India

Eating in India: Will You Get Sick?

The dreaded Delhi Belly (dysentery) kept us away from India for many years (along with the risk of tuberculosis for the kids), but boy am I glad that we finally got there!  We were blessed to go to a wedding in June and rolled it into our 20th-anniversary trip as a couple.  

While India overwhelmed all the senses and was a new level of experience for us, the food won us over big time. Although India marked our 50th country, it is a world all its own.  Everyone says it’s incredibly unique, and they are right.

I was afraid of being sick for several days and told Chris we should just expect it.  However, we were going without kids, which makes some bathroom quarantine a bit easier.  

Thankfully, we went and left without any sickness!  We both felt a rumble or two, but I was extremely relieved that we didn’t spend any time chained to a toilet. 

*Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. Opinions shared are my own, and I only endorse products I support. By clicking on any of the links below, I may get a small commission if you purchase at absolutely no additional charge to you. I appreciate your support.*

Good Food Dominates Indian Culture

Indian culture, at least to me as an outsider, centers around wonderful family time and amazing food.  India is a massive country and we were tickled to find that each region has its own specialties of food, snacks, and sweets.  Indian food boasts a wide variety of amazing curried vegetables, flatbreads, rice, lentils, chutneys, fresh cheeses, fruits, and endless exquisite sweets made from milk, sugar, and wheat.

I could never list even half the foods we ate there as I can’t remember any of the new, unusual names.  We went with the flow and enjoyed countless curries and flavors, delicious naan and other breads, sweets, lassi yogurt drinks, and more.

What Kind of Foods Can You Find in India?

Without stating the obvious, India offers the best Indian food in the world.  However, it’s important to note that it offers very good food of many varieties!  I left India fully willing to only eat Indian curries for the rest of my life.  The options are limitless, and I didn’t meet a single curry or roti I didn’t love.  

We also switched it up from time to time and enjoyed Asian, American, and other varieties when Chris was getting a little burnt out on Indian.  We didn’t have a bad meal!  From the freshly caught fish on our Kerala houseboat tour to spicy beef in Kochi (note that most parts of India would never eat beef as the cow is sacred), I loved every meal.

It’s important to note that Indians, in general, are vegetarian.  If I could eat in India forever, I could easily be a vegetarian as well.  The paneer (cheese) curries leave my mouth watering for more.  However, India also wants tourism and intensely caters to visitors, so no need to fear.  You can find what you like in India.

What Foods Did We Avoid in India to Not Get Sick?

Honestly, not much.  We did not ever eat from the street, which we did plenty of in Thailand.  However, my fear kept me from savoring some of the amazing (and cheap) food on the streets.  We kept to restaurants or hotels only, which likely was a big part of why we didn’t get sick.  We opted for the “luxury” tour of India, which was still a very reasonable price, so they catered our food options to such touristy places.  

That being said, we also ate with our friends in their home, at the wedding, and at a local restaurant for their pre-wedding dinner and didn’t get sick from any of those either.  We even got a meal at a gas station on arrival, and it was one of the best we had!

In theory, you are supposed to avoid any produce you cannot peel (think bananas and oranges, not melon) and avoid lettuce, tomatoes, etc. that are not cooked.  Curries tend to come out scalding hot, so that helps too!  However, we ate melon nearly daily at our hotels. 

Outside of the hotels, we tried to stick to only cooked foods and always bottled water.  We also only drank bottled water in the hotels.

Tips for Avoiding Sickness in India

1. Choose wisely where you eat.  Go for busy, clean, 4-5 star restaurants.  I find these are often tied to the 4 and 5-star hotels but don’t necessarily need to be.
2. Get up to date on your vaccinations.  We needed to update on Hepatitis A and Typhoid.  Neither are fun and both take several weeks or months to get up to date in preparation for your trip.  
3. Prep your gut health.  I’m a regular fan of probiotics and kombucha.  Prepping your gut with good bacteria goes a long way when encountering new bacteria. It’s not uncommon for our stomachs to get a little rumbly with tap water even in first-world countries, but good gut bacteria helps a lot.
4. Eat less meat while in India.  Meats are always riskier when it comes to food poisoning anyway, so embrace the delicious vegetarian Indian way of life.
5. Avoid street food. This is tough as it looks really good and costs so little.  However, you’ll pay to miss out on your vacation if you get sick for a couple of days.  In worst-case scenarios, you can die from food poisoning like e-coli.  I know there are many influencers out there enjoying street food, but you need to weigh the risk.  We opted out.
6. Head to the Indian pharmacy for some peppermint oil.  While I didn’t try this myself, I read about it and thought it was brilliant!  It is super cheap in India and can be used as a homeopathic remedy.  Others include charcoal, garlic tablets, wormwood, grapefruit seed extract, and others. 
7. Eat the Indian way..with your hands!  You can sanitize your hands before you eat while you might not know how free from bacteria your silverware is.  It could have been dried with a dirty rag. 
8. If you buy produce, wash it with bottled water.  And make sure you hear the “crack” or “fizz” when you open it, or get another bottle!  
9. If you start feeling edgy digestion-wise, drink a Coke.  It may be all in my head, but I swear it works!  Coke can take rust off metal, so who knows what it does to bad bacteria. 
10. Be careful when brushing your teeth.  It’s very easy to rinse your brush or drink some tap water before you even realize what you are doing!  Get the bottled water to the sink before you start brushing.
11. Bring electrolyte tablets and stay well hydrated.  Consider packing some snacks from home, like granola bars or applesauce packets, in case you start feeling queasy and need a safe snack.
12. Consider Travelan, an immune support supplement, 48 hours before you travel and before each meal. The antibodies in this supplement lay in wait to tackle bad bacteria and prevent diarrhea, not just reverse the effects of it.

Good News About India and Illness

One of our fellow full-time travel friends told me, when I expressed my deep desire to see the Taj Mahal, that I should “pack a suitcase of my own food and water, fly into Delhi, see the Taj, and fly back that same day, eating or drinking nothing!”  Talk about scary.

The good news is that things have really improved in the last decade.  Awareness of illness is spreading across India, and hygiene is improving, mostly because of tourism.  

If you do get sick, get some local medicines, and head to the hospital if you need to.  Local medicines are often more suited to the illnesses and are cheaper anyway.  You won’t be the first to get sick in India, and you can get help right away. Foods to eat when you’re sick include weak tea, ginger tea, fruit juice, rice, toast, yogurt, bananas, apple sauce, and plain noodles.

I hope you can get to India and savor the mind-blowing flavor combos in the delicate dishes of this amazing country. There are nearly limitless things to see and do, with food being the icing on the cake.

Enjoy your trip to India,

Leslie

Planning for your next trip to India?

Catch great fare deals from Booking.com, Skyscanner, Kiwi.com, or Expedia

Find a nice hotel near the Taj Mahal from

The Oberoi Amarvilas Agra , Hotel Taj Resorts

Discover more of India while having fun through exciting activities from GetYourGuide,

Need to rent a car to navigate the city? Visit Europcar Get insured while traveling with SafetyWing

Want to have a photo shoot while traveling? Check out flytographer!

Capture your best memories in Great Pyramid as we do with a Insta360 , Go Pro Mini , Sony A7iii

Check out your travel necessities from a comprehensive list of all the 7Wayfinders Travel Must-Haves. Click Here!

Additional Reading

India’s Golden Triangle Travel Guide – 6 Amazing Things To Do and Tips for Your Visit

Insider Tips For The Perfect Kerala Backwater Houseboat Experience In India

11 Things You Need To Know When Visiting the Taj Mahal