Is There Healthy Thai Food?

[raro]

have you seen the chemicals that they use to beat back the bugs?most are banned in the west.

just for the fun of it, I asked th guy who wanted to spraymy house for the Safety Data Sheet that should come with any chemicals. Also in Thailand. He never heard of such a paper, had no clue what kind of chemicals he was using (other than dee maaaak) and had no understanding that I did not want him to spray anything. The job he does in the neighborhood is good enough to keep my house pest free as well....

Back to the food, Thai food is generally healthy as long as they keep the MSG out and do not spice it too much. Oil is also an issue, but all this has been said before.

Regarding Newspaper articles: there was a famous case of a scientist who wrote articles to promote margarine over butter. It turned out he was paid by the margarine producers to write such bullsh1t.

[Tyke]

Actually Thai food per se is quite healthy. What makes it lerss healthy is:

- use of palm oil

- too much frying

- addition of MSG

A small amount of nam pla or soy sauce is OK in this climate where one tends to lose more sodium due to sweating.

plus unkown quantities of agricultural chemicals.

Actually the body adjusts in hot climates so that less salt is secreted in the sweat compared to temperate climates, so the adjustment of salt intake is less than one would expect once the body has acclimatized. The need for large quantities of salt in Thai conditions is way overestimated and usually used as a reason for adding it to Thai food and some use it as a personal excuse for eating more salt when they would normally feel kinda guilty about it for their health's sake.

Also stir frying is not really that bad, provided the oil quality is good and the oil and ingredients are fresh and loads of fresh green veggies are included. The deep fried stuff is bad.

Edited January 16, 2009 by Tyke

[Crushdepth]

plus unkown quantities of agricultural chemicals.

Yeah that's a bit of a worry. Anyone got any info on this ? And the effects?

[edwardandtubs]

Also just as hydrogenated vegetable oil is being banned or phased out in the developed world, it's being used more and more in Thailand. All those waffles, pancakes and baked products are full of that poison.

[dumball]

Just read the reports about Thai on native Thai food , stunted growth , under nourished , under weight , early child deaths , slow brain developement , succeptable to temperature change causing many to become ill and sucumb , etc , etc . These are not reports from money making academics , these are facts of life Thai over use productive land and use far too many chemicals that many are not aware of what or why they use them . Monks have tried to introduce organic farming which is less harmfull to ones health to practically no avail , too time and labour intensive for the first few years .

It is okay to defend , but what and whom are you in actual fact defending ?