The common myth that people live in is that all bacteria are bad. But this is not true, there are some favourable bacteria and micro organisms which are said to cure ailments such as traveller’s diarrhea and adds up to the nutritional supplement. It makes your diet more healthy when it is had naturally. Natural presence of such favourable bacteria known as probiotic is found in food products too. Such probiotics are found in plenty in natural food products such as curds and milk. You may find Probiotic milk in the market and this is easily available.
The other myth about probiotics is that they should be consumed on a regular basis (daily) like a multi vitamin. This is not true as there are different ailments and tolerance levels to probiotics. Depending on the nature of ailment it can be taken infrequently or sometimes it can be consumed more than one day.
Traveller’s diarrhea - what is this?
Usually, there arises a medical condition while traveling known as traveler’s diarrhea. These are popularly known as Montezuma's revenge or TD. This is highly prevalent in Africa, South and Central America, the Middle East, Asia and other developing countries. It is a symptom that arises when you consume contaminated food or water and are caused by micro organisms that are present in such contaminated food products.
Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, various stains of E. coli and Vibrio are the bacteria that cause TD. Symptoms of TD are semi-formed stools which might be watery at times and are more frequent, abdominal pain and rectal urgency. It may or may not be accompanied by abdominal cramping. It might also include vomiting, fever, bloating and other symptoms. It is found that nausea occurs in about 15% of those affected. This TD is said to last for 3 to 4 days and can go up to a week in extreme cases.
Probiotic products can help you, if you are suffering from TD. In order to prevent it from arising, you can take some precautionary steps while traveling such as refrain from eating raw vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber or other salads and also refrain from dairy products such as curds, milk (not heated). Do not eat half cooked meat. Do not consume water which is not boiled or else you can consume mineral water. Make sure that it is sealed which ensures that it is safe to drink. Prevention is definitely better than cure.
Gyan K, Expert author, platinum status. Find more information on:
Travellers Diarrhoea
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