if there is any serious reason behind the condition. Diarrhea causes fatigue and dehydration, that makes a person sick for a longer period than expected.
There are several other unusual conditions when a person can get diarrhea. Loose motions after eating certain foods, like eggs, red meat, and similar items, are observed predominantly. We are discussing diarrhea that is caused after eating a salad. We all know that raw vegetables are very easy on the digestive system. Then why does one get affected by them?
Causes
There are many reasons for a person to eat a lot of raw vegetables and fresh fruits. We all are aware of the loads of benefits of eating raw vegetables and fruits. One good way to consume them is in the form of various salads that are often also bestowed with generous amount of various dressings and coatings. Everything is right in place, the dressing is perfect and so are the vegetables. Then what is wrong? What is causing the diarrhea? Well, there are several defining causes that are responsible.
Unhygienic Preparation Methods
Following healthy habits for preparation of any kind of food, actually plays a vital role in health of a person along with his family. There are several things that can trouble your raw food diet, and the thing that tops the list is the unhygienic preservation and preparation of the salad. Use of unwashed, spoiled ingredients for preparation and improper preservation techniques can contaminate the salad, thereby causing severe diarrheal symptoms after eating it. Salad ingredients like vegetables, fruits, and fish get quickly contaminated with the bacteria and several other parasites as compared to the other food items. Hence, you must strictly follow healthy eating habits, which will keep you away from any kind of food borne illnesses.
Food Poisoning
Bad and unhygienic salad preparation methods can introduce various bacteria and parasites into the salad and cause diarrhea. Eating food that is contaminated by bacteria is the main reason for food poisoning. The poisoning is caused by several bacteria that are specifically present on the raw vegetables and fruits, and also in the dairy products that are used in salad dressings and toppings. There are several food borne bacteria, namely, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli (E. coli), Clostridium perfringens, Norovirus, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio, Yersinia, Shigella, etc., that are the main culprits, which contaminate the salad, and cause loose motions. There are around 14 food borne bacteria apart from the aforementioned, which are present on raw vegetables, fruits, fish, beef, pork, and raw dairy products. Consuming these contaminated ingredients in the form of salad can infect the digestive system, that eventually leads to diarrhea, nausea, and several other food poisoning symptoms like stomach cramps.
Medical Conditions
Looseness of the bowels can be caused due to certain medical conditions, like gallbladder disease and hemorrhoids, in which, the digestive system is a little weak, and hence, it cannot digest the raw food items. Treatment and medication for cancer and other such serious medical conditions also affects the digestive system making it vulnerable to diarrheal conditions.
Handling Diarrhea After Eating a Salad
After getting to know the reasons behind the problem, our prime job in our to-do-list is to prevent and treat the condition. There are several, simple steps that can successfully prevent diarrhea that is caused by eating salad. Following are some tips that will help to prevent the condition.
- To prevent bacterial infection, make sure to wash hands, kitchen utensils, as well as the ingredients of the salad, like, vegetables, fruits, and fish, very carefully.
- Avoid eating too much of high-fiber foods, especially lettuce and high fat salad dressings.
- Instead of eating raw meat in salads, use it in partly cooked or even totally cooked form. Never use half-cooked eggs and unpasteurized dairy items in a salad.
- Avoid eating salads from the restaurants and fast food joints, which you think are unhygienic. Also, it is better to keep the raw food diet plan away when you are suffering from loose motions.
Here are some instructions for those suffering from diarrhea after eating salad.
- Consume fully cooked eggs, skinless white meat, and tofu.
- Have plain yogurt, lactose-free milk, and milk products.
- Have white rice, pasta without sauce and white bread.
- Eat well cooked vegetables like, carrots, asparagus tips, beets, and green beans. Eat baked potato without skin.
- Eat peeled fruits or the ones that you can eat in cooked form, like strained cranberry, diluted juice of apple and grapes, and fruits like banana.
Following BRAT diet plan for diarrhea is one more thing that you can do to get rid of the condition.
