How to Eat Healthy Abroad
Eating healthy is difficult in general but while traveling it becomes much harder. We all have an inner sense of what is good and bad for us, we just chose to ignore that sense every now and then. In order to eat well while traveling you need to pay attention to that sense more than ever. Unfortunately, the spontaneous nature of backpacking and your unfamiliarity with foreign food consumption and practices often hinders your ability to listen to that inner voice. Below are some factors and tips to consider so that you can stay healthy during your travels:
Cook for yourself.
That way you know everything that’s going into your food and you choose it based on your own dietary needs. This gets harder when you are abroad, but its not impossible. A lot of hostels have kitchens so, if its that important to you, pick a hostel with a kitchen. Plus its cheaper and you get to pretend you’re a local when you grocery shop, which is fun.
If you read labels at home, forget about doing it abroad.
Serving sizes are different, labels are in varying units (like kilocalories and jules) and are often in languages you cannot understand. Skip the labels and focus on eating whole foods (not the big chain supermarket but unmodified foods like fruit, vegetables, grains and lean meats) After all, an apple in Cambodia is the same nutritionally as an apple at home (minus the pesticides at home).
Portions…
Some regional food may be greasy and full of calories and fat. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it. Just watch the portions you consume. To-go is a universal idea, so eat half and save (or share) half.
Beware of exotic junk food!
Remember that every country has their own junk food. Abroad junk is harder to spot. Usually what locals consider junk is cheap and widely available. Examples include pizza in Italy, croquettes in Spain and MSG loaded Chinese snacks. All these foods share a common quality: less energy paired with more fat, filler. You will come across a few American favorites such as McDonald’s and KFC. We suggest you run the other way (which burns calories so that’s a plus.)
Snack Healthy
All the exploring you do will wear you out and make you hungry. Hunger leads to poor nutritional choices. Stock up on snacks so you’re not tempted to buy some crap at the first place available. Best way to get full the healthy way is fiber (i.e. dried/fresh fruit, nuts) paired with water.
Beware of those foreign micro-germs!
Germs deserve an honorable mention. Being abroad means coming in contact with new germs (not necessarily the type that are dangerous). Microorganisms exist in everything around you. Your body is used to the germs at home but traveling exposes you to new ones. Eating anti-oxidants will help fight off foreign germs so you’re not sick during travel. Good antioxidants to look for: blueberries, whole grain anything, tomatoes and deep green veggies like broccoli and spinach.
Sampling foods from the places you visit is a great experience and we highly encourage you to do so. But keep in mind, people around the world eat differently from Americans. Lessen damages by using the above suggestions. You will want to try Italian pasta, so share a plate with a friend. Maybe you will feel like some Argentinian steak. Eat half for lunch and pair the other half with a hostel-made salad. The healthier you feel, the better you will be able to move from place to place and have fun.
Written By: Anna Starostinetskaya
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Just wanted to point out for those of you abroad that when food is measured in kcal in other countries it is actually equivalent to what we call a calorie in the U.S. Scientifically, they are different, but for the sake of reading a nutrition label they’re the same. 10 Calories in the U.S. is 10kcal in the UK.
Good advice! It’s easy to forget your health when so much is happening all around you in a new place.
Wonderful site. A whole lot of interesting information here. I’m posting it to some friends!
Glad you like Pennie!