Staying Healthy and Eating Well in Southeast Asia

It's midnight and you just arrived by plane to a Southeast Asia country. It was a long international trip. You check into a hotel to sleep, and the next morning you explore the neighborhood. An exotic world of new sounds, smells and sights greet you. The food looks different and bugs are everywhere. You wonder what you should eat. But don't be anxious. You can still sample most of the local produce and retain your digestive health.

Here are suggestions for staying healthy during your travels through Southeast Asia. For more excellent medical advice click here:

Discover the flavors of delicious local fruits.
Many of the most delicious fruits indigenous to Southeast Asia also promote digestive health. These include ripe papayas and mangoes. Mandarin oranges are good even if they're small.

You've never eaten bananas and pineapple until you've eaten them fresh in Southeast Asia. The apples are tart but can be cooked with a little cinnamon. Star fruit is an excellent substitute for apples. Don't avoid coconut, either the meat, oil or milk. It really is good for you. Some local fruits like durian take a long time to acquire a taste for, but they are easily avoided.

The good news is that you won't have to deal with the wax added to many fruits in America, Canada or Europe.

Sanitize raw foods.
Fruits and vegetables eaten raw-- including the skins-- need to be soaked first in a mixture of iodine and water and then rinsed with drinking water. This would be things like tomatoes, cucumbers and star fruit.

If you are going to eat a food raw after you have skinned it, still wash it in drinking water first. This would be foods like carrots, papaya and mangoes.

Cook your greens.
No amount of soaking greens can assure killing enough germs. But by briefly cooking greens you get the benefits of more nutrients! Wash and steam the greens just until wilted. Or make a stir fry. The secret to a good stir fry is to put the harder vegetables in first and the greens or bok choy in at the end. Add a drop or two of sesame oil. Cook until greens are just wilted.

Ensure your food is fresh by shopping often.
The Southeast Asian tradition of buying food every day is a healthy one. Our western lives can be hectic, but make an effort to shop at least every two or three days. Food is best ripe and fresh.

Go prepared with international travel insurance.
Let's say you do all of the above, yet still get sick with a stomach bug or food poisoning. Get medical help right then and there. There are several travel insurance plans that will continue home country coverage for up to six months from the time of your initial medical treatment overseas. This is a good deal, and these plans are inexpensive.

Good Neighbor Insurance wants to help you find great inexpensive overseas travel insurance for your summer travels. Travel insurance gives you ease of mind to have fun on all your travels.