Why Som Tam is the Superfood of Asia

[rooster59]

Why Som Tam is the Superfood of Asia

By Dan Cheeseman

 

 

If you are anything like me then you want to eat healthy here in Thailand but more often than not you end up with a pizza or burger in front of you with a few cold beers. Don’t get me wrong my diet is much better than 6 or 7 years ago where I paid little attention to what I ate, I just ate. So, the point of this blog is how we can try and improve what we eat for improved health. Starting with Som Tam could be a very smart move.

 

Such has been my interest in being healthier in the last few months that I even fast with nothing but water every Monday and it has proved very useful. I will save this for another blog if you are interested, but it basically gives the body a day off having to digest food and allows the body to detox and repair itself much better. There are even theories that this could add years to your life.

 

What about MSG in Thai food?

Before I discuss the wonderful nutritious properties of Som Tam I want to add a quick mention to MSG. So many restaurants use a lot of MSG (Monosodium glutamate) for nothing more than to add good flavour, it basically enhances the taste. The jury is out whether it is actually bad for you or not. A quick scout around various sites online and it’s still not clear. What is clear is it is sodium based and too much salt is not a good thing, there is enough salt in food already for our needs. For me, I steer clear where I can, but I am not overly fussy as I get a balanced diet most days anyway.

 

Full story: https://danaboutthailand.com/2018/03/31/why-som-tam-is-the-superfood-of-asia/

 

DAN ABOUT THAILAND

Weekly Vlogs and Blogs from in and around Thailand

[Get Real]

Yep, One week they say that Som Tum is slowly killing the Thai people. After that Mr, Dan is trying to convice all to make it a part of a healthy diet. 

[mjnaus]

Som Tam is only dangerous when adding pla ra. Without that horrible stuff, you've got a very healthy meal.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[vadid]

Sorry any food that tastes, as Dan says, salty, almost by definition cannot be a superfood

[wirat69]

Hmmm..... yes, it is delicious.... but his recipe is missing the microbe laden crabs and the special flavour of the rotten fish paste.....

I always order my Somtam without crabs, without sugar and without MSG.... but I eat the rotten fish paste!!! That way I do not spend the next three days on the toilet!!!

[madmin]

I like just the plain version without crab or shrimp or that fermented crap my wife puts in her own in Phuket now and they make less hot than the issan family lot I'll be with next week, eating Thai food is a lot healthier having a mixed fresh fruit brekfast grilled fish or crispy chicken for dinner, street food best and cheaper than restaurants in the area though many of the restaurants have a secret Thai price cunning bastards something trip advisor doesn't mention lol, might even lose some wieght whilst we holiday here

[elgenon]

Slightly off topic but still on the healthy food topic, does anyone know what the street vendors brush and shake onto the BBQ chicken and BBQ sticky rice? It tastes great which worries me.

[PremiumLane]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The jury is out whether it is actually bad for you or not.

No it isn't, scientific studies show it isn't bad for you - unless you eat massive amounts of it, which you won't.

[Bill Miller]

I am enjoying a batch of sort of a Korean version, made with daikon instead of green papaya.
Either way, keeps the GI tract in good shape. 

[peterb17]

7 hours ago, mjnaus said:

Som Tam is only dangerous when adding pla ra. Without that horrible stuff, you've got a very healthy meal.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

Pla ra is a bit of an acquired taste - but the pasteurised stuff is not dangerous - only really the home made variety.

 

its a fantastic salad - make it with lime, palm sugar , fish sauce - a more Westernised version ( even a tiny bit of MSG- will do you no harm) - it’s a brilliant vibrant dish.

So much better than things  like fat laden coleslaw , heart attack thousand island dressing etc.

Just adapt .

[poanoi]

my theory: woman want vitamins to replace losses,

men want protein to keep muscles.

 

only woman wants to eat a protein poor diet like som tam

[CGW]

MSG is bad, why even bother to discuss it!

If you eat a western type diet of precooked/processed food there will doubtless be a ton of salt added, if you have a healthy diet you had best make sure you are getting plenty of salt given the heat here and how much you sweat! Off coarse there are good natural salts and processed salt - guess which is the good one?

[billp]

The idea that MSG is bad for the health was a mistake to begin with that became an urban myth. It’s an organic product and there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that it causes any health problems.

[unblocktheplanet]

Couldn't have a fresher salad than som tam! Didn't get homemade sauerkraut to work but zucchini pickles & kimchi are pretty nice fermented sides.

[InMyShadow]

Healthy guys posting. But I see mostly kebab dudes on the street.

[lvr181]

19 hours ago, PremiumLane said:

No it isn't, scientific studies show it isn't bad for you - unless you eat massive amounts of it, which you won't.

Please validate your comment re 'scientific  studies'.

[PremiumLane]

8 hours ago, lvr181 said:

Please validate your comment re 'scientific  studies'.

Try doing a Google search, on Google Scholar, there are a lot of studies out there.

 

Very good video online about the science, look up 'Some People Just Don’t Get the MSG' by Myles Power 

 

 

[HerbalEd]

On 4/1/2018 at 6:39 PM, billp said:

The idea that MSG is bad for the health was a mistake to begin with that became an urban myth. It’s an organic product and there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that it causes any health problems.

The why do USA emergency rooms frequently get patients with so-called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome -- which is a negative reaction to MSG? 

[HerbalEd]

Green (unripe) Papaya is very high in enzymes that digest proteins, starches & fats. In fact, so-called meat tenderizers are made up of mostly papain (an extract of green papaya), sugar & MSG.

 

Many EMTs and emergency rooms use externally applied meat tenderizer to treat bee & wasp stings, as well as jellyfish stings. The protein-digesting enzymes break down the protein-rich venoms. When I lived in Colombia the locals used pulverized green papaya to treat jellyfish stings.

[billp]

“Even now, after “Chinese restaurant syndrome” has been thoroughly debunked (virtually all studies since then confirm that monosodium glutamate in normal concentrations has no effect on the overwhelming majority of people), the ingredient has a stigma that will not go away.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/dining/05glute.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/aug/12/msg-allergy-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-myth

[HerbalEd]

13 minutes ago, billp said:

“Even now, after “Chinese restaurant syndrome” has been thoroughly debunked (virtually all studies since then confirm that monosodium glutamate in normal concentrations has no effect on the overwhelming majority of people), the ingredient has a stigma that will not go away.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/dining/05glute.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/aug/12/msg-allergy-chinese-restaurant-syndrome-myth

It may be rare, but it's not at all unseen. Two MD friends who worked emergency room for years in NYC have seen CRS many times. And especially on Sunday nights when many families traditionally go out for Chinese food on Sunday evening.

[dfdgfdfdgs]

Just now, HerbalEd said:

The why do USA emergency rooms frequently get patients with so-called Chinese Restaurant Syndrome -- which is a negative reaction to MSG? 

Because they aren't used to it.

 

I've seen tourists picked up in ambulances in Thailand after eating food that was too spicy for them.  Are chillis bad for your health too?

[maximillian]

On 1.4.2018 at 6:39 PM, billp said:

The idea that MSG is bad for the health was a mistake to begin with that became an urban myth. It’s an organic product and there is no scientific evidence whatsoever that it causes any health problems.

Cannot say wheather MSG is dangerous to your health or not, but for me it is very unpleasant. Even a little amount of it gives me a numb feeling in my face and a blurred vision for about ten minutes. Can't be too healthy, methinks.