what is safe to eat?

canbon said:

I am always unsure of what is safe to eat? On my last trip (when off the resort) I ate a lot of vegetarian pizza. I am hesitant to eat meat and would like some advice on what is safe to eat and if it is safe to eat in most restaurants or if there are some sort of guidelines one should follow when ordering food and picking places to eat. I would love to be able to try some of the local dishes but am a little nervous about becoming sick.

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I am sensitive to food that is even slightly off, so I do understand your situation.
No eating at roadside stands, and when you eat in Dominican restaurants, it should be fresh cooked food, not held in a warmer, and a place that appears to be modern with fridges and all.
In tourist towns, you should have no worries eating in gringo restaurants.

canbon said:

I'll fill you in on the cold Atlantic weather I am sure you are missing!!!!

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I've been following those storm reports and sending sunny beach pix to my friends, just to torture them a bit.:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

i had more cases of comida dominicana (dominican food) than i'd wish on the worst enemy. avoid dominican sausage at all costs, it's poison. no food from street vendors. restaurants, even those frequented mostly by dominicans (generally immune to comida dominicana) are safe.
but wipe the side of the glass you drink from... last weekend we went to hemingways and both got sick (not drunk, we had two rons each...).
i have felt bad for the last few days, my face is getting thinner and thinner...
think i have to go back to the doctor...

dv8 said:

i had more cases of comida dominicana (dominican food) than i'd wish on the worst enemy. avoid dominican sausage at all costs, it's poison. no food from street vendors. restaurants, even those frequented mostly by dominicans (generally immune to comida dominicana) are safe.
but wipe the side of the glass you drink from... last weekend we went to hemingways and both got sick (not drunk, we had two rons each...).
i have felt bad for the last few days, my face is getting thinner and thinner...
think i have to go back to the doctor...

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Sounds like you're ready to go on the limon or apple cider vinegar program.
You have to change your PH balance, that it be unfriendly to parasites/microbes/germs/etc, yet still friendly for you.
Put an ounce of lime juice into water or club soda as many times a day as you normally drink.
Avoid tea and coffee like the plague.
Eat small and light.
Eat as many bananas as you like.
Once recovered, stay on the limes in smaller dosages to maintain.

Gin and tonic to settle the stomach - nothing like it!

food,glorious food...........

i like yo used to be a little freaked about where i ate here in the dr.
there are tons of dominican eateries wher the food is spot on as its bought and cooked FRESH on a daily basis.
just like the quote about the "oh so hip"hemmingways in the tourist prison,i mean playa dorad complex i too have been and got very sick eating in what are commonly known as gringo spots.so all of them are not a guarentee that you are not going to be peeing out of yer butt for a couple of days.
stroll around a bit and see who seems to be busy and knocking the food out fast and regular.
you will have a few more dollars in your pocket too to spend on whatever other activities you wish to get up to whilst here and you can also say you did the "when in rome"type vacation as opposed to eating the exact same stuff you eat from where ever it is you come from."be not afraid".he who dares.......................

Adapting the old gut

When I first moved to the DR from the US back in 2000 I ate at everything they gave me at my cunadas house in Santiago, including vegetables washed in the local water and never got sick, etc.

However I got really sick eating the salad at a restaurant in Santiago the day before my wedding and was hospitalized for two days after that. Also, before I moved here I got a minor bug a couple of times eating salad at Pizza Hut.

My advice is simple:

1. Don't worry.
2. Getting the "bug" it inevitable at some point and doesn't have to be so bad.
3. NEVER, EVER, EVER take Immodium AD or something else that will stop you up if you start getting the runs - this is what I did and it almost killed me.

Also, most cases of the bug can be solved with drinking a lot of fluids and it will pass in a day or so. In the event that you it real bad there are plenty of private clinics all over this island that have private rooms with bathrooms and tv's that will hook you up to an IV until things pass.

The good thing is once you have the bug you are less likey to be bothered again. Also, I've been living here a year now and eat more salad than a rabbit and we wash the vegetables in the tap water in addition to brushing our teeth.

manunut said:

he who dares...:

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Wins! - ex SAS maybe? Maybe that would explain the cast iron gut, right? No just kidding - I eat most everything here just like the Dominicans with the exception of ice cream and natural juices from the street. BTW there is nothing like hot burning oil to burn all them dirty little bugs to a crisp.

Chip00 said:

3. NEVER, EVER, EVER take Immodium AD or something else that will stop you up if you start getting the runs - this is what I did and it almost killed me.

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I couldn't disagree more.
When you have a severe case, if you don't put a plug in it, you will dehydrate and that could kill you.
It's imperative to stop the flow, as well as attack the source of the illness.
The combo of the two is what will save you.

Having taken the Immodium is NOT what almost killed you.

Rocky said:

I couldn't disagree more.
When you have a severe case, if you don't put a plug in it, you will dehydrate and that could kill you.
It's imperative to stop the flow, as well as attack the source of the illness.
The combo of the two is what will save you.

Having taken the Immodium is NOT what almost killed you.

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Unfortunately none of my Doctor(s) would agree with you. The very fact that I did plug myself up caused me to have a very, very sever infection that almost killed me! - this according to my Doctor.

I say to anyone who has any doubts to contact your family Doctor and I'm sure they will tell you that diarrhea is the bodies way of flushing out something bad. It goes without saying that whatever fluids you're body loses needs to be replenished - ie.e drink lots of fluids.

Chip00 said:

Unfortunately none of my Doctor(s) would agree with you. The very fact that I did plug myself up caused me to have a very, very sever infection that almost killed me! - this according to my Doctor.

I say to anyone who has any doubts to contact your family Doctor and I'm sure they will tell you that diarrhea is the bodies way of flushing out something bad. It goes without saying that whatever fluids you're body loses needs to be replenished - ie.e drink lots of fluids.

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Unless you took a handful of them, then the Immodium did not do the damage, and it is quite common for doctors here to blame their incompetent treatment of Turista, on anything, but themselves.
When I had my juicebar in Sosua, the tour reps started bringing their sick guests to me for treatment, after so many of the local doctors had failed so miserably, and at a high cost, I might add.

other remedy

Chip00 said:

Wins! - ex SAS maybe? Maybe that would explain the cast iron gut, right? No just kidding - I eat most everything here just like the Dominicans with the exception of ice cream and natural juices from the street. BTW there is nothing like hot burning oil to burn all them dirty little bugs to a crisp.

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yes at this point here me too i?ll steal food from a street dog and eat it with no ill effect:laugh: if however you do get a bout of dominican belly."a bomba". little soda water,anguastura bitter(the drops you put in a pink gin)freshly squeezed lime juice and a tea spoon of salt. reccomended this to a nbr of people while working in AI hotels and had 90% success rate. failing that (not for the faint hearted)2 quick shots of tequila with salt and lemon.burn that bacteria right out of there.again fabulous results.next consultation i may have to charge,OK?:cheeky:

well....I eat almost anyplace i find food in the dr...and i cant believe more people dont get sick. Just seeing the food out in what might easily be considered unsanitary conditions...makes you think you would get sick,.....but i dont...I eat all kinds of food from the glass cases that are heated with a light bulb!!!.. I remember eating pork!! one night in santiago at 2 am on the side of the curb from a push cart vendor...all the time thinking...I KNOW i am gonna regret this....but it was fine!!!


now other side of the coin....for the "it can happen anywhere" camp

last tuesday in CT near where i work I bought some soup from a gas station-deli...where I have been buying soup for 2 years....split pea and ham.

by 2 am I was feeling ver naseous... and by 4 pm I had to leave work...my whole system was in upheaval...by the time I got home i was flowing out of both ends of my body... and i did that every hour or so till 5:30 am the next day!!!!!!!!! I thought I was going to die..I never felt so bad...and the snow storm caused all the doctors offices to be closed all day!!!!!!!!!!I was still feeling it some when i left for the DR on friday!!!!!

you dont need a third world country to get food poisoning!!!!!!!!!!

I healed myself in the DR on rice and chicken and platanos!!!!!!!! ha ha ha


bob

Rocky said:

Unless you took a handful of them, then the Immodium did not do the damage, and it is quite common for doctors here to blame their incompetent treatment of Turista, on anything, but themselves.
When I had my juicebar in Sosua, the tour reps started bringing their sick guests to me for treatment, after so many of the local doctors had failed so miserably, and at a high cost, I might add.

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I'm sure in most cases that people may not get the sever infection that I did - in fact I used to take Immodium before that episode. I just no longer think it's worth the risk - I would much rather drink lots of fluids and stay close to the toilet until it passes.

BTW, my doctor had nothing to do with my problem - I arrived at 5 am in the morning with 105+ degree fever and I was delerious talking to my mother 2000 mi. away. He immediatley put me on fluids, antibiotics and a strong laxative. What had happened was this - the Immodium stopped me up and it created a sever intestinal infection - so bad that even though I was drinking water I had a hard time rehydrating myself. The fever rose and rose until I was delerious and almost in a state of shock. As soon as the Doc put me on the laxative and I got rid ofthe cause of infection I started getting better immediately. Needless to say I was on the can a whole lot but hey - I had the new wife with me, a private room with cable and when all the family left and I felt a little better we made the most of our first day of our honeymoon!

For most cases the Immodium is a quick fix - but how does someone know if there will get a sever intestinal infection like I did? I would rather not take the chance and would like to say that I've had probably 10 bouts since then and have not had any problems letting it pass the natural way and drinking, lots and lots of fluids.

One of the more, dare I say it, "anal" posts I've seen.

Regarding the OP's original question, let me put it this way:
Eat fruit you peel yourself.
Eat hot meals, not warmed over stuff.
Drink bottled water and beer. Mixed drinks can be risky if they have ice (rum and Coke) ..

Lime juice is good for you. So is vinagar.

IF you should get a case of the trots: (1) Pepto Bismol; (2) Lots of liquids--bottled water with Gatoraide? and (3) DO NOT take anti biotics unless you are under a U.S. doctor's care....

The body takes care of itself. In the wonderful book "Where there are no doctors" the indications are to re-hydrate: with Gatoraide or boiled water + a few teaspoonfuls of sugar and two of salt; Eat well, with properly cooked food; avoid any soft drinks, raw fruits, beans, spicy foods, laxitives and alcohol.

If you need more advice on this, send me a PM...

HB

Regarding antidiarreah medicine: Stay away from stuff that has "caolin"like Kaopectate, since this hardens stools but does not combat the dehydration.
Also stay away from diphenoxilate (Lomotil) since that might make the infection last longer....and no antibiotics!! there are other things not to use..

thats what they told my wife

I say to anyone who has any doubts to contact your family Doctor and I'm sure they will tell you that diarrhea is the bodies way of flushing out something bad. It goes without saying that whatever fluids you're body loses needs to be replenished - ie.e drink lots of fluids.

ah, there is nothing like a good sh*t, i dare to say. i never take imodium pills, i prefer to let the... ...stuff out. think what it does for your weight too!
:laugh:

dehydration is a problem thou, i did say somewhere on this board i do not drink enough, i don't like water at all and i cannot force more than two glasses of liquid into me during the whole day. i may have more if it's coca-cola but you can hardly count it as fluids, can you?

how much is and ounce? of lime juice i am supposed to put into my drinks? like, how many spoons? i do drink only red/peppermint/green tea, is that ok? are natural juices (home made) allowed?

i must say i have never gotten sick after eating from street vendor which i did few times under minovio's supervision.

i am still recovering after sunday trip to la vega, motion sickness added to my latest amoeba episode and i was throwing up bile and stomach acids all the way to POP.