Food, Culinary And Recipe Blog

Spoiled Food

Food may be spoiled from various reasons:

• contamination with bacteria or parasites(vegetables contamination with infected cattle manure, meat contamination during slaughtering, poisoning with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by infected food worker, drinking infected water);
• contamination with heavy metals (lead, mercury) if vegetables are raised beside a high-traffic road or industrial zones;
• ciguatera fish poisoning: big tropical fish (tuna, barracuda) accumulate ciguatera toxin by eating small fish which have ingested ciguatoxin from reaf algae; occurs mostly in Caribbeans, Australia, India;
• innappropriate storing (leaving a raw peace of meat on room temperature for 1 hour may cause enable enough bacterial overgrowth to cause food poisoning);
• exceeded expiration date: overgrowth of bacteria or yeasts, chemical change of food.

Irritant Foods

Food Irritation Due to Excessive Ingestion

• alcoholin excess may temporarily impair intesinal mucosa and hence absorption
• spices may stimulate peristalsis
• legumes (beans, peas, lentils): gas is produced by normal intestinal bacteria when they break down cellulose from legumes

  

  Beans

   Picture 1. Legumes, like beans often cause gas

• sweets: gas is produced by intestinal bacteria when a lot of sugars is delivered into intestine
• artificial sweeteners: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), sorbitol and other polyols (polyols are sugar alcohols, on labels you can recognise them by -tol ending); they may drag water into intestine and get fermented by intestinal bacteria thus cause diarrhea
• fruits: fibers and fructose (read bellow) may cause diarrhea and gas

Problematic Foods in Food Intolerances

Fruits and Vegatables

As surprising as this may sounds, but fruits and vegetables commonly cause digestion problems. A healthy person can absorb only about 25-50 g of fructose (fruit sugar) per serving. When this amount is exceeded unabsorbed fructose reaches the colon, where bacteria degrade it and produce gas. Unabsorbed glucose also causes diarrhea. A person with fructose malabsorption can absorb fructose in amount lower than 25 g per serving.

Fruit and Vegetables

 Picture 2. Fruit and Vegetables cause diarrhea and gas in fructose malabsorption

Fruits to avoid in fructose malabsorption: apples, pears, plums, cherries, honeydew melon and all dried fruits, including prunes, raisins, figs and dates. Fruit juices, compotes, jams and marmalades are also problematic.

Vegetables which may be problematic in fructose malabsorptin: tomatoes, cooked carrots, cauliflower, artichokes, chicory.

Honey

A person with fructose malabsorption should avoid excessive amount of honey, which contains fructose.

Wheat (and other cereals)

Wheatcan cause bloating and diarrhea in persons with fructose malabsorption. Some children (also some adults) are allergic to wheat.

Wheat, barley and rye contain gluten which triggers small intestinal inflammation, which can lead to chronic diarrhea. This genetic disorder is called celiac disease (details - link 2 in references).

Milk

Milk is not considered to be a healthy food, mostly because of its highly saturated fat.

Milk

Picture 3. Milk causes diarrhea and gas in lactose intolerance

The other common problem with milk is milk sugar - lactose. Persons with lactose intolerance (details - link 3 in references), which may develop in any person at any time, get diarrhea and gas after drinking even small amount of milk, other dairy, and many commercial products with lactose. Cow’s milk is also a common cause of milk allergy in children.

Soy

Soy is another common cause of allergies in children. Soy sauce usually contains fructose, which is problematic in fructose malabsorption. Fibers from soy may cause bloating.

Fish, Shellfish, Peanuts, Tree-nuts

Fish, shellfish, peanuts, and tree-nuts are common causes of allergies in adults.

Foods to Limit in Peptic Ulcer /Gastric Reflux

In gastric reflux, the following foods should be limited:

• meat, eggs, milk, nuts, oils: these foods are rich in fats and proteins, which stay for a long time in the stomach
• vinegar, alcohol, vitamin C, aspirin, ibuprofen: all these items are acidic

Foods Causing Smelly Gas

Fats

Fats cannot be properly absorbed in a gallstone which blocks the biliary duct, in pancreatic disease and in some small intestinal diseases.

Sulphur-rich Foods

Rotten-eggs smelly gas may result from intestinal bacterial fermentaion of the following foods:

References:

1. CAUSES OF DIARRHEA:
   http://www.allhealthsite.com/category/diarrhea/
2. CELIAC DISEASE:
   http://www.allhealthsite.com/28/chronic-constant-diarrhea/#celiac-disease
3. LACTOSE INTOLERANCE:
   http://www.allhealthsite.com/28/chronic-constant-diarrhea/#lactose-intolerance

• 1 small cucumber, finely sliced ,
• 3/4th cup bean sprouts, blanched and drained,
• 2 cups shredded Chinese cabbage, blanched and drained,
• 4 cups coconut milk,
• 1 cup fish stock ,
• 2 fresh hot red chillies, slit open and deseeded ,
• 2cm fresh ginger, chopped,
• 4 spring onions, chopped,
• 2 cloves, garlic, sliced, Salt, to taste, Lime juice, to taste,
• 500gm fresh rice noodles,
• 500gm medium-sized prawns, shelled and deveined

Preparation Method

Arrange the cucumber, bean sprouts and cabbage in individual dishes and set on a tray as accompaniments. Bring the coconut milk to boil in a medium-sized pan and add fish stock, chillies, ginger, spring onions and garlic. Let it boil, and then simmer for about 10 minutes. Add salt and lime juice. Rinse the noodles in warm water and divide between heated serving bowls. Add the prawn to the pan and simmer for about 3 minutes, then divide between the bowls, and strain the hot curry gravy over it. Serve the tray of prepared accompaniments with the curry.

Here is the recipe of one very popular Indian dish which is usually prepared during festivals.

• 200 gm basmati rice
• 200 ml water
• 100 gm moong dal
•  2 bunches spinach
• 4-5 chopped garlic
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 chopped tomato
• 3 green chillies
• 1/ tsp cumin seeds
• Sugar, a pinch
• Turmeric powder, a pinch
• Ghee

Method to prepare:

Wash the rice and soak it for 20 minutes. Blanche the spinach and make a puree with green chillies. Boil the moong dal. Heat ghee in a kadhai. Add cumin seeds. Fry garlic untill brown. Saute onions till transparent. Add tomatoes and stir for a minute. Add the spinach puree and stir for another minute. Add salt, sugar, turmeric and water. Allow it to boil. Add the rice and dal and covered till cooked.

After it is cooked, you are ready to serve and show your culinary prowess.

For the first time, Greek researchers have found that eating a diet rich in choline and betaine, two related compounds is linked to indicators of inflammation. The researchers looked at 3042 men and women between the ages of 18 to 89, culled from a large study dubbed ATTICA. They found that those with the highest intakes of choline and betaine and the lowest levels of inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein, homcysteine, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor.

Rich sources of choline include eggs, wheat germ, pork, beef, cod, chicken, shrimp, salmon, broccoli, cauliflower Brussels sprouts. Betaine is highest in wheat bran, wheat germ, spinach, shrimp and beets.

 Choline helps make neurotransmitters and fats in cell membranes, while betaine helps reduce homocysteine levels.  These findings suggest that both may be key to reducing inflammation, now considered a stepping stone to heart disease and other chronic conditions.