seeking info- Egypt and happy tummies

[SamiraShuruk]

For those Egypt traveling veterans, can you please share your food vs tummy experiences both good and bad?
Shira has helpful hints on her page of course. I've found tidbits here and there on Bhuz and on travel sites, but thought it'd be nice to have it all in one spot.

Where did you eat when outside your hotel? What did you eat? What would you recommend for a vegetarian? What did you drink? They always say "no fruits", but I keep hearing the fruit juice is fantastic! If you tried it, what is your "secret"?
What supplements did you take? If you got sick one time and not another can you pinpoint the difference?
THANKS!

[*Shira*]

Mango juice is a "safe" fruit juice because mangos must be peeled in order to make juice from them. Strawberry juice is NOT "safe", but it tastes so good that I've been known to drink it anyway! Lemon juice is "safe" for the same reasons as mangoes, and can do double duty protecting your gut from amoeba parasites. In all these cases, be CERTAIN to stipulate NO ICE. Chilled carcadet (hibiscus tea) is also a nice choice. (You can also get it hot.)

If you have an uncontrollable urge to eat salad, give it a hefty dose of vinegar and maybe squeeze some lemon juice over it for good measure. Vinegar can act as an antibacterial agent, and both substances are good for anti-amoeba.

Vegetarian-wise, I've had some delicious lentil soup in Egypt. And steamed vegetables are usually available.

[ouroboros]

Oh I had a nasty tummy attack just minutes before I saw beautiful, beautiful Randa at the beautiful, beautiful Marriott. Amazing contrast of beauty and grossness! I'd eaten fresh fruit and veg earlier and I paid for it (but that didn't stop me eating the stuff later anyway and I didn't get sick again).

ps. I felt MUCH better after watching Randa.

[leylalanty]

Stay away from street stands!!!!!! You can buy mango juice and carcaday as Shira recommends. I've not had any problems with lemon juice either, but it may contain tap water, which in some areas is not guaranteed quality.

Fuul and ta'ameyya are good choices too. Fuul (procounced "fool") is a usually a combination pf several types of beans, including fava beans, white beans, kidney (sort of) beans, others. Ta'ameyya is similar to falafel but moister. There's also torshi - a mixture of pickled vegetables - which is often served as a salad or snack. There are lots of varieties of nuts and dried garbanzo beans available for good snacking. If you eat dairy, the yogurt is really good - you can get it plain or with jam or fruit. Pita bread served is often the "country" style - that is whole grain.

The best rule of thumb is to make sure that your food is thoroughly cooked and avoid uncooked vegetables or unpeeled fruit.

Where will you be staying? We may be able to give you some restaurant names.

If you're going to be there only a short time, like 2, maybe 3 weeks, go without fresh, uncooked salads!!! You can do without your raw greens for 2 or 3 weeks, but what if you get really ill and lose 2 or 3 days of your 2 weeks? NOT worth the risk, as far as I'm concerned.

[bintbeled]

And a tip from one of our buddies who lives in Egypt: if you get "pharoah's revenge," go to an Egyptian pharmacy and get the Egyptian version of Immodium. Works much better than our version.

There's lots for vegetarians to eat in Egypt. I love the little koshari restaurants, for example. And I've had many glasses of karkadeh, and lots of mango juice. Never gotten sick... or at least not so far. On the other hand, my poor brother was flat on his back for a day when we were there over the summer.

There's a wonderful dessert called um ali. Avoid this is it's been sitting out too long and is room temp. This yummy custardy concoction has felled many a traveler!

[Monica]

I can't lie...I eat street food at home and I eat street food when I travel, and Cairo has been no exception. I drank a lot of fresh juice every day, I ate prickly cacti and limed garbanzo beans and all kinds of unknown other treats from men selling food off of carts, I ate salads, I bought aish balady (local bread) from off of bicyclist's heads, I know I accidentally drank from the tap on occasion, I ate at the cheapest khoshari joints, and yes...I drank karkaday from the man with the big metal jug on his back and possibly unknowingly shared the glass with half of downtown Cairo.

I am not all macha about it! I eat street food here, too, and I grew up in a family that traveled quite a bit and a mom with an iron stomach who would eat the spiciest things on display from any man walking by with a cart and a grill. So maybe I developed early immunity, or heck--maybe one day that is how I will pass from this world. I can't say I recommend it, but I can say I had a yummy, yummy time and it was a fun way to meet folks.

And between this and the sushi thread, I am ready for some dinner!

[amity]

The first few days I hardly ate but ya know, I ate a lot after that and didn't get sick. You HAVE to try Egyptian pancakes (there's a famous spot in the tour guides by the entrance to the Khan El Khahili). My favorite were banana and honey!

[eshe]

The only thing that made me or my partner sick was the tea.

We ate local fruit bought at the market. We also made a lot of sandwiches in our room to save $$$. We bought some granola bars and the like from supermarkets.

I could probably count on my fingers the number of times we ate meat.

[SamiraShuruk]

Thanks so much for the tips ladies!
Layla Lanty- Fuul is already one of my alltime favorite foods! I order at any place it's available and learned to make if from an Egyptian friend...then taught my husband to make it, too. I suppose I might live on fuul while I'm there.
Latifa - that's so sad that Om Aali isn't safe. I LOVE it! But good to know to be cautious.
Shira- the peeled fruits rule is really handy, thanks! AND I'm relieved to hear the pita is "country style". Without fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains will be good.

Let's see...so to sum it up: unless I have an iron stomach like Monica avoid tap water, ice cubes, street vendors, unpeeled fresh fruits and veggies, food that sits out and guys selling beverages from metal jugs on their backs.
Yummy veg options are easy to find and helpful things include vinegar, citrus and Randa.

[*Shira*]

Samira, that's a pretty good list.

You don't have to avoid fresh fruits completely - for example, bananas are easy to find, and because they're peeled, they're fine.

Some people avoid tap water to the point of using bottled water to brush their teeth. I, however, do brush my teeth in tap water when I'm there and it doesn't seem to give me problems. I have also been known to eat the tomato slices and cucumber slices served at breakfast time, which are washed in tap water, and that doesn't seem to harm me. But I did get a rebellious gut after drinking mango juice served with ice in Luxor. I think it's partly a matter of how much of the tap water you swallow. So it's up to you to decide which tradeoffs of risk avoidance vs convenience are right for you.

[leylalanty]

Originally Posted by *Shira*

Samira, that's a pretty good list.

You don't have to avoid fresh fruits completely - for example, bananas are easy to find, and because they're peeled, they're fine.

Some people avoid tap water to the point of using bottled water to brush their teeth. I, however, do brush my teeth in tap water when I'm there and it doesn't seem to give me problems. I have also been known to eat the tomato slices and cucumber slices served at breakfast time, which are washed in tap water, and that doesn't seem to harm me. But I did get a rebellious gut after drinking mango juice served with ice in Luxor. I think it's partly a matter of how much of the tap water you swallow. So it's up to you to decide which tradeoffs of risk avoidance vs convenience are right for you.

Agreed, Shira. I've been told by Egyptians that the quality of the tap water is different in different areas. Even in Cairo, in some areas, the tap water is safe (usually the newer parts of town) and in others it's not. I've also been told by more than one Egyptian about how they got sick when they went to Luxor or other points south. Sigh... Best to stick with bottles of water on which you break the seal yourself so you know it hasn't been refilled with tap water.

[leylalanty]

You have to try Um Ali if you like custardy desserts! It usually contains almonds -warning for people with nut allergies. It's my favorite! It should be boiling hot, right from the oven, not off a steam table in a not-too-busy restaurant.

[leylalanty]

Originally Posted by Monica

I can't lie...I eat street food at home and I eat street food when I travel, and Cairo has been no exception. I drank a lot of fresh juice every day, I ate prickly cacti and limed garbanzo beans and all kinds of unknown other treats from men selling food off of carts, I ate salads, I bought aish balady (local bread) from off of bicyclist's heads, I know I accidentally drank from the tap on occasion, I ate at the cheapest khoshari joints, and yes...I drank karkaday from the man with the big metal jug on his back and possibly unknowingly shared the glass with half of downtown Cairo.

I am not all macha about it! I eat street food here, too, and I grew up in a family that traveled quite a bit and a mom with an iron stomach who would eat the spiciest things on display from any man walking by with a cart and a grill. So maybe I developed early immunity, or heck--maybe one day that is how I will pass from this world. I can't say I recommend it, but I can say I had a yummy, yummy time and it was a fun way to meet folks.

And between this and the sushi thread, I am ready for some dinner!

Monica, you must have inherited that iron stomach from your mom! I tried doing that on my first trip to Egypt in 1977 and was flat on my back sick for 2+ days. So, my tummy is a bit of a wimp, I guess.

[SamiraShuruk]

Originally Posted by leylalanty

You have to try Um Ali if you like custardy desserts! It usually contains almonds -warning for people with nut allergies. It's my favorite! It should be boiling hot, right from the oven, not off a steam table in a not-too-busy restaurant.

That makes me happy to hear. I've had Um Ali here once and LOVED it. I'll keep my eyes open for it steaming hot just out of the oven. What's a vacation if you don't eat too many really rich desserts?

[phillyraqs]

Hi Samira - Though I haven't traveled to Egypt, my husband has an autoimmune disorder, so we have to be very careful about what we eat when we travel abroad. Our doctors have always been generous in giving us Cipro or other antibiotics for our trips, just in case we get sick.

You might want to ask your doctor if they'd write a prescription for you to fill before your trip. This way, if you do start to feel ill, you can immediately start some medicine.

[*Shira*]

Originally Posted by phillyraqs

You might want to ask your doctor if they'd write a prescription for you to fill before your trip. This way, if you do start to feel ill, you can immediately start some medicine.

Just a caution - so many of the GI-distress bacteria have become antibiotic resistant that I would urge anyone whose health is NOT fragile to resist the temptation. Doxycycline and Cipro are about the only two that still are effective, and even they don't work all the time because of the resistance.

If someone's immune system is delicate (for example, compromised by cancer chemotherapy), then of course they should try the antibiotic if their doctor says it's okay to. So Phillyraqs, I'm not faulting your husband at all for using it. I'm just saying that people with normal immune system health should try to get by without so that we don't destroy its effectiveness for those whose immune systems REALLY need it.

A few things some people don't know about using antibiotic to treat a fussy gastrointestinal (GI) tract:

• One of the side effects of taking antibiotic is that it can cause diarrhea. This is because it kills not only harmful bacteria but also the beneficial ones that normally live in the gut. If you must take antibiotic, then I'd advise eating yogurt or taking acidophalus to repopulate your gut. So, if your gut is rebellious, why would you take a drug that causes guts to be rebellious?
• One of the side effects of taking antibiotic is that it can cause a yeast infection.
• In people with healthy immune systems, food poisoning typically goes away on its own within 8 hours, and e Coli gut trouble typically goes away within 3 days. So if this is your problem, it'll go away on its own even if you don't take antibiotic.
• If your GI distress is caused by coffee, sorbitol (an artificial sweetener that is used A LOT here in the US and could be in sugar-free snack foods that you take with you), alcohol, lactose intolerance, eating vegetables such as beans that you lack the enzyme to digest fully, celiac disease (ie, gluten intolerance), antibiotic will do absolutely nothing to help you.
• If your GI distress is caused by amoeba parasites (a real possibility in Egypt), antibiotic won't help. Instead, drink a glass of vinegar or lemon juice - the acid will get the results you want. (Don't read the rest of this paragraph if TMI makes you squirm, though I'll try to express it as delicately as possible...) The symptom of amoeba parasites is that your trip to the bathroom will involve a very strong, foul smell, more so than typical, with a fishy overtone.
• Some intestinal illnesses are caused by the norovirus (this is the one linked to cruise ship outbreaks of unhappy guts). Because this is a virus, antibiotic doesn't help.
• Even Cipro and Doxycycline have problems with bacteria resistance. There's a chance that if you have a bacterial cause and take antibiotic, it won't help anyway.

[*Shira*]

By the way, Samira said she saw my article, but for those of you who did not, see Belly Dance Advice, Tips, How-To's for several articles on travel health, including one dedicated to gut issues.

[LeylaAmir]

We always advise clients not to drink the water, unless boiled, or bottled. Not to eat fruit or drink the fruit juice, even with boiled or bottled water. It is wise to eat only cooked food. If you like only veggies then have them peeled and cooked for you. I would avoid the salads. We also advise clients to only eat in the hotels or established outside restaurants that we know are safe. FilFila downtown is great and long established for lots of country flavor and safe eating. After you have lived in Egypt for a while and your system becomes accustomed to the bacteria, you are considered safe. I know the fruits and veggies taste great, but as a visitor, eating them raw can be dangerous. I have had disentary twice from food I thought was safe. The product they use in Egypt for King Tut's revenge is better than Immodium, your tour escort or the hotel should be able to help you get it. We always provide a tip list for our clients when traveling to Egypt to help them avoid simple problems.
Leyla Amir, Las Vegas, Egypt tours, dancer, performer
Egypt National Tours

[mariyah13]

I do not have an iron stomach, I got very sick on trips to India and Mexico. But I was much less careful on four trips to Egypt and I've never had a problem. (knocking on wood!)
I am a vegetarian. I ate pretty much anything I wanted from anywhere including street stands drank a lot of juice and really didn't worry about salads.
Of course its always a good practice anywhere to try and look at the food that's about to be served to you. If it looks like its been sitting out, pass on it. Choose places that look busy.
I've also heard that the tap water varies in Cairo. Any of the areas that I've stayed as a tourist seem to be fine. I've always stuck with bottled water for drinking, but never worried about brushing my teeth with tap water and I don't recall that I was really offered drinks with ice in them. I would recommend being more careful about this when traveling outside of Cairo though.

[Nepenthe]

I would second people who say to be careful. I used to be a regular "Anthony Bourdain" type that would eat anything when I travelled. I was very careful about water of course, but had only gotten sick a few times and it usually subsided after a day. But when I went to Peru last summer, I got extremely ill, took Cipro at my doctor's suggestion, destroyed all of my healthy gut flora, and was sick to my stomach for six months. I also lost a lot of weight, but not in a good way. Now I'm a little scared about my upcoming trip to Egypt and eating, but that's probably a good thing as it will keep me cautious.

I've learned that gi bugs aren't something to mess around with. Sure, you might only be sick for a day. Or you might be sick for six months to a year if you get unlucky.