What is food poisoning?

What is food poisoning?

• I came back from a vacation in one of the exotic countries, eating food with locals, etc. Through this time, I have experienced severe food poisoning at least two times. However, I was eating the same food as everyone else. What is food poisoning and why some people have better immunity?

• Answer:

  Every human has a unique population of bacteria in their gut. This population evolves in the microenvironment of the person's intestines to achieve a balance "ecology" where no bacterium predominates. Many of the bacteria actually play a role in digesting food, neutralizing toxins, etc. When you eat food, or more often drink water, in a country with poor sanitation, you ingest large quantities of bacteria and single-celled parasites such as amoeba, giardia, and cryptosporidia.  This is like introducing a powerful new predator into the balanced ecosystem of your gut.  The newcomer wreaks havoc, breeding out of control, and causing nausea, diarrhea, and fever. The people who live in the area have gut environments where the parasites or bacteria have evolved into a balance with other microorganisms present. If you lived there long enough, you would adapt as well.This answer is not a substitute for professional medical advic...