After traveling in India for some time it becomes apparent that life there (for 100s of millions of people) seems to revolve around three things: eating delicious food, worshiping God and doing these two activities with one’s extended family. Below is a list of tips I’ve learned to help you stay healthy while still enjoying the absolute delight of eating cuisine in India.
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Every town has its unique style and specialties for you to explore and indulge in. It’s definitely wise to take precautions and know what not to eat in India as this is the most likely cause of getting dysentery.
The safest way to eat in India is to never eat from vendors on the street and only visit classy restaurants that are busy and look “clean”. Often times 4 or 5 star hotels may be the best bet for buying mouth watering, tummy satisfying, safe food.
What’s the bottom line?
You will inevitably be exposed to some kind of “bugs” while you’re in India but you will only get sick if your body can’t handle them, which is usually due to overeating and weak immunity or digestion. Follow these tips below and you will minimize the chances of getting sick.
Probiotics boost the good bacteria in your stomach, improve digestion and increase natural immunity. They are a must before traveling to India, especially during your travels and afterwards when you get home. They’re also generally good for all round digestive health, even when you’re not planning a trip to India.
Charcoal tablets on the other hand are an incredibly effective way of stopping diarrhea and preventing dysentery (Delhi Belly). It quickly absorbs the toxins or pathogens that are causing the problem and keeps you strong. As always, be sure to get advice form your doctor about dosages etc.
Cooking kills most bacteria and amoeba’s. If you see a tempting freshly squeezed juice, salad or fruit platter (even at 5 star hotels) don’t eat it! I have many friends who succumbed to the temptation and ended up running for the bathroom a couple of hours later. So only eat freshly cooked food from a busy restaurant with high turnover.
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As easy as it is to gorge on delicious food, I advise that overeating is the #1 cause of any problem with digestion when visiting India. It is a rather simple point but the only times I’ve gotten sick in India were when I didn’t follow this rule.
For example, this one time I had a huge meal with chapati’s (flat bread) and all kinds of tasty treats followed by 7 Gulab Jamans (famous sweet condensed milk dumpling). Within about 6 to 8 hours (in the middle of the night) I was praying to the white god (toilet) until I had nothing left. Not very pleasant to say the least! 🙁
Keeping your digestive power strong also naturally boosts your immunity so that your body easily fends off unwanted germs. To help with my digestion, immunity and overall health I also take these amazing Organic Amla Berry tablets. They are an incredible source of Vitamin C (20x more than an orange) and a great source of antioxidants. Another great herb I use is called Bio-Immune.
India has the lowest meat consumption rates in the world (see graph below). The meat I’ve seen looks very unsafe, often hanging in the warm, open air with flies buzzing around. In fact, due to Hindu religious reasons, the state of Maharashtra has banned beef altogether. If you can, I recommend being a vegetarian while in India to reduce the chances of getting serious food poisoning.
Many times when walking on the street in India you will come across some amazing looking “street food”. As tempting as it can be, I highly recommend that you avoid eating street food in India at all costs. I actually have a friend who died from an E. Coli infection due to eating unsafe street food in India. This is an extreme case, but I always like to play it safe. Don’t risk getting some weird parasite, bacteria or amoeba from what may look and smell like “safe” food, wafting out of a saucepan at the side of the road, like you can see in this picture.
Obviously consulting your doctor is an important first step. If they think you have parasites then they’ll probably prescribe strong pharmaceuticals to kill the parasites. There are also natural remedies which I have successfully used such as: charcoal, garlic tablets, pumpkin seeds, neem, wormwood and this amazing Ayurvedic herbal supplement called “Flora Tone” which supports the colon’s natural ability to remove parasites.
Also, probiotics are again very useful in boosting the good bacteria in the stomach after having parasites or taking antibiotics.
Some people (me included) love using their hands to eat while in India. This can actually be more hygienic than using utensils because you know where your hands have been and whether or not they’re clean.
Plates and utensils at restaurants are often times not clean even though they may appear to be because they have been wiped with a dirty dish cloth. For this reason I recommend wiping your eating ware with a paper napkin before use. Also don’t wipe your plate clean at the end of the meal. Instead leave a thin layer of food between you and the plate.
Note: Hand wipes & hand sanitizer definitely helps kill the germs before eating with your hands in India!
Spicy food is good in moderation to keep your digestive fire high but too much is not good for the Western physiology. Spices actually act as a mild laxative, which is something you probably don’t want. The main culprit to watch out for is red and green chillies. Even when you ask for no chili (mirch nahin in Hindi) you will probably get it anyway, so you have to be firm about it. Also it’s good to have some antidotes ready like plain rice, bread, yoghurt etc.
It can be fun to visit the local favorite restaurant and get an all you can eat thali (plate) of various dishes for just Rs 50 ($1). I often do this and love it! It’s important to be careful here and only visit busy restaurants and be extra aware of the utensils. In South India it is common to be served on a banana leaf which is quite a novelty, but obviously dangerous as far as hygiene is concerned, so you definitely don’t want to be wiping it clean.
Many times when you make friends with an Indian you will be invited to their home for a meal. This a real treat and reflects the Indian proverb that “guest is god”. I have had the best food of my life at peoples homes.
Again, it is important to be cautious and don’t drink tap water, only have cooked food and don’t overeat. Also don’t eat too fast because they will keep piling the food on your plate and expect you to eat it and even force-feed you if you’re not careful (this has happened to me a few times).
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“Also don’t eat too fast because they will keep piling the food on your plate and expect you to eat it and even force-feed you if you’re not careful (this has happened to me a few times).”
This is the funniest and most true statement I have ever read. They will make sure you don’t starve there. I left with 10 extra pounds thinking I would loose 20. Very informative article by the way! Hope you had fun there!
Haha – thanks! Yeah, it can be quite the challenge to not over eat because it’s just soooo good! 😉
I am impressed you ate 7 gulabs in a row 🙂
Haha! It was impressive at the time but idiotic a few hours later. I highly recommend that you don’t try this 🙂
Hi, your tips are good, but I disagree with a few of them. I have been to India 6 times in the last 2 years. I ate from the streets every time and NEVER been sick. I carry my spoon and my plastic cup and drink bottled water. And that’s it!
I ate corn, roasted on the side of the busy road; langar in gurudwaras; food from the markets – everything.
And I have eaten in 4 star restaurant only once. For me to eat at the hotels and restaurants – no fun.
P.S. I am from Australia, it’s pretty clean here.
Hi Elenora,
Everyone has different levels of immunity (and luck!). I know other people who say they’ve never been sick from eating Indian street food but like I say in the article I also have a friend who died from E. Coli after eating street food in India.
It seems a bit like a game of Russian roulette and is a risk that I don’t recommend anyone takes but each to there own. 🙂
I’m also from Australia but now live in Maui.
Cheers,
Asher.
Actually, i like some of their foods but not all. Thank you for this valuable info!
I’m really sorry about what happened to your friend.
Anyway, I don’t think I could resist their street food lol. Maybe I’ll be safe eating indian street food while taking probiotics..I really hope so. Btw, when do you take probiotics, charcoal tablets, organic amla berry tablets and bio-immune?
wow!! i also love to eat gulabs too. i can eat 10 gulabs in a row. love this post..
Hello Elenora,
I am a Indian. your depth research about Indian food. Indian food is very spice and very simple food and many Indian not like to eat meat and Non-vegetarian food your blog is very informative to foreigners
Thanks for sharing your experience @ Asher Fergusson. It will help many who are visiting India for the first time or those who are traveling after a long time. Yes, street foods should be avoided, but you can see, not all the steet foods are dirty or unheiginic. In India, there are many mesmerizing tourist places and near to them, there are incredibly best budget hotels. These hotels can be the best deal for both accommodation and eating point of view. Also, these are affordable and prove to be the best for every type of travelers.
To the westerners new to eating in banana leaf, once they put banana leaf in front of you, servers will give you few seconds, you need to take some water in your palm and sprinkle it on the leaf and rub it with your side of your palm. Most of the restaurants clean the leaves, but they do only on ventral side ( top ), and they stack leaves making uncleaned dorsal ( back) side on the leaf below. Hence we usually clean the leaves.
But cleaning an unsanitary banana leaf with unsanitary water will not make it clean enough for the Western stomach to handle. :p
Your articles have been most helpful / how not to fry electronic devices/ how – what to eat in India have been very helpful. Thanks. My wife and I are over 70 and this is our maiden trip to India after many trips to all parts of Europe. It was time to do something different and we are most excited about upcoming trip with Gate One small discovery tour (not as adventuresome as few decades ago). Your information has just been wonderful
Your introduction was very racist. Not all Indians just eat food and worship God. it’s like saying living in America everyone is divorced and morbidly obese or living in Australia everyone wants to badger Indians and kill them. Please use your words wisely. And if you’ve ‘really visited’ India you’d see we are much more than food and God’s. This level of ignorance is pitiable.
Gods*
I mean….most places in America this is the case hahaha (Californian, not so much in California though)
I liked your comment Richa. They think that they only know how to maintain cleanliness and washing hands. We are doing this from last hundreds of years. You know we did not allow anybody in our kitchen without having bath, anybody could not enter.
The lady who cooked food used to wear a different self washed sari after having bath and then only start cooking!
You have these hegene terms very new we know it very long
Hi.
Just a small correction. India is a non vegetarian nation. I eat, like thousands of other people, everything and anything that walks or flies or crawls. Vegetarianism is a myth in India and a way to spread communal hatred. Don’t endorse this. Read up. https://m.huffingtonpost.in
Good luck
Sanjana
Also don’t hesitate to check out the sample registration survey results that puts the number of non vegetarians in India at almost a whopping 70% with variations ( more vegetarians) in different states like Gujarat Rajasthan and so on.
If you don’t eat the street food then you’re missing out on part of India. Just use common sense and good judgement 0n where and when to eat your street food. I don’t care if the restaurant is 5 stars, it doesn’t hold a candle to a lot of the street food.
Do not stop taking food/beverage precautions once you are on a plane home. Same rules apply even if the plane is European or American ..I learned the hard way.