Street food and how to avoid getting sick (potentially) from food when travelling is a hot topic of debate. A lot of the advice out on the internet takes a more conservative view, advising travellers to avoid street food, meat and drinks with ice (to name a few). However, in reality, a lot of backpackers eat street food when they travel in regions like Southeast Asia. So is street food safe to eat while travelling? This guide will cover the reality of eating street food, my experiences of vomiting and diarrhea while travelling and honest advice for first-time backpackers who may be worried about getting sick. This guide contains my experiences and opinions as someone who travels regularly, but I am not a medical professional so this is not medical advice.
Why do people get sick when they travel
As soon as people experience vomiting or diarrhea when travelling, their instinct is to draw conclusions and try to pinpoint exactly what has caused it. Most people will look at their most recent meal and conclude “they must not have washed the vegetables” or “the meat must’ve been uncooked”. While that may be the case sometimes, it is also true that there are so many causes of vomiting or diarrhea when travelling. Trying different foods, new spices in foods, eating at different times of the day, bigger portion sizes or different methods of cooking foods can upset your stomach because you are not used to it. Maybe you’ve been enjoying too many sugary juices or you’re not eating enough fibre.
Hey, maybe your sickness isn’t even food-related. Not getting enough sleep, long travel days, stress, changes in your routine affecting your body clock, certain medications, drinking too much alcohol or your menstrual cycle can cause stomach problems. It is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of diarrhea or vomiting while travelling. Even if your Aunt Cathy swears it was that chicken skewer in Bali back in ’02 and not the 17 Bintang beers she consumed that gave her the runs. Unfortunately, you will likely experience it at least once while you’re travelling.
So how can you avoid it? Should you not eat street food at all? Is there a way to eat street food safely?
How to avoid food poisoning while travelling
Don’t eat meat. Only eat at sit-down restaurants. Don’t consume drinks with ice in them. Avoid vegetables and salads. Only drink bottled and canned drinks opened in front of you. Use a straw to drink from bottles and cans. Don’t brush your teeth in the tap water. Disinfect cutlery and straws before use. Avoid smoothies and fresh juices. Only eat fruits that can be peeled. Actually, avoid fruit altogether. Don’t eat seafood. Don’t use table sauces. Avoid street food. Drink Coke with meals to kill bacteria. Always wash your hands before eating. Only eat at busy restaurants. Shower with a sip of whiskey in your mouth in India. Make sure the cook is wearing gloves. Don’t eat at buffets. Only drink piping hot tea and coffee. Avoid dairy.
These are some of the popular tips I found mentioned on multiple sites about how to avoid diarrhea or vomiting while travelling. If you’re looking at this list of tips and feeling overwhelmed, SAME. This is a scary list of tips to try and follow as a first-time traveller. As a seasoned backpacker, I’m here to say, respectfully, a lot of these tips are fear-mongering and there’s no way you can follow ALL of the tips every time you go to eat. Personally, I don’t follow any of them, except maybe trying to remember to wash hands before meals and trying to pick busier eateries.
But what if you have a sensitive stomach?
If you have a more sensitive stomach, you may want to be more vigilant about what you eat. A lot of backpackers go vegetarian while travelling, for both budget and stomach reasons. Not brushing your toothbrush in the water is another common thing that backpackers will avoid. Follow or don’t follow as many of the above tips as you feel comfortable with. Everyone’s bodies and tolerance to different foods and bacteria is different. My main piece of advice would be to take a lot of these staunch food “rules” with a grain of salt. You want to find a good balance between not feeling sick frequently but also being able to experience the culture through food.
What about food intolerances?
If you have a food allergy or intolerance, you will unfortunately have to be even more vigilant about what you are consuming. In a lot of countries in the world, certain allergies and dietary intolerances like gluten or nut allergies are so uncommon that local restaurants or food stalls don’t fully understand what these food allergies mean. Combine this with a language barrier and it’s easy to see how you could consume food which will make you have a reaction.
Before you travel, research different local foods and their ingredients so you have an idea of which foods are more likely to be safe and which to avoid. Read the experiences of other travellers with your dietary requirements in the country or region you plan on travelling. There are lots of resources on other travel blogs or Tik Tok about how to travel vegetarian or gluten-free in certain places. However, also be vigilant that traditional dishes can be made with alternative ingredients. A dish that usually comes in a chili sauce, may come in a peanut sauce if the restaurant wants to put their own twist on the traditional dish. Always ask about ingredients and let the person know when you are ordering what you can’t eat.
Travel Tip for Dietary Requirements
Save a translation in the language of the country you are travelling of your dietary requirements to show when you are ordering food. Make sure you make it super clear what you can and can’t eat. You can’t assume that every person will understand popular terms like “vegetarian” or “gluten-free”.
I am a vegetarian, which means I don’t eat any animal or meat products. This includes chicken, pork, beef, lamb, goat, seafood, fish, prawns and meat broth. Does this dish contain any of these animals?
OR:
I am allergic to nuts. If I eat anything with nuts in it (even a small amount), I will die. This includes peanuts, cashews, tree nuts and pine nuts. Does this dish and the sauce contain any kind of nut?
In defence of street food
Street food gets a really bad rep when talking about avoiding diarrhea and vomiting when travelling. Before I went on my first trip, I remember older family members warning me that it was not safe to eat street food because I would get some strange tropical parasite and have to be hospitalised. I had this idea firmly in my head the first time I went to South East Asia. To my shock, the first hostel I stayed in I saw all of the other backpackers eating street food regularly (even eating the forbidden street meat my mother warned me about!). Not only were they eating street food, they were healthy afterwards.
So is street food safe to eat while travelling? You can pick up food poisoning anywhere and street food is no worse than restaurants. You could even argue that street food is “safer” than restaurant food as you watch them prepare your food from scratch at a street stall. Whereas, in a restaurant, the food is hidden from guests and could be subjected to unclean or unhealthy food practices without you knowing.
Street food is such a huge part of different countries’ cultures and avoiding street food can mean you miss out on a key experience in that place. Not to mention, street food is often much more affordable compared to sitting at a restaurant, which is ideal if you’re on a backpacker’s budget. Street food is also super convenient if you need something quick on the go.
A few tips for travelling and dealing with food poisoning
- Get travel vaccinations before you leave. You can get preventative vaccinations against Typhoid, Cholera and Hepatitis A, which are all diseases you can contract from waterborne bacteria when travelling. While these vaccines won’t protect you against every type of food poisoning/ waterborne bacteria, any layer of protection is better than none.
- Don’t jump the gun if you have one episode of diarrhea or vomiting. There are so many causes of these symptoms while travelling. Having the occasional off-bowel movement doesn’t necessarily mean you have food poisoning. You may have just eaten a new spice that’s given you a mild upset stomach. Wait a few hours to half the day to see if it persists/worsens before taking medications like Imodium, which will block you up almost immediately.
- Carry medication with you to treat food poisoning. Imodium, activated charcoal tablets, stomach probiotics and electrolyte tablets are good medications to travel with just in case.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help while solo travelling. Everyone gets a case of traveller’s diarrhea at least once and sometimes you can’t leave bed/ the bathroom to get things you need. Ask other travellers or hostel staff if they can get you medication or bring you water.
- See a doctor or go to the hospital in extreme or prolonged cases.
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