Does Indian food cause intestinal upset to Indian people?!
What I want to know, is: Do indian people frequently have digestive problems from eating this all day, every day, or is there a method to Indian eating, like, maybe, only eating curry once a week, and eliminating spice or chile most of the time? I don't get it. Do they have a secret for protecting their intestines from their delicious food?
Answers:
The answer is simple, in India we do not eat the food at home that is usually served in restaurants. Also, there are hierarchy of eating/ordering food that helps in better digestion. Generally in Grand feasts, where a wider choice of spicy foods is offered, we follow the hierarchy to minimize any digestion problem.
Let me elaborate:
Any westerner usually orders in the following in Indian Restaurant:
For starter- Samosa
Main Course- Naan/Biryani
Curry-Butter Chicken
Accompanyments- Popodam
We rarely eat Samosa in any meal, it's a snack item and usually served with Tea/Chai in the afternoon.
At home we do not eat Naan, usually we eat Tawa Roti or Chapati or Fulka....these are thin tortillas made out of wheat flour. Some Times we eat Paratha.....that is stuffed bread.
Eating Biryani everyday is impossible thing, for daily meal we eat plain steamed rice.
Butter Chicken every day?? again an impossible proposition.....if we eat anything that is part of everyday meal that is the Daal or the lentil soup.
For Meat/Poultry/Fish we cook several dishes that are much lighter, but spicy and tasty as well.
Couple of tips and tricks to handle Indian food.
Drink "Jal Jeera" before starting the meal. It's a spicy flavoured serbat that helps digestion.
Avoid eating Deep fried items like Samosa in Dinner or Lunch, just skip it.
If you had enough of spicy curry with your Naan or Biryani, finish it off with a cup of sour card. This will definitely help you to negotiate better with Indian Food.
I am from India and know well what I am talking about
Many different spices and herbs are used in Indian cooking. There are many different ethnic groups in India, each of which has its own cooking traditions. The food of Gujarat or the Punjab, for example, is much spicier, that is heavier on the chilis, than some other regions.
You may have an allergy or an intolerance to one or more of the individual spices that go to make up a given curry paste or spice paste. Experiment with cooking at home to find the blend that suits you best. There are as many "curries" as there are cooks--each person blends the spices to their own taste and to suit their own needs.
Indian cuisine is heavily laden with spices. Since Indian people have been eating this stuff since they were born, their bodies have gotten used to it. The only way to get your body to get used to it too is to play through the pain. Eat it every day. It will hurt for a while, but once your instestine realize they're going to have to process these spices all the time, they'll figure out how to do it without the pain.
I'm Indian. And my 1st reaction was: LOL! So, it depends, some people obviously can handle more spice and chilli than others. Commercial Indian food is not the same as home made. Home made Indian food can be quite simple and not very spicy, but of course this varies from household to household. In some households they eat hot food every day, and so they are used to it. In others, it's only once in a while. There are also some spices that will upset your stomach if not taken in moderation, and indian housewives know which ones. As a "cure" I was always told to chew a mouthful of fennel seeds (somph) and a glass of milk. Hope that helps!
Your statement "It causes intestinal problems" is a bit of a value judgement. Or were you referring only to yourself.
There is no scientific evidence supporting your statement, so I will assume the latter. Some people may find that Indian or other spicy food does not "agree with them" but gastro-intestinal constitution is not defined by race.
I am an Indian and I am in complete agreement with the answer above . Your source of Indian food are Indian restaurants and they are different from our home cooked food and as some of our answers , our bodies are used to this :) .. Now the same is with me When I eat chinese food . Though we use lot of spices in Indian cookin , when I eat chinese food that I love a lot , I get intestional or digestion problems and we feel that it is because of the special sauces used at the restaurants .
Spinach helps in digestion and also banana . And one home remedy - I used to apply Castor oil when ever I had stomach aches . That works !
As a rule, food eaten in Indian homes is a lot milder than in Indian restaurants. Home food is not as spicy. You can try cooking a few simple dishes that you like. That way you can control the level of heat in your food. Also, drink plenty of water. It helps neutralize the stomach acids.
No, they're just used to it. You probably get problems because your body isn't used to strong spices.