Feed on Foods that Fight Food Poisoning

Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, food poisoning can still sneak in. Causes of food poisoning varies, including drinking contaminated water, eating spoiled food, or consuming food that have been infested by pests and bugs. According to Houston pest management, it is always best to ensure that the food you are about to cook, serve, and eat is free from pest contamination to avoid food poisoning.

If affected, use helpful foods against the ones that got you in this uncomfortable fix.

Guard your gut with garlic. The allicin in garlic kills all sorts of bad bugs including bacteria, molds, viruses, yeasts, and other parasites. Its victims include H. pylori – the bug behind stomach ulcers – as well as Salmonella and E. coli. In fact, researchers at Kansas State University discovered that adding three to five teaspoons of garlic powder to two pounds of ground beef helps protect you against E. coli poisoning.

Cool the pain with creamy yogurt. Research over the last 40 years shows that yogurt can help treat and perhaps prevent intestinal infections or diarrhea caused by bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli. Yogurt works like a natural antibiotic against some bacteria that cause food poisoning. Researchers in the Netherlands found rats that were given yogurt resisted Salmonella infections better than rats fed plain milk or acidified milk.

Savor some soothing cinnamon. Cinnamon can kill E. coli. In one study, cinnamon added to apple juice infected with E. coli destroyed more than 99 percent of the bacteria after three days at room temperature.

Cool it with peppermint. Peppermint can kill some bacteria that you could just as easily do without. What’s more, peppermint tea may calm those poor over stressed muscles in your digestive tract and provide a cooling sensation just when you need it most. Remember to check with your doctor before using peppermint if you have liver or gall bladder disease. If peppermint causes heartburn trouble for you, try cinnamon instead.

Enjoy your ginger. Not only is ginger a good remedy for nausea, it may also help your body produce bacteria that help you fight food poisoning. These bacteria help protect your intestines against potentially bad bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella.

If your garden houses pests that contaminate the food that you eat, contact a professional Houston pest management company right away. For more information, visit http://bugco.org.

Dealing with Tick Bites

Ticks are mites that are brown in color. They are also members of the arachnid family, whose other members are the scorpions and the spiders. Ticks attach themselves to the skin of their prey to be able to suck blood. There are various species of ticks and they can be located everywhere in the world. The most talked about kinds though are the deer ticks and the dog ticks.

Various Types of Ticks

According to Houston pest control, there are various types of ticks. The deer ticks measure as small as the head of a pin and is common in many areas in the United States. These ticks can unfortunately carry diseases like that of the Lyme disease. The dog ticks are very common, and can measure up to half an inch in length. Like the deer ticks, the dog ticks can also carry diseases, in particular the Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.

Dealing with a Tick Bite

What would a tick bite look like? A tick bite would usually be unperceived; you would most likely feel nothing when bitten. What you will notice though is the little redness around the site of the bite. If you’re bitten by a tick make sure to tell someone you think will know something about it, because ticks can carry diseases that they can pass on to human beings.

After playing or hiking in the woods, have someone check you for ticks, focus particularly in your scalp, neck, armpits, back and groin area. If a tick is discovered on you have it removed immediately. In removing ticks you can use tweezers. In taking out the tick, however, be sure to remove it one motion. Don’t cover it with petroleum jelly, nail polish, or rubbing alcohol it will not make it come out. If in pulling it out some parts of it are left behind, remove them by using sterile needle or pin. Once removed, put it in a container and bring it with you to the doctor.

How to avoid tick bites? You have to remember that ticks are very fond fo the shrubbery, because they want to be close to the ground to be able to jump on people or animals as they pass, hence you might want to avoid these places. Should it be impossible for you to do so, be sure to wear long sleeves and long pants and have the ends of your pants tucked safely in your socks. It would also be advisable to apply insect repellent containing ten to 30 percent DEET on your skin.

For more information about Houston pest control, visit http://bugco.org.