Is Thai Food generally healthy?

[AD1985]

I used to be in the health field so I'm big on the whole health thing. I am planning to study in bangkok soon and noticed that very cheap apartments can be had for 3,000 baht or less, catch is they are small (which is no big deal, I'm used to that) and come with no kitchen.

 

The lack of kitchen issue may not be a problem because I've heard thai food is quite cheap.

 

But do the thai food places tend to serve healthy foods? Or are they bloating their foods with unhealthy extras like in the western world?

 

Thanks

[kamui]

Generally Thai food is said to be very healthy. A lot of veggies, fruits, rice, fish and chicken. Everything is mostly made from fresh ingredients. Also portions are much smaller than in the US.

 

But from what I have heard, many dishes especially at the food stalls and cheap restaurants contain MSG which might be unhealthy. Also I wonder about the general quality of the food you usually buy at street vendors and cheap restaurants. But the taste is mostly fantastic. You won't get any of the dishes for three times of the Thai price in Europe or the US.

 

Other people might know better, but in my opinion the Thai kitchen ranks among the best in the world, like for example Japanese or French food.

[Barry]

They don't have as much of a sweet tooth nor load each meal with empty carbs. Most of what they eat is made from fresh.

 

I always come back feeling significantly lighter having lived solely on local food.

[Stickman]

I contend that Thai food is not healthy.

 

Some dishes have vegetables but many do not and often they just nibble a little on the vegetables which are often there for garnish. Thais are using an increasing amount of oil in all dishes and they pile in the sugar and often MSG too.

 

There has also been a bit in the press recently about cheaper restaurants reusing and reusing oil.

 

And let's not forget that so much Thai food is fried.

 

Heaps of friend food, heaps of carbs, heaps of sugar. That food CAN be healthy but I think that the way it is eaten by many it may not be as healthy as we think.

[Bangkoktraveler]

There are all kinds of Thai food, and I would say most farangs do not eat the Thai food Thais eat. They eat a water down version. For example, Bangkok has a lot of people from Issan. There food is a little bit different then Central Thailand food.

Some of the food some farangs find repulsive is the food served with blood, raw meat, raw fish, bugs, and pilat (fermented fish). And there is the issue with spicies (hot peppers). Some farangs can eat them but rarely to the extent that Thais do.

There is also issues dealing with the type of meat. Farangs like chicken but might not like eating the vent (some call an asshole) of the chicken or munch on a chicken claw which has a tendency to show up in some soup bowls.

[cavanami]

Better to cook the Thai food yourself.

Buy a hot plate and a microwave.

 

I have the tee rak *** NOT *** use any MSG, greatly reduce or eliminate sugar, little fried food, use soy oil (not palm oil) and lots of veggies!

 

My cholesterol was at 147, so quite good!

 

I pile on the hot peppers and limit the rice.

 

Eating like his, I find the Thai food very healthy...YMMV.

[Ed Zeppelin]

If you are living in downtown Bangkok, you'll find there will be plenty of choices of other foods as well as Thai. This would probably help you find a balance. The supermarkets are also very good.

 

I'm veggetarian so it can be very difficult for me and I find I'm very restricted when it comes to Thai food alone. I agree with Stickman about the lack of vegeatables and too much oil.

 

On the other hand, I find the fruit is excellent here.

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

"catch is they are small (which is no big deal, I'm used to that) and come with no kitchen."

 

They also probably come without aircon!

 

Sanuk!

 

[Julian2]

I notice when the family cooks now they tend to use those dodgy looking stock cubes in soups.

Buddha only knows what's in them.

[Neo]

I'll go along with Stickman on this as a good recap.

 

But it is also relative...is Thai food healthier than a big mac & fries? Yes. Is it healthier than healthy meals from our native countries? No.

 

Habits also come into play. Thai food tends to be veggies with meat instead of the other way around. But I am often dismayed to see Thai's pick out the meat and leave generous amounts of veggies behind. So it depends what type dishes you order as well as what parts you actually consume. And don't forget the beverages. Does your dinner table now have a whiskey bottle or big Changs on it? So while you can get somewhat healthy foods if you focus in on it, there is a strong tendency to deviate in unhealthy directions.

 

One note on freshness. The quality farms that meet stronger international regulations sell their goods to the foreign market where they fetch a higher profit. In Thailand veggies, fruits, shrimp, what have you comes from the sub-standard farms ladened with chemicals because whatever results in the cheapest price is the only driving factor.