What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning, or foodborne illness, occurs when you eat contaminated food. Contaminated means it’s infected with a toxic organism, such as a bacteria, fungus, parasite or virus. Sometimes the toxic byproducts of these organisms cause food poisoning.
When you eat something toxic, your body reacts to purge the toxins. You may purge through vomiting, diarrhea, fever or all of these. The uncomfortable symptoms of food poisoning are your body’s way of working to return to health. It usually works in a day or two.
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What is the difference between food poisoning and stomach flu?
Food poisoning and stomach flu are both gastrointestinal infections. They both cause gastroenteritis, which is inflammation of your stomach and small intestine. Gastroenteritis is the sign that your immune system has been activated to remove the infection.
Many of the same viral, bacterial and other infections can cause food poisoning or stomach flu, resulting in the same symptoms. The main difference is that foodborne illness comes from food, whereas you may catch a stomach bug in a variety of other ways.
How can you tell if it’s food poisoning or something else?
It can be hard to tell where an infection came from, especially if it took some days to develop symptoms. You may be able to trace it back to something you ate if it was something typically associated with food poisoning, or if you were with someone else who also got sick.
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How common is food poisoning?
It’s very common. According to the CDC, about 48 million people a year experience some type of food poisoning in the United States. Most cases are not serious. However, about 3,000 people a year die from complications related to foodborne illness.
Who gets food poisoning?
Anyone can get food poisoning if they eat contaminated food. But some people are more likely to get sick from contamination than others. It has to do with how much toxicity your body can normally tolerate without getting sick.
Our immune systems constantly fend off infections without our knowing about it. Even with sanitary food handling practices, there is usually a small amount of contamination in our food. It becomes “poisonous” when our immune systems reach their threshold.
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Who is most at risk from foodborne illness?
You may be more likely to get sick from food poisoning, or have a more severe reaction to food poisoning, if your immune system is not as strong as average. Temporary things can impact your immunity, as well as longer-term conditions, such as:
- Age. Children under the age of 5 have immature immune systems. Mature immune systems begin to decline after the age of 65.
- Pregnancy. Pregnancy is demanding on the body, leaving you with fewer resources than usual to fight off infections.
- Chronic illnesses. Many chronic conditions can affect your immunity, including infections, cancer, immunodeficiency diseases and autoimmune diseases.
- Medications. Corticosteroids and immunosuppressants can repress your immune system and make you more prone to illness.
