Amru Houssien
Almaarefa Colleges for Science & Technology, Saudi Arabia
Title: How significant is the negative impact of pork and alcohol on microbiota?
Biography
Biography: Amru Houssien
Abstract
People who do not eat pork nor drink alcohol believe that there is wisdom behind any religious ruling whether known to mankind or not yet. Trusting that applied sciences are discovering or unveiling some previously unknown findings, this work attempts to find out if contemporary science found some of the tangible reasons for this prohibition in religion(s) and its counterpart in Judaism as stated in the Bible Leviticus 11:8 “not even to touch their carcass”. In the Holy Quraan "he has forbidden to you carrion, and blood, and the flesh of swine". Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world, making up about 38% of meat production worldwide. So, its interaction with microbiota is inevitable. Regardless of one’s spiritual beliefs, the decision to include pork as a regular part of diet must be carefully considered. According to a surprising recent investigation of consumer reports that 69% of all raw pork 200 samples tested were contaminated with the dangerous bacteria Yersinia enterocolitica, which causes fever and gastrointestinal illness and stomach cramps. Pork meat is a major cause of foodborne salmonellosis in many countries and is the second most common cause of food poisoning in the UK after Campylobacter. Every year in the US, approximately 80,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported and 580 persons die. Studies on pork samples revealed that the presence of common causes of foodborne illness such as Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, or Listeria monocytogenes in 3-7% of samples while 11% of pork samples harbored Enterococcus, which indicates fecal contamination and can cause problems such as urinary-tract infections. A variety of parasites and worms could be carried by pork and can infect the intestinal tract by affecting the microbiota and causing leaky gut syndrome. Similarly, recent research reported that alcohol abuse can alter the delicate equilibrium and disrupt the intestinal environment and can cause gut permeability, also known as a leaky gut syndrome.