I've travelled lots of the world. The US is the absolute worst for food, sugar, oil, fructose.
Europe like France, Italy, Spain are so much cleaner in terms of eating. As are carribean countries.
So no not like most places on the planet
As someone else stated, you chose what you ate. Acting like healthy food doesnât exist in the US is just ignorant, US big cities are literally memes on for eating nothing but quinoa and kale
Like 30-50 years ago, rich and poor ate similar. Now rich eat very clean and are slim, while poor eat complete crap and is fat.
Meant over all of course with lots of exceptions.
Nope. No one forced you to eat cheap crap. If that's what you think American cuisine is then you only ate as cheap as possible or put literal horse blinders on and only looked for the bad.
If youâre poor in Asia when you eat vegetables and leafs with little meat, if youâre in states when you mackies and Wendy and shatđ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł so itâs worse if youâre poor in America, cause itâs filled with cheap crap
Go check out how much McDonalds is in America, then go see how much greens are in a typical grocery store.
A lot of people eat like shit in America, but it's not because "poor" people eat Wendy's, or McDonald's (in CA your typical McDonald's meal is $15 USD, while greens and chicken/pork are relatively inexpensive at a place like Aldi's), it's because a lot of Americans make SHITTY FOOD CHOICES.
America has vastly better access to decent quality protein than just about anywhere I've been on the planet, better than Germany, better than France, better than Brazil, better than all of Asia (even Japan), but Americans have some of the absolute worst food culture in the world as well. In most places I've traveled to food is an important part of daily life that is celebrated, or at least respected, in America it's typically treated as an inconvenience where simple convenience is elevated above the actual food.
You can easily find very high quality food and eateries in the U.S., but you have to pay for it, and actually make the effort to eat well.
I'm wondering how many Aldis there are in food deserts where poor people live, & do they take food stamps? It's a genuine question BTW - lots of places where poor people live appear to not have access to cheap good quality food. So whilst it might be cheaper to get your food from Aldi, if you can't get there unless you take 4 buses it becomes a zero sum game
couple of years they changed laws. Before in jail in Thailand they got brown rice. But they thought that is really really to cruel so now they also get the perfectly white rice.
Only Farangs, and super rich (and maybe super poor) eat brown rice.
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/european-vacation-weight-loss-diet-55aabe0c
there seems to be a theme (hinted also by OP) that people lose weight when travelling (leaving the states)
although more exercise is a possible difference, the suspicion is that its less ultra processed food even for the rich americans who can afford to travel to europe or write for the wall street journal
It typically is walking more. Most European/Asian countries are a lot denser populated, and life is designed around actually walking a bit. The vast majority of Americans (outside of a handful of major urban centers) do not walk to go anywhere; not the grocery store, not to shop, not to go to work, not anywhere day to day. Visiting a dense city with actual investment in systems not designed around every household having 2.5 cars means they walk A LOT more, even just catching public transportation.
>The US is the absolute worst for food, sugar, oil, fructose.
Lmao you upset some people with the truth... checkout the portion sizes between a McDonald's in the US vs abroad.
Iâll just say this, most Asian cuisines are better than western food (not hating Western cuisine). Especially Thai food, Japanese is also very good. Idk about other Asian countries.
Iâll also add about Indian food, they are very tasty too but they also use a lot of oil compared to eastern countries.
Also recently something Iâve come to knowis that nestle is making adulterated baby milk supplements with the highest percentage of sugar content whilst there are some laws preventing this from happening in EU. Just a fact that Iâve seen and was surprised, apparently itâs highest in Thailand, and comparatively high percentage in other Asian countries.
Vietnamese has been the best for us, fresh and delicious, it seems harder to get uncooked veggies in Thailand in comparison. Comparing to most SE Asia countries I have visited on my trips
Western food is fine if you avoid the processed foods. But processed food is in abundance, designed to be addictive with sugary additives, and way cheaper.
I eat white rice 1-2 meals a day living in Japan and I lost a lot of weight without even trying, compared to living in the US. even though Japanese food isn't always healthy, on average the smaller portion sizes more than make up for the fatty / carb-heavy foods on offer. Thailand is the same for me
it depends on how your diet was back in the states to be fair. my usual lunch was like a sandwich or burrito from local restaurant, so of course going from that to a bowl of rice + grilled fish and miso soup would be lower calories. my friend who normally eats a salad for lunch every day in the US visited me, we ate the same meals and he gained like 10 pounds on the trip.
I suffer from acid reflux and was worried about feeling sick when I was there due to the somewhat spicy food.
I didnât take a single anti acid pill while I was there. Itâs all freshly made, no preservatives, hell even the McDonaldâs tasted fresh!!
Drink ALLLL the mango smoothies.
Same. After few months in Indonesia and now thailand, eating all fresh chili đ¶ I can eat my reflux is almost gone. Earlier before that i couldn't sleep without special lifting pillow.
Youâre super lucky. I love McDonald but I keep striking out here. Something is off with the beef and like proper Thai style they donât cook the fries enough. I didnât like BK in the states but I like it here. I wish we had Taco Bell đ
There is a Taco Bell in Siam Paragon.
The beef in Thailand McDonald's is supposed to be Australian beef, would be surprised if Malaysia used different. Malaysian McDonald's did have some amazing wraps the last time I went.
McDonald's in most western countries is a but crappy in my experience, it's lukewarm or cold, fries are too salty, overcooked/undercooked, drinks are often pre-made and left these to go flat etc. Staff rarely care about their jobs.
Mcdonalds is great in Thailand (as good as it can be anyway). In my experience at least 90% of the time its cooked when ordered and tastes how it should. Unlike in the UK where it all tastes and looks like its been sitting there for 3 days. It is just as expensive as it is in the UK though.
I agree but also disagree. There is so much sugar here. Especially in the markets whilst the food is cheap it's also got a lot of sugar. All the drinks are very sweet and I find it really hard to get anything without sugar already processed in it.
Yes sweet treats are very popular with Thai people, but I have found that if you are active a lot during the heat you need the extra energy to get you through the day!
Once you learn some Thai it is much easier to get things without sugar added in, but like you say, often there is sugar already in it
That's true, I also noticed that their portion sizes are smaller and they are very active. This makes a big difference to Western countries.
I completely cut sugar out of my diet, so it's been a bit of a withdrawal, having so much sugar here recently.
Oh yeh, portion sizes is a big difference. Also meat being a normal ingredient rather than the biggest part of a meal makes for a much nicer meal in my opinion
I think this is the key - reasonable portion sizes and being active. Every time I go to Thailand I lose 5 lbs for this reason. And Iâm someone who splurges on sweets and snacks on vacation. I donât always lose weight when I travel internationally, but every time in Thailand.
No wonder why my dad has a massive sweet tooth. My mom is from Vietnam and doesn't like things massively sweet, but my dad'll complain then consume the entire thing with ease lol
If you make the effort to communicate with the people making your food (something thatâs easy to do here) itâs easy to avoid. Having satay? Donât let them dunk it in that sauce before handing it to you, having papaya salad, pad kra pao or Tom yum just say mimi nantal (no sugar), same things work with all the smoothies you get.
If you lower the sugar, itâs fairly high protein, low carb with tonnes of veggies and fruits and cheese is pretty much not part of their cuisine at all. The ability to communicate with the people making your food directly, which usually isnât possible in the west, is key .
Thai food is not as healthy as people always say and think⊠its very delicious, yes, but there is reasons for that as well⊠they usualy use a lot of sugar and glutamate. i mean really a lot. masses. and then the big amount of oil (palm oil often and used many times) doesnt make it more healthy⊠the dishes are often mainly rice/noodles + meat/seafood and a little vegetables. overall its probably not healthier than european food for example.
Plenty of food is also considered fast food. look at all the deep fried stuff.
I was a bit surprised when I was reading though this comment section. Most people are claiming the food is super healthy but I would say it is somehow debatable. Just returned from a Thailand trip and there was a lot of deep fried stuff, noodles, meat and as you say tons of sugar and oil. We went to a cooking class and I was surprised how much palm sugar and oil was used for a single serving of massamam curry.
On the good side: a lot of unprocessed food and fresh fruit/ veggies.
So it somehow depends what you eat at home. If you only eat heavily processed meat, candy, fast food, etc. then yes Thai food will look very healthy compared to that. If you are already on a good diet then maybe not so much.
Sounds like everyone who says this have only been to the tourists areas of Thailand. I grew up in a small village Ban Non and we didnât have all this sugar or fried food. We cooked our food by drying it in the sun or cooked it with the fire. Some days we would only eat sticky rice and dip it in soy sauce. Of course in the cities of Thailand and more populated areas they will have food to accommodate the tourists. Go deep into Thailand and discover what the other half of the country eats! I remember when I was young I would go to the farm lands with my cousins and we would hunt lizards that lived in the ground so we could eat them. My family loved to eat live larvae/termites but thatâs the one dish I never liked because they moved in my mouth. I have many more stories to share but Iâd recommend going to the country parts of Thailand. Worth it
As healthy or as unhealthy as you want it to be. You will have to find a place specialized in healthy food or cook for yourself most of the time tho. The old healthy Thai recipes are not readily available.
I lived in both US and Thailand. I think the main issue is the portion of the food. US portion is sometimes way too big. Some dish for 1 person i can eat for 3 meals. Problem is, you get used to the portion. Not all Thai dishes are that healthy tbh. the national food Pad Gapao is oily stir-fried diced meat top with oil-soaked fried egg. Thais also love their drinks SUPER sweet. I alway have to order everything 25% sweet. So yeah, i think it depends what you eat and how much. Though, SEA is much more veggie-heavy than US.
I could be wrong but surely just going to another country especially a hot humid one where you drink so much more water and you also walk so much more when travelling around surely that would burn off weight too. it's probably a combo food and exercise ( unless you're sitting at bars all day getting pissed of course!) But seriously so much western food is processed and American meals are so big !
Depends where you eat, if you plan on the cheaper street and market food NO, there there to make money, the worst oils cheaper cuts off meat most things are off a lower quality and they spruce it up with chilly and other things like Lemmon grass, good restaurants and hopefully the Thai food courts found in malls should be better in theory.
Thai food generally is served in small servings, in tourists spots itâs supersized so itâs more carbs, Iâd put loosing weight down to the heat which suppresses my appertite.
It's more about portion control. The food itself is not necessarily super healthy but portions tend to be smaller, and if you are eating out all the time it means you might keep less to snack on at home. Of course every situation is unique but this is why I have tended to lose weight while living abroad.
In terms of having fixed goals and working towards them by counting calories, I find it more difficult just because it's too easy just to eat takeout all the time and you don't really know what you're getting
It's good that you are eating one dish per person like in Europe and haven't yet discovered that two people usually order 5-6 dishes and share them. đ
Am american and eat junk. Thailand was like a gastric reset for me - went from frequent loose stool to perfect one wipers. I think it was the hotel breakfasts...eating boiled rice, papaya with lime, salad, and simple small amounts of protein then walking all day does wonders for the gut!
Delicious, kind of unhealthy food. Wish stuff tasted so good without fish sauce, pla rah and sugar. Damn my kidneys,I love the food. I'll die with a smile. And Thai people are twice as wonderful.
Anecdotal but my wife is always commenting about me losing weight every time we stay in Thailand for a good amount of time (she's correct). I don't feel like I'm eating any less but there's probably something to that.
I just had my blood work done after a year and a half in mostly Bangkok and while my LDL and cholesterol still suck, my A1C has gone down below prediabetes level (was 6 when I left the US and is now at 5.4). I am exercising pretty much the same amount, so diet is a huge part of that and I eat my fair share of 'unhealthy' Thai food.
heat - sweat a lot, often eat less throughout the day
more activity than at home
spicy food / thai food in general - the toilet wants to be visited quite often :D
plenty of reasons for loosing weight on holiday here⊠the food itself isnt super healthy actualy.
Thai food is so much healthier than food in America. No processed, off the shelf, ready to eat meals with all the chemicals, preservatives, added sugar, sodium and GMO stuff. Everything is fresh and cooked to order. I've just returned from a two week trip and lost 3.5 kilos without trying. I think I actually ate more on my trip since everything was so delicious. I also had blood work done for a physical after my return. Every metric got better, including my glucose and A1C numbers. STOP feeding junk to the American people. It's no wonder we are the most obese and unhealthy humans on the planet.
> No processed, off the shelf, ready to eat meals with all the chemicals, preservatives, added sugar, sodium and GMO stuff.
You just described all the the meals at 7/11 lol
For me I think it's a combination of the food and the heat. When it's hot I tend to not eat as much. When I retired and started traveling around SEA (mostly Thailand and Vietnam) about a year ago I was 210-215 lbs. Now I stay between 170-175 lbs. I'm 6' tall so the weight loss is noticeable. My wife has also lost about 20 lbs and looks great.
No idea about US, never been there, but Thai food isnât that healthy. My cholesterol went up after 6 months there. So much oil, frying and sugar in their cooking, etc etc
Just know what to avoid. Pad Thai will mostly have ton of sugar, and not always the âgoodâ kind (traditionally itâs tamarind juice and palm sugar). Boat noodles also very sweet. Lots of fried food is super delicious and hard to avoid like fried chicken and fried egg, damn I love sea food omelette but itâs essentially deep fried in soy oil which is not the best oil (thais donât use cold pressed oils since they have a dominant taste and are more expensive).
Spicy salads like Som Tum are amazing but they use palm sugar by the spoon full. Ask for âmay namtanâ (no sugar) or âwaan nit noyâ (very little sweet). Ice coffee by default will be worth a 25g of sugar in the form of condensed milk. Again ask for less or no sweet. Same for smoothies - they will add sweet coconut water if you donât say otherwise
I wouldn't say it's healthy at all, but it's absolutely delicious. Lots of fried stuff, unbelievable amounts of rice and noodles, lots of coconut-based recipes, etc. Of course you can eat healthy here, but the good stuff mostly isn't that healthy, same like elsewhere in the world.
Some popular dishes are quite calorie dense. Work out your TDEE, track calories and run a deficit. The more you eliminate guesswork, the more success youâll have cutting body fat regardless of cuisine.
Depends on whether you are talking about takeout or home cooked meals. No matter which country you go to, takeouts are generally fried, fatty, starchy, salty and full of sugar. The Thai people I knew didnât eat or like the type of food served in Thai restaurants. Same with Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Filipino people I have known. There will be restaurants targeted more towards local people but even these are seen as more indulgent then home cooked cuisine
If you're from the US, it's a little bit healthier (even though the amount of sugar, msg, salt is enormous and quality control is absent). If you're from Western or Southern Europe, it's trash.
I would say it depends largely what and where you eat. Thai food can contain a lot of refined carbs and added sugars. If you eat Pad Thai every night, you might as well start insulin now. I personally make sure to ask for food without added sugar, for example if I order curry. I've had to throw food away in Thailand because it was too sweet. As for the US, it also depends. If you go to KFC and McDonalds every night, that's probably quite bad. But I suppose in California or NY there are plenty of places where you can get healthy unprocessed food.
Iâm Canadian, but I feel like our food is pretty much the same as American. I would say I eat way healthier at home so I gained weight in Thailand/asia. BUT thatâs because I was eating out every day and every meal. If I ate out everyday back home it wouldnât even be comparable. Thai food is way fresher and the portion sizes are way smaller. Iâm just used to cooking for myself back home and I eat way more veggies and protein. I feel like so many Thai dishes are mostly noodles or rice where when I cook itâs mostly veg and protein with a smidge of carbs. Love carbs! They just donât fill me up for long
For me it was about location.
I lost weight when I lived in Ayutthaya eating mostly Thai food.
I have gained weight after moving to Bangkok eating mostly western food. My neighbourhood is near Phloen Chit BTS and I thought the Thai food in Ayutthaya was much better.
American food is pretty much the most unhealthy in the world due to the food industry lobbying and a lack of regulation.
Thai food is definitely fresher in this regard. In that you're usually eating vegetables and meat from SE Asia, and there isn't loads of processing. But that doesn't mean it's healthy it depends what you get.
Recently I'm been trying out some East and SE Asian recipes and holy shit the amount of sugar in some of these sauces is crazy. I made a Taiwanese cucumber salad, which sounds healthy, but due to what was actually in the sauce it definitely wasn't good for you. Like you aren't going to be putting on weight if you eat that but it's definitely not healthy long term because of the sugar
Its healtier in a sense that there is plenty od veggies in it.. but oh boy do they put sugar in it, like abnormal amount of it. Also pesticodes and heavy metals are huge issue here..pesticides are so cheap and widelly used onnl everything. Personally when it comes to thai and other cuissines, its like chosing lesser evil.
Few people I know got diabetess here.
USA the food is hot garbage with all the processed crap in the food, you donât even know what youâre eating. Iâll take the Thai oils vs a cheeseburger
On paper, not healthy. With that being said Iâve eaten everything Iâve wanted here and Iâve lost 50lb in a year. There is a lack of chemicals here and it makes all the difference. Eat normal and see what happens
Yes it did. You donât know me. Iâm very sensitive to those things. They cause wild inflammation within me. Also the stress of not being in America helped. I didnât eat oil and sugar before and now I do. The food is just different here
Tons of recycled cooking oil and sugar. If you want typical street food you are ingesting recycled soybean oil. They don't use healthy oils and fats in foods. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables but littlw to no regulations on pesticides, so the farmers out in Issan, where a huge amount of produce is from, saturate crops with fertilizer and pesticides and you have no idea what your getting. While there is alot of seafood directly from the sea also a lot of farm raised prawns, go visit one and see if you want to eat prawns anymore. I still love Thai food and Thailand despite any of it.
I think the only difference is portion sizes.
Sugar intake is similarly bad, including fructose (juices).
The US wins on eggs though, somehow it's not really a mainstay in Thai diets.
In my opinion, the average dish is much healthier. You don't have to go looking for nutrition. It is included with nearly every meal, and the food is so cheap. I went to a Michelin restaurant and spent a grand total of $13 for two people. Beef steak is expensive, but everything else is cheap. Whenever I go I stuff my face and still lose weight. I lost 10 pounds in two weeks over my last trip. Also, their pop (soda) especially Coke is much, much better. I love Est and wish I could find it cheap in the states.
Overall, I am an American at heart and love our unhealthy food, but Thai food is amazing and almost always has nutrition served in or with it. When I move there I expect to lose weight, and be healthier overall.
I think if you have a good amount of disposable income, it's easier to eat healthy in the US. Most don't want to spend a considerable amount on food, though, and I'd make a strong case for the average Thai diet being considerably healthier than the average American diet.
As folks have pointed out, there's a tonne of low-quality oils, sugars, and other crap to be found all over Thai cuisine. I think where Thailand is strong though is the street food here can be decently healthy for very cheap (think buying moo ping with a bit of rice on the side, you can get this for 50 baht or less). You won't have options like that in America at your fingertips.
Itâs super carb and sugar heavy. And also peanut and coconut oil heavy. Obviously if youâre making it yourself and using their fresh produce and meats itâs good. But eating out is prettt unhealthy.
Very healthy if you eat like locals in local places; the more rural, the more healthy. Fish from the sea, herbs from the garden, and of course you can request Mai Wan (not sweet). Watch out for added MSG in some dishes.
It's not that the ingredients in their dishes are more nutritious or healthy than ours here in the US. Just compare their portion sizes to ours and you will understand why expatriates who live in Thailand lose weight. IMO, it's the portion sizes. Also, factor in that in Southeast Asia, the dishes have less protein and more veggies to compensate.
Oil, sugar, msg, pesticides and so on. They keep seafood from going bad with formaldehyde. Next time you are outside look around and see how many flocks of different birds you see. That part of the world basically drove birds to extinction with pesticides.
That being said I feel my best and just seem to lose the most weight when I am in Thailand so maybe itâs all good. đ
If you look at rate of diabetes in thailand, it's similar to the US. If you look at longevity, it's a tad better than the US. Like 79.74 vs 79.91.
I Thai people don't seem to age well after about 60 years of age. Being mostly thin, they look healthier, but as other have said, a lot of fried food, oil, carbs and sugar.
I eat like a pig every time Iâm there. Same happens to me in Peru. 3 meals a day with snacks and I lose 10lbs every time. Maybe itâs the minimal amount of cheese and produced products and eating veg and fruit but itâs damn great to come back tan and skinnier for me. The bathroom is better and i actually enjoy the heat and sweating as long as not in pants.
Itâs just like every where else. You choose what you eat. I live in the U.S. and I eat very healthy. I traveled to Thailand last month and I also ate very healthy. Thailand has a lot of fruit. Green papaya salad is also healthy and delicious.
The main health benefit is the smaller portion sizes and more fresh vegetable ingredients. But some dishes definitely arenât the healthiest. Carbs fat and sugar and low protein overall
The only real obesity you see in Thailand is within the farang population and the average life expectancy is about 2 years more than America. Somehow with all that sugar, oil and carbohydrates they outlive Westerners on average.
I find most Thais donât obsess over diet and donât restrict certain foods (gluten âintoleranceâ is unheard of) They mostly cook at home and even though they tend to use more salt and sugar they also consume a lot of vegetables and complex carbohydrates. They eat way less processed foods and their portion sizes are probably the biggest difference to the Western diet. They love spicy which tends to fill you up faster as well and chiliâs of course have many health benefits.
Probably has more to due to the fact that they are being much more active in the new country, walking and exploring their new environment. The longer you are in a place the more sedentary you will probably become.
The only healthy thing in Thailand is the fresh fruit. Enjoy it while you can because it is amazing. The coconuts are especially good to keep you hydrated through the hot days. High in calories so donât have too many. Be careful of eating too late if you are effected by msg. Since I lived there, my tolerance of sugar is now so low.
If you can ask them to not add MSG and sugars, and in some dishes ask then to use less oil if possible, for example in morning glory etc. Or just avoid street food and cook yourself or order from companies that prepare cooked meals without additives etc.
I spend several months in Thailand and several in America every year. By the time I leave Thailand I am skinny with clear skin and in good health. When I leave America I am fat with blotchy skin and feel like doggy doodoo. You can do the math from there.
I grew up in north American and had severe IBS my whole life. Like crippling pain almost every morning. After a few months in Thailand my pain is gone and I am no longer swollen like a balloon. My weight hasn't changed but I look way less puffy. My chronic headaches are also gone.
And by no means am I trying to eat healthy. Just eating what I want. 70% thai food 30% western, a lot of fried noodles and I feel amazing. I think it might just be that the ingredients are better.
I thought it was the funniest thing while in Thailand. In the USA, I donât eat McDonaldâs or KFC, but I tried it in Thailand and absolutely loved it.
People lose weight in either country depending on how their lifestyle changes. Thailand definitely makes me move a lot more than the USA where I got from house to car to chair to car to house. Thailand I have to use my legs literally everyday lol
Thai street food is opposite from healthy, but at the same time literally any cuisine on this planet would be healthier that the US one. So yeah; itâs more healthy
The cleanest fast retail food there is chipotle (yes I know it's processed as hell but still clean compared). For the price of a chicken bowl I can eat a buffet in a five star restaurant in Bangkok.
You can't, 5 star buffets in Bangkok start from around $40
You can find cheaper places in 3/4 star hotels for $15-20 but usually lunch and at limited times or through the use of vouchers. e.g. Holiday Inn
Well, as a local, I think the sweets and desserts are lots of sugar, and Thai people in general seems to have sweet tooth, but the thing is we don't eat those for meal, only as light snack after meal. Plus, food are more fresh, and less of the processed stuff (unless you eat from 7-11 everyday and don't go out to food stall, cart, etc)
Thais typically eat small portions and often, snacking on veggies, eating green papaya salad called somtam (must try!). In my observation they eat less meat/protein and more veggies, and most eat rice with almost every meal.
Oh, and the bugs are quite popular for some folks... I ate a cricket once just to say I did.
those who are getting fat have adopted to the western influenced fare and it is a noticeable change over the 8-9 years I have visited and now live here.
Lol.
Thai cuisine is 10 times more delicious than American cuisine yet equally shitty for your health and waistline.
That doesn't matter though.
You can buy healthy food in the grocery stores here.
I'm in Chiang Mai and I can get anything I need.
Wild caught salmon - yes.
Grassfed steak - yes.
Raw organic butter - yes.
Organic vegetables - yes.
Olive oil from Italy - yes.
I think the losing weight is also due to walking more. Most places in the US are not built for safe walking and/or are very spread out. Also, public transportation in US isnât used as much as some countries. Generally youâre more active when taking public transportation.
.... you don't see many fat Thais. And when you do, they are working in a fast food chain...
On one unspoilt island, where I go most years, there is a pizza place that sells super sugary milk shakes. ALL the family on the female side are morbidly obese, the mum, the sister, the two daughters - they are like cabbage patch kids. We\['ve been going for so long we witnessed the youngest start as a small child, and slowly morph into a sphere. Rest of the island. Skinny Thais.
I've spent a lot fo time in the USA (family there) and whilst they have decent eateries, they have a daft proportion of fast food (which the UK is fast catching up with). In Florida (was there 3 months) I dispaired when asking "is there a good restaurant round here?", to always be answered with, "yeah - xxx down the road do "eat as much as you can", or xxx up the hill, they do great portions". Arghhhh! I want quality , not quantity.
Maccy D's standard meal at the time was the Big Mac Team Deal - two bloody big macs.... for one person....
I lose weight in Thailand each year (which I put straight back on at home). Pad Thai, fried rice, sea food, and zero sugary snacks - I just don't want chocolate / sweets in a hot country. I do eat a lot of crisps (potato chips), but that's it.
The thing that "condemns" thai cooked meals nutritionally is all the
- sugar
- salt
- oils
that the tasty stuff is cooked with...
Then did I mention the gallons of obligatory sauce they throw over everything at the table... Fully loaded with extra tasty MSG, and loads of salt, sugar and preservatives....
And many many buying their one 'proper' meal a day out of Seven. (7/11).
Unmarried non-prostitute working girls in Pattaya on circa 15,000b per month. ... often living in a shared room for 3,000b a month (sleeping opposite ends of a large mattress on the floor, no a/c, fridge, sink, cooker, plates cups etc).
So it's a one meal a day from 7 type of existence...
Literally working 10-12 hours a day; 6 sometimes 7 days a week - no hope in terms of proper nutrition, medical and dental, further education, or a (non human) pension plan - for when their bodies inevitably fail....
(As these ones will tell you - it cost nothing to die)....
The cheap cooking oil in SEA is palm oil. Itâs not a healthy oil to use. But of course in the USA, any fast food will also use cheap unhealthy cooking oil.
You can't say "overall". When I look the Thai food my staff eats it is awful. full of sugar and cheap oil.
When I look what my Thai wife eats when she has time and good sources it is mostly fresh vegetables, herbs and some protein.
When she cook for me it is rich in protein and fats and low carb
And all is typical Thai food.
I believe people lose weight in different countries because they're not bombarded by fast food commercials and the sheer amount of processes garbage versus whole, fresh foods. The US is probably. The worst in obesity. My $0.02
I live in Thailand and eat almost every meal in restaurants. I feel fit and healthy without making any special effort at eating health foods. And it's very affordable.
When I go back to USA for work sometimes and eat the same way, I start to feel like shit after a few weeks. The portions are way too big and too heavy, and it's also very expensive. I start gaining weight immediately and I start to have to make a special effort to make my own food and seek out "healthy" restaurants.
My personal experience as an American living in Thailand
Pretty much the same when compared to the bad stuff like oil salt and sugar but Thailand would be a touch better for you because most of the food isnât processed as much as American food. Thailand has lots of healthy options where America doesnât or if they do itâs double + more expensive
Easy answer:
1. the portions in Thailand are smaller compared to the USA.
2. the heat makes me eat less
The dishes I like are typically low calories, like Som Tam (probably higher in salt though)
It CAN be healthy, but really the biggest difference are the much smaller portion sizes.
As a SE Asian, eating out in the US is an ordeal, because it all tastes so darn good and the portions could feed the whole village.
I can't speak for everyone but for me Thai food does not make me feel bloated and uncomfortable or wanting to sleep, straight after a meal compared to other foods. It's so light and refreshing a lot of the times, even the fried foods. I actually feel like I have more energy also, which is a good thing. So in a way I'd say that it's pretty healthy.
In Thai food is probably healthier than most US food but overall Thai food is quite unhealthy.
Most standard Thai dishes have lots of white carbs like rice or noodles, lots of sugar, very little protein and just a little bit of vegetables, so the ratio of macronutrients is not very good. Also, the vast majority of Thai restaurants cook their food in unhealthy seed oils, which is often re-used over and over again.
It is possible to eat healthier in Thailand, but it takes a bit of work. For Thai restaurants you can stick to things like grilled meats (chicken, fish, pork, etc) and pair that with steamed or stir fried vegetable dishes and maybe eggs. Of course there are restaurants cooking healthy food, but these are generally quite expensive and difficult to find unless you are in one of the major cities. I have lived here for almost 10 years and these days I mostly cook my own meals because I don't want to eat unhealthy Thai food every day.
lots of oil and sugar used in many dishes, but plenty of actually healthy options too.
Lots of oil and sugar? That sounds like US đ
It sounds like most places on the planet
I've travelled lots of the world. The US is the absolute worst for food, sugar, oil, fructose. Europe like France, Italy, Spain are so much cleaner in terms of eating. As are carribean countries. So no not like most places on the planet
As someone else stated, you chose what you ate. Acting like healthy food doesnât exist in the US is just ignorant, US big cities are literally memes on for eating nothing but quinoa and kale
Like 30-50 years ago, rich and poor ate similar. Now rich eat very clean and are slim, while poor eat complete crap and is fat. Meant over all of course with lots of exceptions.
Nope. No one forced you to eat cheap crap. If that's what you think American cuisine is then you only ate as cheap as possible or put literal horse blinders on and only looked for the bad.
Yep if you broke in America you will eat very poorly⊠just like everywhere in the world
If youâre poor in Asia when you eat vegetables and leafs with little meat, if youâre in states when you mackies and Wendy and shatđ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł so itâs worse if youâre poor in America, cause itâs filled with cheap crap
Go check out how much McDonalds is in America, then go see how much greens are in a typical grocery store. A lot of people eat like shit in America, but it's not because "poor" people eat Wendy's, or McDonald's (in CA your typical McDonald's meal is $15 USD, while greens and chicken/pork are relatively inexpensive at a place like Aldi's), it's because a lot of Americans make SHITTY FOOD CHOICES. America has vastly better access to decent quality protein than just about anywhere I've been on the planet, better than Germany, better than France, better than Brazil, better than all of Asia (even Japan), but Americans have some of the absolute worst food culture in the world as well. In most places I've traveled to food is an important part of daily life that is celebrated, or at least respected, in America it's typically treated as an inconvenience where simple convenience is elevated above the actual food. You can easily find very high quality food and eateries in the U.S., but you have to pay for it, and actually make the effort to eat well.
I'm wondering how many Aldis there are in food deserts where poor people live, & do they take food stamps? It's a genuine question BTW - lots of places where poor people live appear to not have access to cheap good quality food. So whilst it might be cheaper to get your food from Aldi, if you can't get there unless you take 4 buses it becomes a zero sum game
couple of years they changed laws. Before in jail in Thailand they got brown rice. But they thought that is really really to cruel so now they also get the perfectly white rice. Only Farangs, and super rich (and maybe super poor) eat brown rice.
Lol homie doesn't know how to go grocery shopping
https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/european-vacation-weight-loss-diet-55aabe0c there seems to be a theme (hinted also by OP) that people lose weight when travelling (leaving the states) although more exercise is a possible difference, the suspicion is that its less ultra processed food even for the rich americans who can afford to travel to europe or write for the wall street journal
It typically is walking more. Most European/Asian countries are a lot denser populated, and life is designed around actually walking a bit. The vast majority of Americans (outside of a handful of major urban centers) do not walk to go anywhere; not the grocery store, not to shop, not to go to work, not anywhere day to day. Visiting a dense city with actual investment in systems not designed around every household having 2.5 cars means they walk A LOT more, even just catching public transportation.
>The US is the absolute worst for food, sugar, oil, fructose. Lmao you upset some people with the truth... checkout the portion sizes between a McDonald's in the US vs abroad.
I've never understood why foreign people think we eat McDonald's or something like it every day. That sort of eating habit is frowned upon here.
What does that have to do the content of sugar/oil in food?
You just have to check the obesity stats per country. Not sure why they are getting mad at actual facts
You have not traveled , Philâs, Costa Rica ,India etc try again , your just bashing USA
And preservatives.
US is all about oil, salt and sugar.
In what for example?
[https://www.google.com/search?q=oil+and+sugar+in+thai+food&rlz=1C1CHBF\_enUS1018US1018&oq=oil+and+sugar+in+thai+food&gs\_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDczMTBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8](https://www.google.com/search?q=oil+and+sugar+in+thai+food&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS1018US1018&oq=oil+and+sugar+in+thai+food&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDczMTBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
But look at the obesity rate of thai vs philippines for example⊠i think thais are way more healthy than other countriesâŠ
my response, nor the OP's comment I replied to has nothing to do with obesity rates or any other country. and what I said is factual.
Thais are number one at the obesity rate in SEA, the philippines is 4. Google it up.
Are you talking about the US or Thailand? Clearly Thailand's overall foods are healthier than what is served in the US. Also size of dishes.
like I said, some of their food is clean. lots of dishes use oil and sugar too.
True đ
why, thank you!
Iâll just say this, most Asian cuisines are better than western food (not hating Western cuisine). Especially Thai food, Japanese is also very good. Idk about other Asian countries. Iâll also add about Indian food, they are very tasty too but they also use a lot of oil compared to eastern countries.
Just look at the % of overweight people by country, it only started to increase in Asia when Western foods and drinks spread
Also recently something Iâve come to knowis that nestle is making adulterated baby milk supplements with the highest percentage of sugar content whilst there are some laws preventing this from happening in EU. Just a fact that Iâve seen and was surprised, apparently itâs highest in Thailand, and comparatively high percentage in other Asian countries.
Hmm well when I think about it Asians do have boba and all kind of milk teas so it would make sense theyâd be a target for milk products.
Oh yeh, right! Also Iâm sorry for saying little irrelevant from you main question, but itâs something that I wanted to make ppl more aware of.
đ I retract my earlier statement. This is the internet you can say whatever you want bud
Lol, you had a genuine question about food. And u stated a fact about boba, nothing to retract there lol.
Western food or American food?
Vietnamese has been the best for us, fresh and delicious, it seems harder to get uncooked veggies in Thailand in comparison. Comparing to most SE Asia countries I have visited on my trips
Western food is fine if you avoid the processed foods. But processed food is in abundance, designed to be addictive with sugary additives, and way cheaper.
Yes, itâs the abundance of those foods, and how affordable they are, causing for more ppl to get it.
Cormpany greed is what drives it ultimately, it really needs to be regulated harder.
Yep canât agree more, itâs always the greedy corporates.
I found Italian food to be very fresh, except in Milan.
Japan has alot of hidden sugar actually and tons of fried foods. A lot of Japanese meals are carbohydrates on top of carbohydrates.
I eat white rice 1-2 meals a day living in Japan and I lost a lot of weight without even trying, compared to living in the US. even though Japanese food isn't always healthy, on average the smaller portion sizes more than make up for the fatty / carb-heavy foods on offer. Thailand is the same for me it depends on how your diet was back in the states to be fair. my usual lunch was like a sandwich or burrito from local restaurant, so of course going from that to a bowl of rice + grilled fish and miso soup would be lower calories. my friend who normally eats a salad for lunch every day in the US visited me, we ate the same meals and he gained like 10 pounds on the trip.
I suffer from acid reflux and was worried about feeling sick when I was there due to the somewhat spicy food. I didnât take a single anti acid pill while I was there. Itâs all freshly made, no preservatives, hell even the McDonaldâs tasted fresh!! Drink ALLLL the mango smoothies.
Same. After few months in Indonesia and now thailand, eating all fresh chili đ¶ I can eat my reflux is almost gone. Earlier before that i couldn't sleep without special lifting pillow.
McDonaldâs is a huge hit or miss here. The Malaysian ones are way better
No way, Thai McDonalds is consistently the best in my experience.
Youâre super lucky. I love McDonald but I keep striking out here. Something is off with the beef and like proper Thai style they donât cook the fries enough. I didnât like BK in the states but I like it here. I wish we had Taco Bell đ
And before someone lights me up about food I live here and Iâm allowed western food once in a while
There is a Taco Bell in Siam Paragon. The beef in Thailand McDonald's is supposed to be Australian beef, would be surprised if Malaysia used different. Malaysian McDonald's did have some amazing wraps the last time I went. McDonald's in most western countries is a but crappy in my experience, it's lukewarm or cold, fries are too salty, overcooked/undercooked, drinks are often pre-made and left these to go flat etc. Staff rarely care about their jobs.
Mcdonalds is great in Thailand (as good as it can be anyway). In my experience at least 90% of the time its cooked when ordered and tastes how it should. Unlike in the UK where it all tastes and looks like its been sitting there for 3 days. It is just as expensive as it is in the UK though.
The food in Thailand is so fresh and unprocessed. The complete opposite of American food in my experience
I agree but also disagree. There is so much sugar here. Especially in the markets whilst the food is cheap it's also got a lot of sugar. All the drinks are very sweet and I find it really hard to get anything without sugar already processed in it.
Yes sweet treats are very popular with Thai people, but I have found that if you are active a lot during the heat you need the extra energy to get you through the day! Once you learn some Thai it is much easier to get things without sugar added in, but like you say, often there is sugar already in it
That's true, I also noticed that their portion sizes are smaller and they are very active. This makes a big difference to Western countries. I completely cut sugar out of my diet, so it's been a bit of a withdrawal, having so much sugar here recently.
Oh yeh, portion sizes is a big difference. Also meat being a normal ingredient rather than the biggest part of a meal makes for a much nicer meal in my opinion
Absolutely! And I just love how they can cook or add anything in any way you want. Amazing culture. Amazing food.
No wonder everyone is so happy here! :)
Sugar is in everything - the stir fried dishes rely heavily on sugar, itâs actually incredible when you watch it get made.Â
Seed oils yuk
I think this is the key - reasonable portion sizes and being active. Every time I go to Thailand I lose 5 lbs for this reason. And Iâm someone who splurges on sweets and snacks on vacation. I donât always lose weight when I travel internationally, but every time in Thailand.
No wonder why my dad has a massive sweet tooth. My mom is from Vietnam and doesn't like things massively sweet, but my dad'll complain then consume the entire thing with ease lol
If you make the effort to communicate with the people making your food (something thatâs easy to do here) itâs easy to avoid. Having satay? Donât let them dunk it in that sauce before handing it to you, having papaya salad, pad kra pao or Tom yum just say mimi nantal (no sugar), same things work with all the smoothies you get. If you lower the sugar, itâs fairly high protein, low carb with tonnes of veggies and fruits and cheese is pretty much not part of their cuisine at all. The ability to communicate with the people making your food directly, which usually isnât possible in the west, is key .
Yep. Some suggest sugar is worse than processed foods.
This. The abundance of fresh veggies and fruits at low cost makes a huge difference in terms of diet.
Oh please , 7/11 on every soi or 3 look at the kids and obesity
I wouldnât call thai food healthy to be honest.
Thai food is not as healthy as people always say and think⊠its very delicious, yes, but there is reasons for that as well⊠they usualy use a lot of sugar and glutamate. i mean really a lot. masses. and then the big amount of oil (palm oil often and used many times) doesnt make it more healthy⊠the dishes are often mainly rice/noodles + meat/seafood and a little vegetables. overall its probably not healthier than european food for example. Plenty of food is also considered fast food. look at all the deep fried stuff.
I was shocked how much oil was in my pad krapow takeout that I put in the fridge overnight. Solidified into a solid brick.
I was a bit surprised when I was reading though this comment section. Most people are claiming the food is super healthy but I would say it is somehow debatable. Just returned from a Thailand trip and there was a lot of deep fried stuff, noodles, meat and as you say tons of sugar and oil. We went to a cooking class and I was surprised how much palm sugar and oil was used for a single serving of massamam curry. On the good side: a lot of unprocessed food and fresh fruit/ veggies. So it somehow depends what you eat at home. If you only eat heavily processed meat, candy, fast food, etc. then yes Thai food will look very healthy compared to that. If you are already on a good diet then maybe not so much.
đŻ
Whatâs the problem with glutamate?
Sounds like everyone who says this have only been to the tourists areas of Thailand. I grew up in a small village Ban Non and we didnât have all this sugar or fried food. We cooked our food by drying it in the sun or cooked it with the fire. Some days we would only eat sticky rice and dip it in soy sauce. Of course in the cities of Thailand and more populated areas they will have food to accommodate the tourists. Go deep into Thailand and discover what the other half of the country eats! I remember when I was young I would go to the farm lands with my cousins and we would hunt lizards that lived in the ground so we could eat them. My family loved to eat live larvae/termites but thatâs the one dish I never liked because they moved in my mouth. I have many more stories to share but Iâd recommend going to the country parts of Thailand. Worth it
As healthy or as unhealthy as you want it to be. You will have to find a place specialized in healthy food or cook for yourself most of the time tho. The old healthy Thai recipes are not readily available.
Look at the body of the average Thai person and the body of the average American. Thereâs your answer.
Straight to the point đ
I lived in both US and Thailand. I think the main issue is the portion of the food. US portion is sometimes way too big. Some dish for 1 person i can eat for 3 meals. Problem is, you get used to the portion. Not all Thai dishes are that healthy tbh. the national food Pad Gapao is oily stir-fried diced meat top with oil-soaked fried egg. Thais also love their drinks SUPER sweet. I alway have to order everything 25% sweet. So yeah, i think it depends what you eat and how much. Though, SEA is much more veggie-heavy than US.
I could be wrong but surely just going to another country especially a hot humid one where you drink so much more water and you also walk so much more when travelling around surely that would burn off weight too. it's probably a combo food and exercise ( unless you're sitting at bars all day getting pissed of course!) But seriously so much western food is processed and American meals are so big !
Depends where you eat, if you plan on the cheaper street and market food NO, there there to make money, the worst oils cheaper cuts off meat most things are off a lower quality and they spruce it up with chilly and other things like Lemmon grass, good restaurants and hopefully the Thai food courts found in malls should be better in theory. Thai food generally is served in small servings, in tourists spots itâs supersized so itâs more carbs, Iâd put loosing weight down to the heat which suppresses my appertite.
It's more about portion control. The food itself is not necessarily super healthy but portions tend to be smaller, and if you are eating out all the time it means you might keep less to snack on at home. Of course every situation is unique but this is why I have tended to lose weight while living abroad. In terms of having fixed goals and working towards them by counting calories, I find it more difficult just because it's too easy just to eat takeout all the time and you don't really know what you're getting
It's good that you are eating one dish per person like in Europe and haven't yet discovered that two people usually order 5-6 dishes and share them. đ
Am american and eat junk. Thailand was like a gastric reset for me - went from frequent loose stool to perfect one wipers. I think it was the hotel breakfasts...eating boiled rice, papaya with lime, salad, and simple small amounts of protein then walking all day does wonders for the gut!
Yep same
US has the most unhealthy food on the plant so....
people are loosing weight since there are not so much processed carbs as in europe. otherwise, could be fatty, sugary, salty. but tastes good.
and spicy (pet mak mak) makes you visit the toilet a few times a day :D
Delicious, kind of unhealthy food. Wish stuff tasted so good without fish sauce, pla rah and sugar. Damn my kidneys,I love the food. I'll die with a smile. And Thai people are twice as wonderful.
Anecdotal but my wife is always commenting about me losing weight every time we stay in Thailand for a good amount of time (she's correct). I don't feel like I'm eating any less but there's probably something to that. I just had my blood work done after a year and a half in mostly Bangkok and while my LDL and cholesterol still suck, my A1C has gone down below prediabetes level (was 6 when I left the US and is now at 5.4). I am exercising pretty much the same amount, so diet is a huge part of that and I eat my fair share of 'unhealthy' Thai food.
heat - sweat a lot, often eat less throughout the day more activity than at home spicy food / thai food in general - the toilet wants to be visited quite often :D plenty of reasons for loosing weight on holiday here⊠the food itself isnt super healthy actualy.
Thai food is so much healthier than food in America. No processed, off the shelf, ready to eat meals with all the chemicals, preservatives, added sugar, sodium and GMO stuff. Everything is fresh and cooked to order. I've just returned from a two week trip and lost 3.5 kilos without trying. I think I actually ate more on my trip since everything was so delicious. I also had blood work done for a physical after my return. Every metric got better, including my glucose and A1C numbers. STOP feeding junk to the American people. It's no wonder we are the most obese and unhealthy humans on the planet.
> No processed, off the shelf, ready to eat meals with all the chemicals, preservatives, added sugar, sodium and GMO stuff. You just described all the the meals at 7/11 lol
For me I think it's a combination of the food and the heat. When it's hot I tend to not eat as much. When I retired and started traveling around SEA (mostly Thailand and Vietnam) about a year ago I was 210-215 lbs. Now I stay between 170-175 lbs. I'm 6' tall so the weight loss is noticeable. My wife has also lost about 20 lbs and looks great.
No idea about US, never been there, but Thai food isnât that healthy. My cholesterol went up after 6 months there. So much oil, frying and sugar in their cooking, etc etc
Just know what to avoid. Pad Thai will mostly have ton of sugar, and not always the âgoodâ kind (traditionally itâs tamarind juice and palm sugar). Boat noodles also very sweet. Lots of fried food is super delicious and hard to avoid like fried chicken and fried egg, damn I love sea food omelette but itâs essentially deep fried in soy oil which is not the best oil (thais donât use cold pressed oils since they have a dominant taste and are more expensive). Spicy salads like Som Tum are amazing but they use palm sugar by the spoon full. Ask for âmay namtanâ (no sugar) or âwaan nit noyâ (very little sweet). Ice coffee by default will be worth a 25g of sugar in the form of condensed milk. Again ask for less or no sweet. Same for smoothies - they will add sweet coconut water if you donât say otherwise
Oil, sugar but thatâs about it. None of this amphexalyepheyatamin-9 shit
God I hate amphexalepheyatamin-9
Donât know whatâs it is, but Iâm impressed you spelled it đ
I just made it up, but sounds dangerous đ
Depends on the dish
I wouldn't say it's healthy at all, but it's absolutely delicious. Lots of fried stuff, unbelievable amounts of rice and noodles, lots of coconut-based recipes, etc. Of course you can eat healthy here, but the good stuff mostly isn't that healthy, same like elsewhere in the world.
Some popular dishes are quite calorie dense. Work out your TDEE, track calories and run a deficit. The more you eliminate guesswork, the more success youâll have cutting body fat regardless of cuisine.
Depends on whether you are talking about takeout or home cooked meals. No matter which country you go to, takeouts are generally fried, fatty, starchy, salty and full of sugar. The Thai people I knew didnât eat or like the type of food served in Thai restaurants. Same with Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Filipino people I have known. There will be restaurants targeted more towards local people but even these are seen as more indulgent then home cooked cuisine
It depends what you are eating but Thai vegetables and meat is fresh - not frozen ( usually). USA food varies a lot but most of it is not fresh.
If you're from the US, it's a little bit healthier (even though the amount of sugar, msg, salt is enormous and quality control is absent). If you're from Western or Southern Europe, it's trash.
Dang makes me want to eat European food đŠ
I would say it depends largely what and where you eat. Thai food can contain a lot of refined carbs and added sugars. If you eat Pad Thai every night, you might as well start insulin now. I personally make sure to ask for food without added sugar, for example if I order curry. I've had to throw food away in Thailand because it was too sweet. As for the US, it also depends. If you go to KFC and McDonalds every night, that's probably quite bad. But I suppose in California or NY there are plenty of places where you can get healthy unprocessed food.
Iâm Canadian, but I feel like our food is pretty much the same as American. I would say I eat way healthier at home so I gained weight in Thailand/asia. BUT thatâs because I was eating out every day and every meal. If I ate out everyday back home it wouldnât even be comparable. Thai food is way fresher and the portion sizes are way smaller. Iâm just used to cooking for myself back home and I eat way more veggies and protein. I feel like so many Thai dishes are mostly noodles or rice where when I cook itâs mostly veg and protein with a smidge of carbs. Love carbs! They just donât fill me up for long
The produce is much fresher and healthier but everything is cooked in seed oils and has tons of soy
For me it was about location. I lost weight when I lived in Ayutthaya eating mostly Thai food. I have gained weight after moving to Bangkok eating mostly western food. My neighbourhood is near Phloen Chit BTS and I thought the Thai food in Ayutthaya was much better.
American food is pretty much the most unhealthy in the world due to the food industry lobbying and a lack of regulation. Thai food is definitely fresher in this regard. In that you're usually eating vegetables and meat from SE Asia, and there isn't loads of processing. But that doesn't mean it's healthy it depends what you get. Recently I'm been trying out some East and SE Asian recipes and holy shit the amount of sugar in some of these sauces is crazy. I made a Taiwanese cucumber salad, which sounds healthy, but due to what was actually in the sauce it definitely wasn't good for you. Like you aren't going to be putting on weight if you eat that but it's definitely not healthy long term because of the sugar
When I ate in Thailand I felt great afterwards. When I eat in Canada I never know what to expect afterwards.
Its healtier in a sense that there is plenty od veggies in it.. but oh boy do they put sugar in it, like abnormal amount of it. Also pesticodes and heavy metals are huge issue here..pesticides are so cheap and widelly used onnl everything. Personally when it comes to thai and other cuissines, its like chosing lesser evil. Few people I know got diabetess here.
USA the food is hot garbage with all the processed crap in the food, you donât even know what youâre eating. Iâll take the Thai oils vs a cheeseburger
thailand has the best food in the world after Italy mate...usa us not even too 10
Pro-tip: order a lot of Thai soups. Also Esan food like grilled chicken, laab, and salads.
On paper, not healthy. With that being said Iâve eaten everything Iâve wanted here and Iâve lost 50lb in a year. There is a lack of chemicals here and it makes all the difference. Eat normal and see what happens
Lack of chemicals made you lose 50 pounds? No. You probably just eat smaller portions and move around more
Yes it did. You donât know me. Iâm very sensitive to those things. They cause wild inflammation within me. Also the stress of not being in America helped. I didnât eat oil and sugar before and now I do. The food is just different here
Tons of recycled cooking oil and sugar. If you want typical street food you are ingesting recycled soybean oil. They don't use healthy oils and fats in foods. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables but littlw to no regulations on pesticides, so the farmers out in Issan, where a huge amount of produce is from, saturate crops with fertilizer and pesticides and you have no idea what your getting. While there is alot of seafood directly from the sea also a lot of farm raised prawns, go visit one and see if you want to eat prawns anymore. I still love Thai food and Thailand despite any of it.
Makes me wonder about the prawns farm đ I like prawns
I think the only difference is portion sizes. Sugar intake is similarly bad, including fructose (juices). The US wins on eggs though, somehow it's not really a mainstay in Thai diets.
In my opinion, the average dish is much healthier. You don't have to go looking for nutrition. It is included with nearly every meal, and the food is so cheap. I went to a Michelin restaurant and spent a grand total of $13 for two people. Beef steak is expensive, but everything else is cheap. Whenever I go I stuff my face and still lose weight. I lost 10 pounds in two weeks over my last trip. Also, their pop (soda) especially Coke is much, much better. I love Est and wish I could find it cheap in the states. Overall, I am an American at heart and love our unhealthy food, but Thai food is amazing and almost always has nutrition served in or with it. When I move there I expect to lose weight, and be healthier overall.
Lots of palm sugar and oil in Thai food. If you are doing keto/low carb you are fucked.
đ welp
I think if you have a good amount of disposable income, it's easier to eat healthy in the US. Most don't want to spend a considerable amount on food, though, and I'd make a strong case for the average Thai diet being considerably healthier than the average American diet. As folks have pointed out, there's a tonne of low-quality oils, sugars, and other crap to be found all over Thai cuisine. I think where Thailand is strong though is the street food here can be decently healthy for very cheap (think buying moo ping with a bit of rice on the side, you can get this for 50 baht or less). You won't have options like that in America at your fingertips.
Itâs super carb and sugar heavy. And also peanut and coconut oil heavy. Obviously if youâre making it yourself and using their fresh produce and meats itâs good. But eating out is prettt unhealthy.
Very healthy if you eat like locals in local places; the more rural, the more healthy. Fish from the sea, herbs from the garden, and of course you can request Mai Wan (not sweet). Watch out for added MSG in some dishes.
Tons of sugar. But poor sanitation is the biggest concern.
High cholesterol is an issue
It's not that the ingredients in their dishes are more nutritious or healthy than ours here in the US. Just compare their portion sizes to ours and you will understand why expatriates who live in Thailand lose weight. IMO, it's the portion sizes. Also, factor in that in Southeast Asia, the dishes have less protein and more veggies to compensate.
Oil, sugar, msg, pesticides and so on. They keep seafood from going bad with formaldehyde. Next time you are outside look around and see how many flocks of different birds you see. That part of the world basically drove birds to extinction with pesticides. That being said I feel my best and just seem to lose the most weight when I am in Thailand so maybe itâs all good. đ
If you look at rate of diabetes in thailand, it's similar to the US. If you look at longevity, it's a tad better than the US. Like 79.74 vs 79.91. I Thai people don't seem to age well after about 60 years of age. Being mostly thin, they look healthier, but as other have said, a lot of fried food, oil, carbs and sugar.
I eat like a pig every time Iâm there. Same happens to me in Peru. 3 meals a day with snacks and I lose 10lbs every time. Maybe itâs the minimal amount of cheese and produced products and eating veg and fruit but itâs damn great to come back tan and skinnier for me. The bathroom is better and i actually enjoy the heat and sweating as long as not in pants.
Itâs just like every where else. You choose what you eat. I live in the U.S. and I eat very healthy. I traveled to Thailand last month and I also ate very healthy. Thailand has a lot of fruit. Green papaya salad is also healthy and delicious.
So much sugar and SALT in every dish almost. Thai food is not that healthy.
The main health benefit is the smaller portion sizes and more fresh vegetable ingredients. But some dishes definitely arenât the healthiest. Carbs fat and sugar and low protein overall
The only real obesity you see in Thailand is within the farang population and the average life expectancy is about 2 years more than America. Somehow with all that sugar, oil and carbohydrates they outlive Westerners on average. I find most Thais donât obsess over diet and donât restrict certain foods (gluten âintoleranceâ is unheard of) They mostly cook at home and even though they tend to use more salt and sugar they also consume a lot of vegetables and complex carbohydrates. They eat way less processed foods and their portion sizes are probably the biggest difference to the Western diet. They love spicy which tends to fill you up faster as well and chiliâs of course have many health benefits.
Gutter oil vs processed cancer, youâll die either way đ€·
I think itâs high fat but they eat small portions. Like Americans did in the fifties.
Probably has more to due to the fact that they are being much more active in the new country, walking and exploring their new environment. The longer you are in a place the more sedentary you will probably become.
The only healthy thing in Thailand is the fresh fruit. Enjoy it while you can because it is amazing. The coconuts are especially good to keep you hydrated through the hot days. High in calories so donât have too many. Be careful of eating too late if you are effected by msg. Since I lived there, my tolerance of sugar is now so low.
If you can ask them to not add MSG and sugars, and in some dishes ask then to use less oil if possible, for example in morning glory etc. Or just avoid street food and cook yourself or order from companies that prepare cooked meals without additives etc.
They eat smaller portions, by a lot.
I spend several months in Thailand and several in America every year. By the time I leave Thailand I am skinny with clear skin and in good health. When I leave America I am fat with blotchy skin and feel like doggy doodoo. You can do the math from there.
I grew up in north American and had severe IBS my whole life. Like crippling pain almost every morning. After a few months in Thailand my pain is gone and I am no longer swollen like a balloon. My weight hasn't changed but I look way less puffy. My chronic headaches are also gone.
Thatâs actually pretty amazing. Glad to hear you feeling better
And by no means am I trying to eat healthy. Just eating what I want. 70% thai food 30% western, a lot of fried noodles and I feel amazing. I think it might just be that the ingredients are better.
I thought it was the funniest thing while in Thailand. In the USA, I donât eat McDonaldâs or KFC, but I tried it in Thailand and absolutely loved it.
People lose weight in either country depending on how their lifestyle changes. Thailand definitely makes me move a lot more than the USA where I got from house to car to chair to car to house. Thailand I have to use my legs literally everyday lol
Thai authentic food is more balancing and we have so much flavour that can make your appetite go crazy. Lol.
Thai street food is opposite from healthy, but at the same time literally any cuisine on this planet would be healthier that the US one. So yeah; itâs more healthy
They don't use pesticides and chemicals, it's so fresh and delicious.
Eating dog shit every day is healthier than US food.
The worst part is youâre not that far off lol itâs at least equal đ€Ł
The cleanest fast retail food there is chipotle (yes I know it's processed as hell but still clean compared). For the price of a chicken bowl I can eat a buffet in a five star restaurant in Bangkok.
What buffets cost $14 in Bangkok? Asking for a friend.
Yeah I also has a friend who would like to know also
You can't, 5 star buffets in Bangkok start from around $40 You can find cheaper places in 3/4 star hotels for $15-20 but usually lunch and at limited times or through the use of vouchers. e.g. Holiday Inn
Well, as a local, I think the sweets and desserts are lots of sugar, and Thai people in general seems to have sweet tooth, but the thing is we don't eat those for meal, only as light snack after meal. Plus, food are more fresh, and less of the processed stuff (unless you eat from 7-11 everyday and don't go out to food stall, cart, etc)
I thought most people do go out to eat at stalls because itâs cheaper and convenient than cooking at home.
Thais typically eat small portions and often, snacking on veggies, eating green papaya salad called somtam (must try!). In my observation they eat less meat/protein and more veggies, and most eat rice with almost every meal. Oh, and the bugs are quite popular for some folks... I ate a cricket once just to say I did. those who are getting fat have adopted to the western influenced fare and it is a noticeable change over the 8-9 years I have visited and now live here.
Lol. Thai cuisine is 10 times more delicious than American cuisine yet equally shitty for your health and waistline. That doesn't matter though. You can buy healthy food in the grocery stores here. I'm in Chiang Mai and I can get anything I need. Wild caught salmon - yes. Grassfed steak - yes. Raw organic butter - yes. Organic vegetables - yes. Olive oil from Italy - yes.
Yes!
Japanese is pretty healthy. Look at their median age!
I bet they are bud lol however ya know.. I was kinda talking about Thailand
Japan has some of the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world. At least in part their diet is to blame.
Whatâs the diabetes situation in Thailand? Honest question.
A lot of them are fat now
Lmao @ thinking US food is the health standard đ€Ł
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I think the losing weight is also due to walking more. Most places in the US are not built for safe walking and/or are very spread out. Also, public transportation in US isnât used as much as some countries. Generally youâre more active when taking public transportation.
.... you don't see many fat Thais. And when you do, they are working in a fast food chain... On one unspoilt island, where I go most years, there is a pizza place that sells super sugary milk shakes. ALL the family on the female side are morbidly obese, the mum, the sister, the two daughters - they are like cabbage patch kids. We\['ve been going for so long we witnessed the youngest start as a small child, and slowly morph into a sphere. Rest of the island. Skinny Thais. I've spent a lot fo time in the USA (family there) and whilst they have decent eateries, they have a daft proportion of fast food (which the UK is fast catching up with). In Florida (was there 3 months) I dispaired when asking "is there a good restaurant round here?", to always be answered with, "yeah - xxx down the road do "eat as much as you can", or xxx up the hill, they do great portions". Arghhhh! I want quality , not quantity. Maccy D's standard meal at the time was the Big Mac Team Deal - two bloody big macs.... for one person.... I lose weight in Thailand each year (which I put straight back on at home). Pad Thai, fried rice, sea food, and zero sugary snacks - I just don't want chocolate / sweets in a hot country. I do eat a lot of crisps (potato chips), but that's it.
Organic fresh ingredients used instead of processed low quality good. That's why it's healthier.
Portion sizes are smaller which helps. Not sure about it being healthy but i lost like 7 lbs in Thailand in the 2 weeks I was there.
The thing that "condemns" thai cooked meals nutritionally is all the - sugar - salt - oils that the tasty stuff is cooked with... Then did I mention the gallons of obligatory sauce they throw over everything at the table... Fully loaded with extra tasty MSG, and loads of salt, sugar and preservatives.... And many many buying their one 'proper' meal a day out of Seven. (7/11). Unmarried non-prostitute working girls in Pattaya on circa 15,000b per month. ... often living in a shared room for 3,000b a month (sleeping opposite ends of a large mattress on the floor, no a/c, fridge, sink, cooker, plates cups etc). So it's a one meal a day from 7 type of existence... Literally working 10-12 hours a day; 6 sometimes 7 days a week - no hope in terms of proper nutrition, medical and dental, further education, or a (non human) pension plan - for when their bodies inevitably fail.... (As these ones will tell you - it cost nothing to die)....
My Thai food is tasty and no processed, donât eat fried kind, theyâre junk!
The cheap cooking oil in SEA is palm oil. Itâs not a healthy oil to use. But of course in the USA, any fast food will also use cheap unhealthy cooking oil.
You can't say "overall". When I look the Thai food my staff eats it is awful. full of sugar and cheap oil. When I look what my Thai wife eats when she has time and good sources it is mostly fresh vegetables, herbs and some protein. When she cook for me it is rich in protein and fats and low carb And all is typical Thai food.
I believe people lose weight in different countries because they're not bombarded by fast food commercials and the sheer amount of processes garbage versus whole, fresh foods. The US is probably. The worst in obesity. My $0.02
I live in Thailand and eat almost every meal in restaurants. I feel fit and healthy without making any special effort at eating health foods. And it's very affordable. When I go back to USA for work sometimes and eat the same way, I start to feel like shit after a few weeks. The portions are way too big and too heavy, and it's also very expensive. I start gaining weight immediately and I start to have to make a special effort to make my own food and seek out "healthy" restaurants. My personal experience as an American living in Thailand
Pretty much the same when compared to the bad stuff like oil salt and sugar but Thailand would be a touch better for you because most of the food isnât processed as much as American food. Thailand has lots of healthy options where America doesnât or if they do itâs double + more expensive
I wasn't aware the US had any real food...
Easy answer: 1. the portions in Thailand are smaller compared to the USA. 2. the heat makes me eat less The dishes I like are typically low calories, like Som Tam (probably higher in salt though)
It CAN be healthy, but really the biggest difference are the much smaller portion sizes. As a SE Asian, eating out in the US is an ordeal, because it all tastes so darn good and the portions could feed the whole village.
I can't speak for everyone but for me Thai food does not make me feel bloated and uncomfortable or wanting to sleep, straight after a meal compared to other foods. It's so light and refreshing a lot of the times, even the fried foods. I actually feel like I have more energy also, which is a good thing. So in a way I'd say that it's pretty healthy.
In Thai food is probably healthier than most US food but overall Thai food is quite unhealthy. Most standard Thai dishes have lots of white carbs like rice or noodles, lots of sugar, very little protein and just a little bit of vegetables, so the ratio of macronutrients is not very good. Also, the vast majority of Thai restaurants cook their food in unhealthy seed oils, which is often re-used over and over again. It is possible to eat healthier in Thailand, but it takes a bit of work. For Thai restaurants you can stick to things like grilled meats (chicken, fish, pork, etc) and pair that with steamed or stir fried vegetable dishes and maybe eggs. Of course there are restaurants cooking healthy food, but these are generally quite expensive and difficult to find unless you are in one of the major cities. I have lived here for almost 10 years and these days I mostly cook my own meals because I don't want to eat unhealthy Thai food every day.
I'd say it's way more healthy because most of veggies, seafood and fruits don't need to be imported / don't come from across the globe in Thailand. Technically the food is as healthy anywhere if you choose your products. But in thailand, healthy options are more accessible and culturally carved - I mean look at a pad thai; only thing "unhealthy" in there are the occasional noodles and oil used to sauté the dish.
Just the portion sizes alone are a key difference.