Be Wary of Exotic Foods

One of the worst things that can happen on a vacation is food poisoning. The traveler’s sickness, some call it, can ruin a perfectly good vacation and have laid up for days or even weeks in bed. This is especially common if you are traveling to an underdeveloped country. Here are a few easy steps to help you avoid the most common food mistakes that can make you sick.

Try to stay away from raw vegetables if you are in an area that is not industrialized. This includes lettuce, tomatoes, onions, peppers and especially mushrooms. Cooked vegetables are fine, but make sure that the food has been cooked properly and hasn’t been sitting out for too long.

When traveling to undeveloped countries, stay away from fruit without a natural peel.  Fruits like oranges, bananas and mangoes should be ok because the rind will act like a natural shield from bacteria. It’s best to stay away from ready to eat fruits like apples, strawberries, blueberries and other non-rined fruits.

It’s important to understand where the water is coming from. If you are in a resort down in Jamaica then you probably don’t have to worry about a glass of tap water, however in other parts of the world, the water can make you really sick because your stomach isn’t used to the contaminants in them. Locals have grown immune to these bacteria’s and can usually drink it safely. Our delicate Western stomachs however can’t. .

Be very careful of street food. Street foods in foreign places might be some of the best food you’ve ever eaten and some may make you violently sick. The best rule of thumb for street food is to simply follow the locals. If there are stands that always have long lines and are very popular then it’s probably ok to eat there. The food is usually made to order and hasn’t been sitting long if at all. However if you see a lonely stand that doesn’t get a lot of business, stay away.

Eating authentic foods of the region can be really fun, but it again can also make our western stomachs very upset. Foods like insects, nuclear-hot peppers, and strange meats we’d typically throw away are staple foods in a lot of counties diets. Although they might be tasty (not sure about the insects) you could have a bad reaction to them.

Bananas are a natural indigestion cure and can help with all sorts of digestive problems. Try to eat 1 or 2 bananas a day t helps you stay healthy on vacation.

Cipro is a very powerful digestion supplement that you could use in a worst-case scenario. It’s probably a good idea to buy this on your trip even if you aren’t going to a place that food safety is a concern.  If for whatever reason you do get food poisoning Cipro will help fight the bug better than anything else.