“Choose a restaurant wisely” is an advice we all have grown up hearing. Have you wondered why people say so? Trust us, there’s a valid reason for it. It is important to keep the safety and hygiene factors of a food joint in mind to enjoy a meal without affecting your health. However, at times eating at the best of places also ends up making you feel sick. Ayurvedic and gut-health expert Dr. Dimple Jangda explains why. She took to her social media to point out the major factors that make you feel sick after eating out. Let’s check out the common culprits:

Also Read: Can Eating Out Also Be Healthy? NDTV Food Finds Out

4 Major Reasons Why You Feel Sick After Eating Out:

Reason 1. The use of precooked onion-garlic-ginger gravies in your food:

Many times, restaurants prepare gravies in bulk and use them for the next few days. As per the expert, this is one of the major reasons for you to fall sick. Onions and garlic don’t sit well in chilled temperatures While such a climate converts the starch of onions into sugar, garlic has the risk of botulism-causing spores which in poor storage, can become active. For the unversed, molds formed on garlic can produce toxic compounds known as mycotoxins, which are known to cause serious health hazards.

Reason 2. Vegetables used in a recipe are not washed well:

By now, we all know how important it is to wash and clean the vegetables well before consumption. Dr. Dimple points out that unclean vegetables are one of the major reasons for people to fall sick. The germs and viruses on the vegetables contaminate your food, further affecting the gut health.

Reason 3. Eating the wrong combinations of foods:

As per Ayurveda, every food has a character of its own, and mixing two food items of opposite characters may disrupt the vata-pitta-kapha balance in the body. As per the expert, people often end up combining foods of two opposite characteristics, like dairy products with citric foods, which end up making you feel sick after eating out. Hence, it is important to place your orders at a restaurant wisely.

Reason 4. Using precooked rice in a recipe:

As per the National Health Service (NHS) of England, eating reheated rice can cause food poisoning. Rice often contains spores of Bacillus cereus, which survives even after cooking. In such cases, if the rice is left unattended for long (even in the refrigerator), the spores grow into bacteria, leading to food poisoning, states Dr. Dimple.

We suggest, pick your restaurant and food items wisely and enjoy a happy meal, without any side effects.