Protect Yourself from Salmonella and E Coli Naturally Natural Health Add comments Aug 052011 Protect Yourself from Salmonella and E Coli Naturally @ Common Sense Homesteading Are you wondering when the next massive round of food-borne illness will occur? It seems like every time you turn on the news there’s another food recall. This week there was another chicken recall due to salmonella that has put at least 42% of victims in the hospital. If you check the FDA food recall list, there are literally dozens of products listed at any given time. There are ways you can help protect yourself from salmonella and e coli naturally. Know Your Pathogens E coli (Escherichia coli) and Salmonella bacteria are commonly found in the digestive systems of humans and animals. E coli 157:H7 bacteria is perfectly healthy and safe, as are many other strains. The term “Salmonella” is used to cover roughly 2,000 similar types of bacteria, which vary in degrees of potential illness. So why do some people get sick when exposed harmful bacteria, while other do not? “It is not the germ that causes disease but the terrain in which the germ is found.” The Biological Terrain Theory versus the Germ Theory of disease is more fully explained at Timeless Remedies, but basically it amounts to a belief that a susceptible body falls ills while a healthy body can resist illness, even when exposed to pathogens. I have seen the effectiveness of this theory demonstrated within my own family. We don’t get sick very often, and when we do, it’s generally fairly minor. If you have a digestive system that is populated by healthy bacteria, it becomes inhospitable to harmful bacteria. The article “What Are Probiotics” states: Probiotics reduce the levels of harmful bacteria such as E.Coli and Salmonella by producing metabolic end-products that inhibit or antagonize them. These compounds include hydrogen peroxide, lactic and acetic acids. ** Inhibiting levels of microbial pathogens: L. Acidophilus may inhibit pathogens by lowering the pH in the intestines. The production of organic acids effectively lowers intestinal pH to a level that is beneficial to good bacteria and destructive to pathogens. Protecting the immune system. Some research ( see link at right) shows that L. Bulgaricus and L. Casei are the truly effective strains for this function. Preventing establishment of harmful fungus and parasites: L. Acidophilus and B. Bifidus aggressively attach themselves to the walls of the colon. In doing so, they may inhibit Candida albicans, bacteria and the parasite Giardia lamblia. Lowering levels of toxic by-products: Harmful bacteria can produce toxins, such as indole, skatole, and methane because of their metabolic reaction to certain foods. Reducing their numbers may lower toxin levels in the colon. The meat industry is starting to take note of this, and introducing probiotics to chickens and pigs to reduce the incidence of salmonella. Introduce Probiotics Before You Become Ill While I always consume probiotics during illness, maximum resistance to food-borne illness results from continually consuming live culture foods. Indeed, some studies have shown that introducing certain probiotics after salmonella has already infected the body does not improve healing. For recipes for probiotic foods, visit the “Live Culture Foods/Probiotics/Ferments” section of the Recipes page, and more about the role of probiotics in fighting illness in the post, “Preparing for Cold and Flu Season – Step #1- Probiotics“. In the top right of photo above is some of my homemade milk kefir. What Do I Do If I’m Already Sick? ***If you are experiencing severe pain or other complications, pleas consult your healthcare practitioner. I am not a doctor, I am only sharing what works for me and my family. If you have stomach flu type symptoms and are not sure if your illness is viral or bacterial in nature, you may want to consult my post: Coping With Stomach Flu Symptoms. If you know that you are facing a bacterial illness, the book Herbal Antibiotics recommends the following: Herbs for E. Coli treatment – Goldenseal, garlic, eucalyptus, cryptolepsis, juniper, acacia, sage, ginger, grapefuit seed extract Herbs for Salmonella treatment - Garlic, eucalyptus, wormwood, juniper, goldenseal, sage, ginger, acacia, grapefruit seed extract, Terminalia spp., Punica spp. Learn more about Herbal Antibiotics. “Honey outperforms antibiotics” (by Alternative Medicine Digest) Researchers attending the First World Wound Healing Congress in Melbourne, Australia, learned that honey has outperformed conventional antibiotics in treating burns and infected caesarean sections. Honey can eradicate Salmonella, E. Coli and Helicobacter Pylori and even kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria including the hospital superbug MRSA. Not all types of honey work though. The most effective ones are manuka honey from New Zealand and jelly bush honey from Australia. It is believed that these varieties release hydrogen peroxide, which is deadly to microbes. Dr. Peter Molan of the University of Waikato in New Zealand has found that swallowing a teaspoon of manuka honey on an empty stomach will eradicate the bacteria H. pylori, which causes most stomach ulcers. – New Scientist You can read more about the medicinal use of honey in the post, “Honey as Medicine: Prevent Infection, Kill Bacteria and Promote Healing“. I recently purchased a jar of manuka honey to have on hand for medicinal purposes after effectively treating a burn on my husband’s hand with honey. When I felt a sore throat coming on, I held about a teaspoon of the manuka honey in my mouth until it dissolved each day for two days. The sore throat disappeared. Note: Raw honey, even manuka honey should not be given to children under one year old because it may harbor botulism spores (Clostridium botulinum). The risk is low but it can be fatal. Most cases of botulism in the US are infant botulism, but the CDC notes that: “Most infant botulism cases cannot be prevented because the bacteria that causes this disease is in soil and dust.” There were 140 known cases of botulism in the US in 2011. Of those 102 were infant botulism, with none specifically attributed by the CDC to raw honey. (Source) General Guidelines for Avoiding Salmonella Salmonella.org gives the following USDA recommendations for avoiding salmonella: Wash Hands and Surfaces Often Wash your hands, cutting boards, dishes etc with hot soapy water before handling food. Separate raw meat, poultry, and seafood from other foods in your refrigerator. Cook to Proper Temperatures Refrigerate Promptly I prefer wood cutting boards over plastic, as they are naturally antibacterial. You can read more about the antibacterial properties of wooden cutting boards, as well as care instructions and additional kitchen food safety tips in the post, “Why Wooden Cutting Boards are Best“. If you found this post useful, please considering sharing it. You may also find the post “Herbal Antibiotics” use
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:48:29 +0000
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