Foodborne Illnesses – Beware of Bad Bacteria in your Diet - Natren, Inc.

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Foodborne Illnesses – Beware of Bad Bacteria in your Diet

November 11, 2013

Do you know what’s in the food you’re eating? We’re not talking about food additives like salt and sugar – but bacteria. Foodborne illness due to harmful bacteria in food is on the rise in the United States.

Here are some eye-opening statistics. The Environmental Working Group found that government tests of supermarket meat revealed antibiotic-resistant bacteria, often referred to as “superbugs”, in 81% of ground turkey, 69% of pork chops, 55% of ground beef and 39% of chicken breast, wings and thighs. That’s a hefty percentage of the meat found in supermarkets!

Foodborne illness can be fatal, especially in people who have a weakened immune system, pregnant women, the elderly and young children. There are steps you can take to protect yourself, and your family. Firstly and most significantly, proper food handling, including cooking meat to the correct internal temperature, can generally kill bacteria in food. Proper handling also means taking care not to cross-contaminate foods. Washing hands before and after handling meat, storing food correctly at the right temperature, and making sure meats are stored on a lower shelf in the fridge to reduce the risk of dripping contaminants onto foods on lower shelves are all important.

Another step that should be taken is to take care of your immune system. A healthy immune system helps to keep bacteria that cause foodborne illness in check – and that means you need a healthy gut, since that’s where 70% of your immune system is found. Diet plays an important role here. Eating an unhealthy diet of processed foods with lots of sugar and additives that increase inflammation changes the composition of bacteria in your gut to a less healthy mix while consuming more gut-friendly bacteria in the form of probiotics helps to maintain and restore intestinal balance. Ideally, consider taking a daily probiotic supplement such as Healthy Trinity to provide a constant source of beneficial bacteria and keep your gut healthy.

Unfortunately, you don’t have complete control over what’s in the food you eat. You can’t necessarily look at a piece of meat be sure that it’s free of bacteria that cause foodborne illness. The best defense you have is cooking all foods to the correct internal temperature, keeping a clean eating environment, and being careful of cross contamination with plenty of hand washing. A healthy immune system and a thriving population of probiotic bacteria in your gut may also help to keep bacteria that cause foodborne illness in check. It’s an extra layer of reassurance when you bite into a piece of chicken or steak.

The post Foodborne Illnesses – Beware of Bad Bacteria in your Diet appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.

Rejuvenate Your Gut: A Holiday Feast Survival Guide

November 27, 2023

Feasting is one of the best parts of the holiday season, from magnificent main courses to delectable desserts. Unfortunately, food-related disasters, such as food poisoning, stomach upset, and overeating can make the holidays a lot less pleasant. But, with your hectic schedule of decorating, shopping, gift giving, cooking and eating, how can you take the time to ensure that the food you eat will not ruin your holidays? Simple – use this holiday health survival guide! It’s full of valuable information to help protect you and your family from foodborne bacteria and other digestive problems. About Foodborne Illnesses Foodborne illnesses.... [Read More...]

The post Holiday Health Survival Guide – Avoid These Seasonal Hazards appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.

Directions for Making Yogurt: Using Natren’s Yogurt Starter

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Making homemade yogurt with Natren® YOGURT STARTER will easily fit into your busy lifestyle! Once you have mastered the method, it usually takes less than 30 minutes to prepare the milk for incubation.

The Kombucha Kraze: What You Need to Know Part II

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In the past couple of blogs, we have been discussing how probiotics are popping up everywhere - in coffee, cereal, dog food, and cleaning products. We explained spore-forming bacteria and why they are convenient to the manufacturer but may have no benefit to the consumer. Then, we took a closer look at kombucha -- we went over the ingredients in the drink, the heavy sugar load often associated with these drinks, common homebrew issues, some risks for biological and chemical contaminants...