Fear of food

According to the CDC, as reported in recent article in the New York Times, “acute gastrointestinal events” (vomiting, diarrhea, cramping, etc.) are commonly caused by bacteria and viruses hanging about on food. Apparently some foods are more problematic than others: “leafy greens, culinary herbs, melons with textured surfaces, tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, nut butters, shellfish, frozen peas, cheese and ice cream.”

The article might make you afraid to eat. For example, in discussing juices and smoothies: “Just one speck of contaminated dirt in your detox drink could upend your gut. And think of all the hands that necessarily touched the produce from the time it was picked in the field to when it was chopped and crammed into the Vitamix.”  Also, “restaurant food tends to be riskier in general.”

Even though I’ve had a few “acute gastrointestinal events," I’m still not about organize my eating life based on fear of pathogens. I don’t want to live like some of the germophobe readers who made online comments about the article. For example:

My local Starbucks staff knows me as the nutty guy who reminds them to please use tissue from the pastry case or a glove to put the lid on my coffee. 

At the least all ground beef in the US should be irradiated.

…alcohol strips the mucosa of the stomach, making for good sites for organisms to get a party of their own.

…we do not eat while swiping the phone that we held while on the toilet.

NEVER get a salad while dining out. Let me repeat that, NEVER.

As always, I say, don’t worry about it! Bad stuff might happen, but you can't insulate yourself from the microscopic universe. I did learn about a group of foods with the acronym FODMAPs that commonly cause intestinal trouble. It’s worth looking into, which I’ll do next week.

For an introduction to this blog, see I Just Say No; for a list of blog topics, click the Topics tab.