Should you eat raw vegetables regularly?

Vegetables provide many essential vitamins, minerals and fiber for the body. Eating raw vegetables and salads helps preserve natural enzymes and nutrients, supports digestion and enhances resistance. However, if vegetables are not washed and kept hygienic, they can become a source of infection for many gastrointestinal diseases.

The reason is that raw vegetables are home to helminths such as roundworms, whipworms, liver flukes, amoebic cysts… In which, worms can cause abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea and prolonged digestive disorders. Liver flukes cause liver damage, causing pain in the right lower quadrant, enlarged liver and affecting liver function. Amoeba bacteria also cling to vegetables, causing patients to have mucous stools mixed with blood and abdominal cramps.

Besides, E.coli bacteria, bacteria that cause cholera, typhoid, viruses such as hepatitis A and rotavirus also exist in the environment, especially in soil, water or human and animal feces. They stick to the surface of vegetables and fresh foods and enter the body through the mouth, causing symptoms such as acute diarrhea, vomiting, high fever, and abdominal pain. Some severe cases can lead to dehydration, liver damage or systemic infection.

Rotavirus causes acute diarrhea in children under 5 years old. Children infected with rotavirus often have severe vomiting and diarrhea, leading to severe dehydration. Typhoid bacteria can cause many dangerous complications such as meningitis and gastrointestinal bleeding.

Cholera is caused by Vibrio cholerae bacteria, causing severe diarrhea in patients, leading to rapid dehydration, cardiovascular collapse and kidney failure if not rehydrated promptly. Hepatitis A virus causes symptoms of diarrhea, nausea, and in some serious cases leads to fulminant hepatitis and acute liver failure, especially in people with underlying liver disease or weakened immune systems.

Therefore, to eat raw vegetables and salads safely, you need to remember to soak the vegetables in diluted salt water or a specialized vegetable washing solution for at least 10-15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly several times under running water. When buying vegetables, you should prioritize choosing organic vegetables, clean vegetables with clear origins, and limit eating raw vegetables from shops if the processing process is unclear.

Some of the above diseases can be prevented with vaccines, you can vaccinate to protect your family’s health. Rotavirus vaccine is indicated for children from 6 weeks of age, with different age limits: Rotarix and Rotavin are used up to 6 months of age, and Rotateq is used up to 8 months of age. Cholera vaccine mORCVAX is indicated for children from 2 years old and adults. The regimen consists of two doses, 14 days apart. Typhim VI vaccine is given to children from 2 years old and adults. One-shot vaccination schedule, booster after three years if at risk of infection.

There are two types of hepatitis A vaccine: single and combination, administered to children from 12 months of age and adults. Each person needs two to three vaccinations depending on the type of vaccine and age. In particular, Twinrix (Belgium) prevents two diseases: hepatitis A and B. Twinrix requires two injections for children from 12 months to under 16 years old, three injections for people aged 16 years and older.