Getting food poisoning, even if it’s an especially mild case, can be one of the most unpleasant things you’re likely to ever experience. Because let’s face it: any time spent in distress in the bathroom is not time well spent, and a case of food poisoning can knock you out for days. So just to get your stomach roiling a little bit, here are five facts about food poisoning that, well, aren’t too pleasant.
There are Five Different Ways to Contract It. Not all food poisoning is the same. In fact, there are five different ways to contract foodborne illness: Eating food that’s spoiled; eating food that’s been contaminated by pathogenic bacteria (like salmonella or E. coli), viruses (like norovirus) or parasites; and eating food that has natural toxins, like poisonous mushrooms.
The Incubation Period Can Leave You Guessing Where it Came From
While certain toxins in food can have you heading for the bathroom an hour after eating something bad, many of the worst forms of foodborne illnesses only present themselves after a lengthy incubation period. Microbes have to pass through the stomach into the intestine and multiply, which can mean that days can pass before the first symptoms present themselves (listeria poisoning can take months to manifest). Because of this, it’s oftentimes impossible to pinpoint what the exact offender was without further investigation.