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To whom is the journey, time ago, so you pack your bags and get into the car. What about provisions? – We’ll eat on the way. Unfortunately, making a quick decision can cost you dearly. The quality of roadside bars and pubs cries out to heaven for vengeance.
- Every year in Poland 10 thousand. people suffer from bacterial food poisoning, and over 50 thousand. has viral infections
- The most common cause of food poisoning is poor hygiene
- Most of them are caused by toxins produced by the bacteria or the bacteria themselves
Plan A
Before you get in the car and go deep – STOP. Eat a decent breakfast. It can be an omelette, porridge, millet or wholemeal toast with cottage cheese and avocado. Before the road, it is much better to avoid carbonated drinks and hard-to-digest dishes. This means that the English-style breakfast in the form of eggs with bacon and beans in tomato sauce is not a thing. If you are not an early riser, you can always prepare a meal in the evening and take it with you to the car. And what products are best for travel? According to the nutritionist Hanna Stolińska-Fiedorowicz, MA: – These can be sandwiches, crispy bread and rice wafers. As a snack, it is worth taking fruit or vegetables with you – cherry tomatoes, carrots or peppers cut into sticks are perfect. When choosing food that we will take with us on a trip, let’s make sure that it is compact, not dirty and easy to consume, even in field conditions. Let’s not forget about proper hydration.
Sounds beautiful, but what if nothing came of it and after a few hours of driving we feel hungry? And how not to end your trip with food poisoning in the hospital?
Where the devil says goodnight
– If we are doomed to dinner while traveling, let us stop in proven and popular places. In fast-food, we can always order the “lesser evil”, which is a healthier and less caloric option. For example, a light salad or a chicken wrap – the dietitian suggests. The alternative is to stop at a gas station and buy a cereal bar or a croissant. But if you have no other choice, you have been traveling by car for several hours and your bowels are playing marching, you can take a chance. Here are some tips. The first thing you should pay attention to when choosing a roadside bar or eatery is the amount of free parking spaces. A place shining empty is an open message – keep going. Likewise, if the inside is dark, dirty, smells like frying, and there are traces of previous guests on the tablecloths. Before you sit down and ask for a menu, it is worth checking the toilet. Its cleanliness can tell a lot about the hygienic and sanitary condition of the entire place, including the kitchen.
Menu of the day – no thanks
A long menu with a list of sophisticated dishes usually bodes badly. How did you find crayfish or shark steak in a remote corner of southern Poland? Recycling and combinations of more expensive ingredients are unfortunately the order of the day. Remember: the fewer dishes on the menu, the better. And the simpler it is, the safer it is. According to the dietitian Hanna Stolińska-Fiedorowicz, MA: – Better not to order “dishes of the day”, promotions and what the “chef recommends”. Let’s also be careful with meat – especially minced meat, fish and smoked meats. Avoid thick sauces, cream and mayonnaise. And in no case let’s order the tartare. What should worry us is, first of all, the smell and texture of the dish.
If your lovely waitress or waiter offers you minced meat, stew or casserole – it’s probably leftover dishes from the whole week. Often inedible, out of date and broken. The owners of this type of catering establishments do not waste ingredients, save on refrigerators and use the same oil many times to fry meat, chips or fish. What then is worth ordering? The list is short: groats, rice, vegetables. It is much better to give up desserts in the form of ice cream.
Check: Scombrotoxism – mackerel poisoning
Side effects
Every year in Poland 10 thousand. people suffer from bacterial food poisoning, and over 50 thousand. has viral infections. Most cases are in the summer. Most of them are caused by toxins produced by the bacteria or the bacteria themselves. How an organism undergoes poisoning depends on several factors. What matters is the individual susceptibility to contamination and how much contaminated food we ate. If two people order the same dish and then only one of them becomes ill, it may be because one of the portions contained significantly more dangerous toxins.
– The most common cause of food poisoning is poor hygiene. Unwashed vegetables and fruits are full of bacteria from their sorting, storage and point of sale. Another common cause of food poisoning is poor food storage. Products that are not stored as recommended deteriorate very quickly. And eating spoiled food leads to botulism and salmonella poisoning. It is also possible fungal poisoning when consuming products with an accumulation in the form of mold – says the specialist. Other nutritional sins that lead to poisoning are eating food that is expired, raw or inadequately prepared, as well as reproducing and freezing products.
Emergency medical Services
The first symptoms will appear within a few – several hours after eating the unlucky meal. The most common of these are abdominal pain with diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and general weakness. Poisoning may also be accompanied by headaches. In more severe cases, significant dehydration may occur, which is manifested by a strong feeling of thirst, dry mouth, dizziness, increased heart rate, and not urinating. In the case of mild poisoning, treatment can be carried out at home. The key, however, is a proper diet. During the first day, you should not eat any food, only fluids that will protect us from dehydration. Room temperature drinks such as still mineral water, tea, mint, chamomile or multi-electrolyte preparations available at the pharmacy will work best. During this time, we should definitely avoid fruit juices, coffee and carbonated cola drinks. On the second day, we can introduce foods into the diet. Initially, these will be gruels made of rice or semolina boiled in water, and then rusks. And when do I see a doctor? If symptoms persist, poisoning is severe or affects the elderly and infants.