For some, getting sick from food is a rare occurrence, but for others, it’s more common. Looking into the food we consume may point to reasons why you may feel chronically nauseous. As a top Los Angeles Gastroenterologist, Dr. Tabib cares about your quality of life and how your diet may be negatively affecting you every day. How is food making you sick?
Common Reasons for Food Making You Sick
There are a few common conditions that may be attributed to your nausea after eating.
The most infamous is foodborne illness, which is due to improper handling of food. Whether it sits out too long, wasn’t cooked properly, or wasn’t stored correctly, the symptoms are all the same. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea occur because of the bacteria and parasites that form on neglected food items.
Food allergies have become a more popular term in recent decades now that studies have shown the link between this and nausea. We’ve all heard about the fatal consequences of eating food you are allergic too, but not all food allergies are that severe. The one thing that all food allergies do have in common is that it makes your immune system erroneously attack the food as it would a harmful invader. Because of the histamines and chemicals that your body uses to fight food that you are allergic too, you could become nauseous, which is not usually attributed to allergies.
Acid reflux is a condition where stomach acid can move into the esophagus. There are many different levels of severity for acid reflux, but one of the common symptoms is nausea. Spicy or acidic foods could cause someone who is healthy to have an acid reflux response. In any case, it is annoying to feel nauseous a lot. If you think there is a link between your nausea and food, contact Dr. Tabib right away to get a gastroenterologist’s opinion.
Other Things That Make You Nauseous
Before you condemn food as the reason you are always sick, maybe one of these other conditions could be the culprit.
Morning sickness from pregnancy can be easily misinterpreted as food poisoning. If you are feeling an aversion to certain types of food, it would be prudent to take a pregnancy test to rule out everything.
The stomach flu is another viral infection that can symptomize the same as food allergies and poisoning. The stomach flu can be extremely contagious, so stay away from anyone you know who has it. Also, if you are in a profession that deals with food handling, be sure to call out sick if you have a stomach virus.
The gallbladder could be the reason you feel nauseous as well. Having gallbladder disease means that it is harder for your body to digest fats. This can lead to nausea after eating a rich meal.
Finally, irritable bowel syndrome has a common symptom of nausea. By eliminating these as potential conditions, you can narrow down what is actually causing your sick feeling.
The foods to stay away from
There is a list of foods that are considered the riskiest when it comes to food poisoning. These types of foods have a higher likelihood of making you sick compared to other foods. If you are worried about food poisoning, then stay away from these food items:
- Raw eggs can contain salmonella bacteria (usually this is cooked out)
- Chicken causes more sickness each year than any other meat
- Leafy greens can be very healthy, but lack of proper washing by consumers leads to a lot of sickness
- Seafood has a lot of potential for different types of contamination
- Cheese has a bacteria called listeria that is very bad for pregnant women
- Vegetables and fruits can be mishandled, so always clean these before eating
- Raw milk doesn’t go through the pasteurization process to kill bacteria, so it’s very easy to get sick from it
Another big reason for food poisoning is cross-contamination and improper storage. Be cautious of leftovers from restaurants, and promptly get them home to the refrigerator. The FDA suggests putting food in the refrigerator within 2 hours of cooking.
Also, be aware of the food that may be touching something that could contaminate it. If you aren’t sure how something was prepared or stored, then better to be safe than sorry.
Finally, if you find that you are allergic to a food, then avoid it altogether.
