Are Thai eating healthy?

[hugocnx]

There was a topic about "Thai food the best in the world?". That gave the expected hilaireous comments and so will this.

My thing is that though Thai food is amoungst the best in the world taste wise, and I like it alot, the Thai kitchen is very poor in nutrition value.

Right, from my point of view as a farang maybe and maybe not so bad for the Thai themselves.

Hot climate needs less calories than cold(er) farang climates but I am not sure about the other Thai intake.

I am not a dietician so whatever I write down here is not 100% covered or true. I lived here for more than 8 years and I've seen what Thai people eat.

Okay, let's start with what Thai mostly eat and I know it idoesn't go for all Thai and not for your wife/GF, but:

Thai eat mostly white rice instead of brown rice; just ballast. Take into account the noodle loads in whatever variety.

Thai eat alot of food that is deep fried and in many occasions fried in old(er) fat from whatever origin.

There is hardly anything that doesn't contain sugar. Funny enough their pastry is dull, farang wise.

There is hardly anything that doesn't contain MSG/pong chuu lot/lot dee, straigt away or as a sauce.

The amount of vegetables at one's diner is to be neglected, though you might say that fresh herbs might take over responsability.

More to fill in. Be my guest.

It is not about what they eat along, such as chicken feet or grass hoppers. Probably they get enough protein take in.

And this is not about me worrying Thai people get fat from eating western food....but they do get fatter and fatter these days.

Edited October 17, 2014 by hugocnx

[robertthebruce]

Anything but healthy, everything is loaded with Salt and Sugar......

[brewsterbudgen]

Healthy or not, it's delicious.

[doggie888888]

From most street vendors, Thai food is deliciously laden with sugar, msg, palm oil and possibly a drop or two of sweat from the brow of a very hot cook.

Been training my maid to cook the Thai stuff but using healthier oils, a whole lot less sugar or none at all, definitely no msg and voila, it is still delicious !!!!

Maid tells me she remembers the "old days" when her grandma never used sugar except palm sugar in desserts and limited use of palm sugar in a few dishes. Does anyone know if this is true?

Edited October 17, 2014 by doggie888888

[AyG]

Maid tells me she remembers the "old days" when her grandma never used sugar except palm sugar in desserts and limited use of palm sugar in a few dishes. Does anyone know if this is true?

Certainly, if you look at funerary books, sugar was widely used in cooking. However, such books predominantly represent the food of the upper and middle classes. For poor people it would have been a luxury.

Talking to a friend of mine who's from a very poor background, growing up her diet was almost exclusively rice with nam phrik. No sugar there.

[Briggsy]

Good post busting the myth.

And as poster 2 added, ridiculous levels of sodium intake.

And I will add alcohol intake too which is not strictly on topic.

Your conjecture is supported by rocketing rates of diabetes, hypertension and stomach and intestinal cancer in this country.

[chiang mai]

Have to agree, it's not healthy unless very selective and cooked at home.

[DogNo1]

Just one comment - Recent research has revealed that the nutrients from white rice are more bio-available. A new book about the failed promise of whole grains is interesting. It's available for free downloading on spacedoc.com.

[IMA_FARANG]

Don't mean to be unkind but you are a wealthy (by Thai standards) idiot.

Are Thais eating healthy?

What a silly question in Thailand.

There are latterly millions of people in Thailand who are every day eating anything they can get to keep them going ..... simply because they can't afford anything else.

Grow up, get out of you elitist Farang mind trap.

Every day there are Thais who think they are lucky to get the 35 Baht for a meal.

They do not have the time, or more especially the money, to consider whether that meal is "healthy" or not.

And frankly they don't care, just as long as they can get a meal so they won't be hungry for a while.

Please excuse me for being blunt, but as many elite and wealthy Farangs in Thailand ....... you simply do not know the really of daily Thai life for latterly millions of poor Thais.

That's why your question is a silly and pointless question.

As I said, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to be aware of the daily reality of life for many poor Thais.

Edited October 19, 2014 by IMA_FARANG

[sirineou]

Don't mean to be unkind but you are a wealthy (by Thai standards) idiot.

Are Thais eating healthy?

What a silly question in Thailand.

There are latterly millions of people in Thailand who are every day eating anything they can get to keep them going ..... simply because they can't afford anything else.

Grow up, get out of you elitist Farang mind trap.

Every day there are Thais who think they are lucky to get the 35 Baht for a meal.

They do not have the time, or more especially the money, to consider whether that meal is "healthy" or not.

And frankly they don't care, just as long as they can get a meal so they won't be hungry for a while.

Please excuse me for being blunt, but as many elite and wealthy Farangs in Thailand ....... you simply do not know the really of daily Thai life for latterly millions of poor Thais.

That's why your question is a silly and pointless question.

As I said, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to be aware of the daily reality of life for many poor Thais.

What does what you say have to do with the price of tea in China?

The OP did not ascribe motivations, just asks if Thai food is healthy . If you have an opinion on that, please feel free to contribute, otherwise please refrain from calling people names .

[umbanda]

I do not think so. Looks like Thai people, specially the young ones, prefer to get take outs and not cook at home. Because meats may be expensive to use on most recipes, I can see a lot of processed food used in Thai cheap dishes, most fried and not grilled. The cheap market meat "appetizers" not only are fried, most use plain fat not meat.

Anyway. Just Yesterday I assisted an university graduation and I noticed that most of young women there were not fit at all...If youngThai women keep eating in that way and no exercising,, its beauty will become just a legend very soon....

[xylophone]

Don't mean to be unkind but you are a wealthy (by Thai standards) idiot.

Are Thais eating healthy?

What a silly question in Thailand.

There are latterly millions of people in Thailand who are every day eating anything they can get to keep them going ..... simply because they can't afford anything else.

Grow up, get out of you elitist Farang mind trap.

Every day there are Thais who think they are lucky to get the 35 Baht for a meal.

They do not have the time, or more especially the money, to consider whether that meal is "healthy" or not.

And frankly they don't care, just as long as they can get a meal so they won't be hungry for a while.

Please excuse me for being blunt, but as many elite and wealthy Farangs in Thailand ....... you simply do not know the really of daily Thai life for latterly millions of poor Thais.

That's why your question is a silly and pointless question.

As I said, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to be aware of the daily reality of life for many poor Thais.

Even though many of the Thais I know are not poor they still eat the rubbish as described by the OP..........sugar, fat, msg laden rubbish, much of it cooked at roadside stalls in unhealthy fat which looks the colour of sump oil.

As for eating "x" portions of vegetables per day, not the many I have eaten with, as they skip round the vegs, just pecking at the occasional one.

For the poorer Thais the reality is that there are plenty of healthy cheap options (more vegetables) available.

[hugocnx]

Don't mean to be unkind but you are a wealthy (by Thai standards) idiot.

Are Thais eating healthy?

What a silly question in Thailand.

There are latterly millions of people in Thailand who are every day eating anything they can get to keep them going ..... simply because they can't afford anything else.

Grow up, get out of you elitist Farang mind trap.

Every day there are Thais who think they are lucky to get the 35 Baht for a meal.

They do not have the time, or more especially the money, to consider whether that meal is "healthy" or not.

And frankly they don't care, just as long as they can get a meal so they won't be hungry for a while.

Please excuse me for being blunt, but as many elite and wealthy Farangs in Thailand ....... you simply do not know the really of daily Thai life for latterly millions of poor Thais.

That's why your question is a silly and pointless question.

As I said, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to be aware of the daily reality of life for many poor Thais.

Thank you your Royal Bluntnes for showing who YOU really are.

[sirineou]

The answer is,

No it is not healthy, not by a long shot. but with proper choices it could be.

[Borzandy]

Cannot say Thais are eating healthy, cause all the fried food are cooked using palm oil and often palm oil expired.

[Blindside]

Many different Thais, different income brackets, different environments.

Working late middle class person takes their child to McDonald's for a quick meal - not really healthy

Poor Thai (and others), kid wants something nice - some fried chicken and sticky rice - not so healthy.

However, having interacted with some Thai's living in more rural environments - I have seen them eat vegetarian / minimal meat meals incorporating leaves, roots and herbs many other Thais have forgotten. Very healthy and few ever needing the doctor for common ailments.

Wealthy Thais living in urban areas getting into exercise, organic food and going all health conscious. Very healthy.

In the main though I would agree, the basic fare in the urban areas is not super healthy. The less time and inclination people have - the worse it is going to get.

[sangfroid]

Anything but healthy, everything is loaded with Salt and Sugar......

Diabetes is in epidemic proportions in Thailand these days.

[bangkapi]

There are so many 40 year old diabetics in Thailand.

A huge number of the Thais in their 30's that I meet are missing at least one parent to avoidable diet related diseases.

[MediaWatcher]

IMA_FARANG, on 19 Oct 2014 - 09:04, said:

Don't mean to be unkind but you are a wealthy (by Thai standards) idiot.

Are Thais eating healthy?

What a silly question in Thailand.

There are latterly millions of people in Thailand who are every day eating anything they can get to keep them going ..... simply because they can't afford anything else.

Grow up, get out of you elitist Farang mind trap.

Every day there are Thais who think they are lucky to get the 35 Baht for a meal.

They do not have the time, or more especially the money, to consider whether that meal is "healthy" or not.

And frankly they don't care, just as long as they can get a meal so they won't be hungry for a while.

Please excuse me for being blunt, but as many elite and wealthy Farangs in Thailand ....... you simply do not know the really of daily Thai life for latterly millions of poor Thais.

That's why your question is a silly and pointless question.

As I said, I don't mean to be rude, but you need to be aware of the daily reality of life for many poor Thais.

From your "elitists" attitude you couldn't even answer a very easy question, but slipped into some sort of "protectionist" attitude. The question was legitimate, simply because many people believe Thai food is healthy, when the truth is, in many cases it is not.

[razer]

Dear Ima - (I refuse to use dehumanizing words describing any particular group of people) Eating healthy is a matter of education. Couldn't street vendors save money if they used less sugar? Couldn't you be a little sweeter if you used a little more sugar? Western fast food is probably the biggest threat to health world wide.

[Chris Lawrence]

My wife' Grandfather was 106 when he died. Most of her family eat vegetarian.

[Jonde]

I wouldn't generalise it too much though. Furthermore I would like to back this up with my own observation and experience:

It's basically a natural occurrence that Thai people, including myself eat a lot outside. This is due to the non-available kitchen at home, no time and no joy for cooking etc, etc. There are numerous of reasons. Nevertheless, it's part of Thai culture to eat outside, especially at the street food stalls and the kind.

Generally, the food itself, taken out the fried stuff and so forth, is way healthier then Western food. Fact! It's very well balanced and nutritious, depending what you eat of course. It does contain a lot of seafood oils etc. It all goes down what YOU eat! Most of them eat rice everyday but are still slim.

I find most Thai dish to be one of the well balanced in the world, together with Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese etc.

Now here comes the incredible downside to the well balanced food: they add tons of sugar and salt as it was already implicated several times. That is to intensify and stabilise the aroma. Again: some add less, some add more and most importantly, it depends what YOU eat.

Let's take GUAY DEAW for example: that noodle soup thing. Once it's done, you get it served and you can "mix in" your sugar/salt/chilli and stuff by yourself! Now MOST Thai add all of them. I - do NOT, expect of pepper and chilli.

Let's take the green dish (in Thai: Pak). A bit of salt and sugar here and there, and a final squash of fish oil and you're set! It's ready served and has those ingredients in them already. Is it way too much? No! It is not! Most Thai food is served under the premise that YOU put your own sugar and stuff. Generally, the Thai meal, especially the hot and spicy ones are more healthy!

Don't forget the large variety of fruits! Natural, unprocessed fruit, right from aunti or grandma at some random stall!

What I'm worried are the GMOs in those fish sauces, vinegar, curry paste. Even in those MAMA noodle pack, there is so much GMO, I wonder what kind of cancer I will get when continue eating that thing everyday!

Nevertheless, Thais are getting fatter gradually but it's not a phenomena like in the West. The food here still tops everything.

[A1Str8]

No they are not.

[Kees5555]

I met quite a few young ladies who did not like to eat vegetables and fruits....They did not like anything a bit sour or bitter or not-sweet.

[hugocnx]

Pardon me Jonda. Many prepared dishes and drinks and so on are loaded with sugar. No way to take it out.

Gwei Tiao is mostly sweetened in the hot pot already or seasoned with Lot Dee which also contains sugar and of course MSG.

Hardly any veggies in there as well.

In Cambodia the real bitter lemon by Schweppes is sold. here the sweet variety Manao.

Go in a road side eatery and ask for coffee. Big chance you get the 3 in 1 if you forgot to mention. Teeth falling out.

Thanks all posters for serious replies.

[KhnomKhnom]

Thai throw away the valuable nutrition in the BROWN coating of the rice and eat only the unhealthy white rice.

Many eggs, often fried.

Many things fried.

and hardly ever a true balanced diet.

Seafood is good, but often fried. Fresh is good but often fried or washed in questionable water.

Basically, Thai should all be dead with bad diet; maybe that is why traditional Thai eaters are so slim, they are denied what their bodies need? Thai regular diet would make a Western nutritionist run in fear.

I add: anything that burns your mouth is bad for you; anything fermented (rotting) should be strongly questioned; and anything animals will not eat (like popular bagged snacks) should be avoided.

Thai are definitely getting fat. The higher So the family, the fatter their kids.

[laobali]

The answer is,

No it is not healthy, not by a long shot. but with proper choices it could be.

Much the same as the West. Thais are adopting the same habits. Loads of sugar and salt plus msg as a 'bonus'.

[wabothai]

Some eat healthy,some don't. Many eat vegetables.

It is the youth we all have to worry about.

[AyG]

Thai throw away the valuable nutrition in the BROWN coating of the rice and eat only the unhealthy white rice.

Many eggs, often fried.

Many things fried.

and hardly ever a true balanced diet.

Basically, Thai should all be dead with bad diet; maybe that is why traditional Thai eaters are so slim, they are denied what their bodies need?

I add: anything that burns your mouth is bad for you; anything fermented (rotting) should be strongly questioned; and anything animals will not eat (like popular bagged snacks) should be avoided.

I've rarely seen so much nonsense in a single post.

Even though the husk of brown rice contains some nutrients which white rice doesn't, it also has fats which quickly go rancid which creates a cancer risk.

There's nothing wrong with fatty food. Inuits (formerly Eskimos) do perfectly well on a diet almost completely devoid of plant material and containing a large amount of fat, yet they are healthier than most Westerners.

Why is a burning mouth sensation bad? Westerners don't die from eating mustard and horseradish, or Japanese (with their very long life expectancy) from wasabi.

Nothing wrong with rotten food, either: gravadlax, cheese, beer, bread, sauerkraut, crème fraîche, dosa, idli, injeera, Worcestershire sauce, lassi, leben, yoghurt, dahi, smetana, ssamjang, kimchi, sour cream, yoghourt. All delicious, and all healthy as part of a balanced diet.

As for animals avoiding popular bagged snacks, you obviously don't have a puppy. Mine will eat virtually anything, including her own poop with gusto.

[Thai at Heart]

Less sugar, less rice, more veg and then Thai food is perfect.