Bacteria are on and in us all the time, including the kinds of bacteria that can cause infections. The trick is that they’re present in extremely small numbers, and they don’t start being harmful unless they’re given the chance to multiply. You want to make sure the bacteria around you don’t get enough momentum to grow in number and challenge your immune system on a dangerous level. Here goes:
Wash your hands and bathe regularly. Although this is some pretty basic advice, the importance of washing your hands can't be overstated — especially before you eat anything. Bathing on a regular basis is equally important. If you do these two things, you’ll greatly reduce the bacterial threat without much effort at all.
Wash your food. Of course, it doesn’t do you much good to wash your hands if bacteria are on your food. Fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly as soon as you get them home. Most people wait to wash until they’re going to eat their produce, but it’s better to wash it as soon as you get home from the store.
Don’t let fruits and vegetables sit unwashed in the fridge or on the counter because that situation encourages bacterial growth and also allows any toxins on the produce to continue to penetrate into the interior of the food.
Cook meat thoroughly. If you eat meat, be sure it’s cooked all the way through. And don’t allow meat to sit at room temperature for any extended period of time.
Maintain a healthy level of stomach acid. You need the right amount and strength of stomach acid to kill off the bacteria that could otherwise enter your body through your digestive system. To assure that your stomach acid is at the right levels, don’t take acid reducers unless you have documented high acid levels.
If you have problems with acid reflux or ulcers, you need to see a doctor and be tested for H. pylori, a bacterium that causes many of these types of ailments. You also need to have your stomach acid level tested with the Heidelberg gastric analysis. You can go to this doctor referral site to find a physician who has this equipment and can do the testing.
Avoid contaminated water. If your main source of water is a well, make sure you have it tested for the presence of dangerous bacteria. If you travel internationally, be sure to drink water that you know has been treated to kill bacteria and other microorganisms. (Bottled water may be your only option in these situations.)
When you travel to another country, don’t assume that you can drink from a water source just because you see the locals drinking from it. People adapt to the bacteria where they live, and what is commonplace and not detrimental to the health of one person in one area could cause disease in another person.
