health food

A food defined by the lay public as one with little or no preservatives, processing, enrichment or refinement, often grown without pesticides

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

health food

Popular health A food defined by the lay public as a food with little or no preservatives, little processing, enrichment or refinement, often grown without pesticides. See Food preservatives, 'Go' food, Healthy food, Organic food. Cf Diet, Junk food, 'No' food.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

health food

Food claimed or believed to be more beneficial to health than the generality of nutriments. Numerous claims are made explicitly or implicitly for the medical benefit of various foods but many of these are of dubious authority. Some measure of control in the UK is provided by the Health Claims Initiative of the National Food Alliance and the Food and Drink Federation which produces guidelines for food manufacturers. In the USA the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) serves a similar, if more draconian function.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

Patient discussion about health food

Q. How Do You Treat Food Poisoning? I've been suffering from food poisoning for the last two days, is there a way to treat it? Is there specific food I should avoid?

A. The most important treatment for food poisoning is drinking water. The body loses many fluids and the danger is dehydration. Our body can last longer without food than it can without water, and therefore it is ok to avoid eating as much as you used to for a short period of time until your digestive system can recover. However it is very dangerous to avoid drinking, despite the possible vomiting.At any sign of dehydration (fatigue, dizziness) you should seek medical care. In case your symptoms go on loger than expected you should visit your doctor, because antibiotic treatment may help as well.

Q. What are the Symptoms of Food Poisoning? My kid started vomiting non-stop tonight, but has doesn't have a fever. We ate lunch at this new restaurant, could this be related? What are the symptoms of food poisoning?

A. Symptoms that occur within 1–6 hours after eating the food, suggest that it is caused by a bacterial toxin or a chemical in the food. During this short "incubation period", microbes pass through the stomach into the intestine, attach to the intestinal walls, and begin to multiply there. Some types of microbes stay in the intestine, some produce a toxin that is absorbed into the bloodstream, and some can directly invade the deeper body tissues. The symptoms produced depend on the type of microbe, but are most commonly vomiting, nausea, fever and stomach aches.

Q. How can I tell if I have food poisoning? I've been having diarrhea and been vomiting for 2 days now. How can I tell if it's food poisoning or anything else?

A. when i got food poisioned i was pooping and throwing up at the same time,it lasted for about 10 hours,

This content is provided by iMedix and is subject to iMedix Terms. The Questions and Answers are not endorsed or recommended and are made available by patients, not doctors.