Is Thai Food Actually Healthy?

[steve down under]

while we are on the topic of healthy food I saw a recent episode of an american medical seris on TV here in Aus that asked the question how big a serve of veggies would you need to equal the amount of calories in a Big Mac Large Fries and a 32oz cup of Coke ??? the answer came as a total surprise to me when they answered the question by bringing out a large supermarket shopping trolley completely filled up with veggies an amount that I reckon most people would take at least 6 months to consume if eaten every day as their main meal with nothing else with them !

[robblok]

while we are on the topic of healthy food I saw a recent episode of an american medical seris on TV here in Aus that asked the question how big a serve of veggies would you need to equal the amount of calories in a Big Mac Large Fries and a 32oz cup of Coke ??? the answer came as a total surprise to me when they answered the question by bringing out a large supermarket shopping trolley completely filled up with veggies an amount that I reckon most people would take at least 6 months to consume if eaten every day as their main meal with nothing else with them !

Not really a surprise as veggies are low in calories everyone knows that. Just compare how much veggies you need to eat to have the same calories as a bit of meat or rice or whatever. Especially leafy vegetables. Anyway most people don't have a clue about eating healthy.

[robblok]

Vegetarian jay shop food shops that you find almost everywhere are cheap and healthy.

In general they are unless they add a lot of msg and sugars.. when i get mushroom soup from stands like that im always amazed how much sugar and msg goes in there (i buy it for the wife).

[doggie888888]

What about palm oil that is almost always used in street foods? Although opinion is divided, my own feeling is that it is causing my ldl levels to go up since moving here. I don't smoke now, do exercise daily and before coming here, had no cholesterol issues. my doctor reckons palm oil is not as healthy as other vegetable oils.

[robblok]

Basically, its great to eat out and Thai food tastes good but it comes at a price.. your health. Though you can overcome it by eating the more healthy dishes still cooking your own food is the best way to stay healthy.

Of course you have to educate yourself a bit about health and such but if you use a lot of veggies and not to much processed food your way ahead of the rest.

[willyumiii]

I am now sure that Thai food sold at most of the place is unhealthy because too fat and anyway ALL thai sauces are full of shxt + salt.

The only healthy food anywhere in the world is boiled food and not so much of Thai food is just boiled.

I was used to eat any food even in the street but I quit after thinking twice about this unhealthy food.

Boiled food?

Must be a Brit!

England is known world wide for tasteless,bland food!

Yuck!

BTW, boiling removes most of what is good for you from food... vitamins and nutrients and flavor...who needs em? lol

Edited May 10, 2013 by willyumiii

[Krupnik]

I am now sure that Thai food sold at most of the place is unhealthy because too fat and anyway ALL thai sauces are full of shxt + salt.

The only healthy food anywhere in the world is boiled food and not so much of Thai food is just boiled.

I was used to eat any food even in the street but I quit after thinking twice about this unhealthy food.

Boiled food?

Must be a Brit!

England is known world wide for tasteless,bland food!

Yuck!

BTW, boiling removes most of what is good for you from food... vitamins and nutrients and flavor...who needs em? lol

There is the option of going raw. I try to eat raw fruitarian meals regularly and we are lucky in Thailand to have so many delicious fruits readily and cheaply available making it easy to do. Mangoes, papaya, mangosteen, jack fruit, yum yum.

I honestly think that there is no cuisine that is 100% good for you unless you go totally raw vegan. It is a matter of balance. I am vegan and eat Thai curries a lot but I don't see the problem with fatty coconut milk seeing as other than that it is packed full of veggies.

Saying that though, I also recently discovered 4Care brand rice bran milk. It works the same as coconut milk and acts as a replacement with four times as less fat.You can buy it from Tesco.

[BDG]

Thai food is way more healthy than western daily diet, but you have to also avoid the fattening stuff here. There are so many veggie dishes! And chillies are healthy: they make your metabolism go faster. My Thai husband says that is the key: speeding up your metabolism.

[Chicog]

Add the fried mushrooms, baked beans ( for the protein ) maybe even a sausage ( beef of course ) a fried tomato, black pudding has to be fried until crispy by the way and you don't need to eat until late in the day even after your one hour walk with the dog.

By the way this is not a sarcastic reply, I mean it:D

Beef sausage? Crispy Black pudding?

Good god man, what sort of philistine are you?

And what about the fried bread?

[robblok]

Thai food is way more healthy than western daily diet, but you have to also avoid the fattening stuff here. There are so many veggie dishes! And chillies are healthy: they make your metabolism go faster. My Thai husband says that is the key: speeding up your metabolism.

Only if you cook it yourself and make sure you use the proper ingredients, and then it is on par with western food cooked at home. The key is not Thai or Western but lots of veggies and the right ingredients.

[bri1guy]

Thai Healthy foods

# 1 Som Tam

Famous and widely available is Thailand’s green papaya salad known much better as “som tam.”

The fresh ingredients that go into som tam include: shredded green papaya, tomatoes, string beans, dried shrimp, garlic, and chillies. There are many variations of som tam, some including fermented fish sauce or crab, but probably the healthiest version is som tam thai.

Som Tam Thai is dressed with a piquant sauce that includes fish sauce, cane sugar, lime juice and tamarind juice. It’s one of Thailand’s most famous dishes and it happens to be pretty healthy too!

[crazygreg44]

Considering that Asians have been surviving for centuries with their diet I find it hard to believe that it can be too bad for you. Why do farang males seem to like the slim, trim beauties that Thailand seems to produce. But, when those same Thai women marry farangs and start eating western food they quickly fatten up like us western women on our supposedly "better" diet. .

they haven't eaten for centuries what they eat today. There was ZERO oil, nobody used MSG, sugarcane and palm sugar was the sole source for sweetening. There was no breaded food, no 7/11 chocolates and cakes. There weren't any wheat products, no extra sweet joghurts and no sugar loaden after-school drinks. What you talking about. Thai eating culture has changed rapidly and greatly from what they ate 40 years ago and further back. The "westernization" has brought oil fried, breaded oil loaden sugary foodstuff to Thailand.

Where are the slim thais? They are vanishing, their days are counted. Today you see obese kids and fat women literally everywhere.

[rozand]

like most traditional food in western countries Thai food too has a high calorie level, for people who burn it, who live and work on the land. Not for those who do sedentary work or not work at all. Most soups are prepared with a broth from organ-meat/leftovers, lots of purines, easily to cause gout, which many have. Soya oils and other soy-products are not good for humans anyhow, and although more fat, coconut oil is much better, but expensive (equal to olive oil here). The sour curries and vegetable dishes are better, the chilli might be bad for the bowels if one is not used to them, but it is a great conservative and contains loads of vit. c. (originally chillies were not used, but green peppers where, chilli originates in the Americas and was later imported.) Nevertheless it would be easy to cook thai food with the usual spices (for flavor and taste and health (yellow root) using far more healthy basic ingredients besides those spices: Brown rice, coconut oil, no broths or vegetable broths and then the additional porch/chicken/beef or kung is all fine. Kung should actually be the wild variety, due to the high levels of antibiotics in the farmed variety. Sugar, msg are not needed, the good cooks avoid at least the msg.

Edited May 10, 2013 by rozand

[Payboy]

Instant noodles contain a wax coating which is also used in the styrofoam containers. That is why instant noodles don't stick together when cooking. Our body needs up to two days to clean the wax. Makes sure you stop eating a pack of noodles for at least three days after. This wax can cause cancer. Thais usually eat this stuff at least once a day...

Always advisable to take them out of the packet first.

[spidermike007]

The aspects of Thai food that is the least healthy is the copious amounts of MSG used in nearly every dish, and the very low quality of the cooking oils. The two healthiest oils for cooking are readily available in Thailand (sunflower and rice bran oil both have very high flash points, and therefore remain largely unsaturated) but they cost more than the junk oils, like soybean or cottonseed. Both of these oils are very unhealthy as they have very low flash points, and are largely responsible for the saturated fats in Thai cooking. When cooking at home, all we use is sunflower and rice bran oil, which is available at any tesco, for 100 baht or so, per liter. Sunflower is even cheaper. Of course there are other foods to avoid, but if one cooks at home, uses good oil, avoids the use of MSG, and alot of sugar, and avoids the rest of the nonsense, Thai food can be relatively healthy.

[AhFarangJa]

I was always taught that it is bad practice to put solids into a hydraulic system

[dunque]

I'd rather knock back a protein shake with avocado, banana, protein powder and rolled oats and follow it up with a couple of salmon steaks if I wanted more protein

I am sorry, that is not food, that is nutrition.

[AhFarangJa]

Can anyone corrobarate what I have been told that the raw sauce used in som tam is a major cause of worms in the villages? My wife and several other Thais have told me this.

[robblok]

I'd rather knock back a protein shake with avocado, banana, protein powder and rolled oats and follow it up with a couple of salmon steaks if I wanted more protein

I am sorry, that is not food, that is nutrition.

Its food and its healthy.. never knew rolled oats and salmon steaks were not food.. protein shake.. is nutrition but better as that English breakfast health wise. The guy calling it the artery clog-er was right.

Exercise helps but it can eliminate bad diet completely.

[rubberduck]

Instant noodles contain a wax coating which is also used in the styrofoam containers. That is why instant noodles don't stick together when cooking. Our body needs up to two days to clean the wax. Makes sure you stop eating a pack of noodles for at least three days after. This wax can cause cancer. Thais usually eat this stuff at least once a day...

 

 

Really? Is it parafin wax? Same used in baking. Ughh. I've heard Asians have a high level of stomach cancer caused by too much chilli. Too much coconut milk is bad. Msg is bad. Least if your wife cooks you know what Thai food your eating. I'm sure lots of you full time expats eat out way to much huh?

Not sure about this wax story, but the palmoil as well as MSG that comes with it in separate little bags is very unhealthy anyway.

Not strange that 'tjep thong' (stomach hurts) are the most used words amongst locals.

[gwynt]

everything in moderation of course,

I think as long as you exercise, not go into repetitive daily calorie surplus and vary your dishes (meats, seafood, fish, veggies,fruits, rice) you should be okay.

As a friend says, "Every thing in moderation and then once in a while moderate moderation"

[TackyToo]

For those who read German, there is some info here: http://wahnsinnausdemwok.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/sommerliche-durchfallquote-bei-thailand-touristen/

[hellodolly]

Who caress the life expectancy is still rising. And most of us enjoy what we eat with out having to read books and then train are systems to think that chocolate is bad for me so I won't eat it but this Carrot that has not been Genetically altered or had pesticides on it is good for me and very tasty so I will train my body to search out those specific ones and love them while I gloat inwardly that I don't have to eat a chocolate bar that whats his name ate and enjoyed because he hadn't done all the research I have done.

[blazes]

everything in moderation of course,

I think as long as you exercise, not go into repetitive daily calorie surplus and vary your dishes (meats, seafood, fish, veggies,fruits, rice) you should be okay.

As a friend says, "Every thing in moderation and then once in a while moderate moderation"

You should stick to Welsh rarebit, lad.

[Toscano]

I live in Isaan , where to my eye , sense of smell and taste , the food is excremental , I cannot eat it . They say here that people eat six times a day , because their meals are so lacking in nutrition .

I say to my wife and her family , " It is what you eat that kills you ". As most of them die from stomach or liver disease , I believe that is true .

[Andre0720]

Types

• There are over 140,000 varieties of rice; the common categories of rice are long grain, medium grain and short grain. Short grain rice sticks together when cooked, while long grain rice stays separated. There is also brown rice, in which only the husk is removed, and white rice, which has been stripped of much of its nutritional value during the milling process, which removes the bran and germ as well. Brown rice therefore retains more of its nutritional value.

Nutritional Value

• Rice is an important source of complex carbohydrates, which provide energy to the body and fuel for the brain. According to RiceTrade.com, rice provides vitamins including riboflavin, thiamine and niacin. Rice also contains iron, vitamin D and calcium. It contains no cholesterol or gluten and has no additives or preservatives. Rice contains eight amino acids which makes it a good source of protein.

Combined with freshness of food, chicken, fish, fruit and vegetable.

I ask that no sugar is added to my food.

Many restaurants cook without MSG, since some people are allergic to it.

And I do believe that the soil is richer here for growing purposes.

[Phronesis]

No

[HUAHIN62]

Stay away from take away food and make your own from start. Stay away from too many sauces, use low sodium soya sauce and check the ingriedents of fish sauce. Minimize sugar intake and yes keep down the number of beers. Exercise everyday and eat spicy food to speed up your metabolism. When I go back to my country of birth I suffer permanent heartburn from the western diet.

[HerbalEd]

Thai food has it's flaws, but overall it's much healthier than most western cuisines. Yes, there's too much deep fried foods cooked in over used cheap refined oils, too much refined white sugar, and too much salt. But the more simple traditional Thai food ... as opposed to it's modern rendition ... is quite healthy.

First, with any cuisine ... it's most often not the food itself, but the quality of that food. E.g., cheap refined oils vs. cold pressed oils that are used fresh and not heated over and over again ... traditional crude unrefined sugars (palm, coconut flower nectar, sugar cane juice) vs highly refined and bleached white table sugar or high-fructose corn syrup ... refined white rice vs minimally refined or brown rice ... etc.

As to spicy food: Just because you don't like it spicy doesn't mean it's bad for you. In fact, the pungent spices like chili peppers, ginger, galenga, turmeric, black pepper, are excellent antioxidants ... which means they are anti-inflammatory, anticancer, anti-tumor, and anti-cholesterol agents, plus they're great for the heart and blood circulation.

Also, the not-spicy spices like lemon grass, basil, etc. have similar properties.

With a little education and extra attention about what you eat here in Thailand, one can eat a very healthy diet. Trouble is, most people ... esp. men ... can't be bothered and take much better care of their car than the most important machine they own ... the human body.

[HerbalEd]

good question. i have been wondering about this myself for a while. my wife has giving up using msg except in som tam. could all the oyster sauce and fish sauce be good for you.it must be sitting in the bottle and fermenting for a long time. although my wife eats tonnes of greens that are not cooked so they are obviously good. as for spicey foods. certainly not good for your arse

if it fermented in the bottle, they would explode in a short while.