Diarrhea After Eating Salad

Diarrhea 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 diarrhea. Diarrhea causes fatigue and dehydration that makes a person sick for longer period of time, than expected.

There are several other unusual conditions when a person can get diarrhea. Diarrhea after eating certain things like eggs, red meat and several such things is observed predominantly. We are discussing diarrhea that is caused after eating salad. We all know that raw vegetables are very easy on the digestive system. Then why does one get affected by diarrhea?

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. Using salad ingredients just as they were (without washing and cleaning) and keeping the salads open for a longer while can make it contaminated and can cause diarrhea after eating salad. 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, one must strictly follow healthy eating habits which will keep them 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. Food poisoning is caused by several bacteria that are especially present on the raw vegetables and fruits and also in the dairy products that are used in the 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 diarrhea. There are around 14 food borne bacteria along with these above mentioned ones, which are present on raw vegetables, fruits, raw fish, beef, pork and raw dairy products. Consuming these contaminated things as salad ingredients can infect the digestive system, that eventually leads to diarrhea, nausea and several other food poisoning symptoms like stomach cramps.

Medical Conditions
Diarrhea can be caused in special medical conditions like gallbladder disease and hemorrhoids in which the digestive system is a bit weak and hence, it cannot digest the raw food items. Treatments and medications for cancer and other such medical conditions also affects the digestive system and it cannot digest the raw foods and salads, eventually causing diarrhea.

Handling Diarrhea After Eating Salad
After getting to know the reasons behind diarrhea after eating salad, our prime job in our to-do-list is to prevent and treat the diarrhea. 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 diarrhea.

• To prevent bacterial infection make sure to wash hands, kitchen utensils as well as the ingredients of the salad like vegetables, fruits and fish carefully.
• Avoid eating too much of high fiber foods, especially lettuce and high fat salad dressings.
• Instead of eating raw meat items with salads, use them in partly cooked or even totally cooked form. Never use half cooked eggs in the salads and unpasteurized dairy items.
• Avoid eating salads from unhygienic restaurants and fast food joints. It is better to keep away the raw food diet plan in such conditions.

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 lactose free milk products.
• Have white rice, pasta without sauce and white breads.
• Eat well cooked vegetables like carrots, asparagus tips, beets and green beans. Eat baked potato with their skin removed.
• Eat peeled fruits or fruits that you can eat in cooked form, like strained cranberry, diluted juices 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 diarrhea. Having a healthy diet along with keeping the eyes open for the sake of our own health is all that is required.