Getting Enough Fiber while Visiting Rural Mexico

July 11, 2024 7:45 PM

I've got a week-long visit planned to visit family friends in rural-ish Mexico soon. I like to eat salads everyday (though not a vegetarian), and I eat vegetables at every meal and fruit daily. I am a little concerned about getting enough fiber while I am there as I have heard raw vegetables aren't a great idea to eat.

We will make a trip to a grocery store after we arrive, so I will have some say in what we eat. Any suggestions for at home? Or restaurant suggestions? I think we might visit a local restaurant while we are there. Also, does anyone have an experience with eating a lot of fiber daily then suddenly eating very little?

posted by JXM368 to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

You could take a powder fiber supplement with you to mix into drinks
posted by aetg at 8:08 PM on July 11 [3 favorites]

I’ve lived in rural mexico. The cooked beans have lots o’ fiber, so that’ll help.
posted by umbú at 8:31 PM on July 11 [13 favorites]

Best answer: I'm a high-fiber person and I agree that traveling always makes it harder. I rely on: fiber gummies (2, twice a day = 8 grams); powder fiber supplement added to liquid (3 grams each time; you can do this as much as you want, and it's tasteless so you can put it in water, coffee, whatever); Misfit protein bars (available at Trader Joe's or online, 9-11 grams per bar depending on the flavor).

But beyond that -- beans are your friend and happily you'll be able to have beans all over Mexico. They're utterly loaded with fiber!
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:34 PM on July 11

Metamucil is your friend.

In general “Boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it" should be your food mantra during your stay.

Oh, and make sure you skip the ice cubes as they are often made with local unfiltered water.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:38 PM on July 11 [1 favorite]

Lots of fibre in beans, as mentioned, and if you get corn tortillas made from actual corn (not from maseca), those aren't bad for fibre either. Lots of good fruit in Mexico and cooked vegetables too.

People in Mexico tend to wash leafy vegetables to be consumed raw in water with disinfectant. You can buy this yourself in the vegetable section of the grocery store, but a good plain water wash for things like cucumbers or carrots is fine. I'd feel fine eating vegetables in restaurants as well. Salad is certainly less common in rural Mexico, but there's still lots of vegetables around.
posted by ssg at 8:47 PM on July 11 [3 favorites]

Also, if you're going to a reasonably sized grocery store from a major chain, you can buy pre-washed, bagged greens and those are fine to eat direct from the bag.
posted by ssg at 8:50 PM on July 11 [2 favorites]

I'd just pack some psyllium husk capsules and take a few of those every day--that's saved me & kept things moving along well on every trip I've taken in the last few years. And you could pair it with a shelf-stable probiotic.
posted by knotty knots at 10:15 PM on July 11

I'm a high-fiber person and I agree that traveling always makes it harder
I see what you did there.

BYOF. I would bring fiber pills or powder or gummies
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:10 PM on July 11 [3 favorites]

Avocados, plentiful and safe to eat in Mexico, are a surprisingly rich source of fiber. And if you can get your hands on some oats (or bring some), make overnight oats each night.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 1:00 AM on July 12 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Though it varies somewhat by locale, most Mexicans can't drink the tap water in Mexico either. People rely on a garrafón , which is a 5-gallon office-water-cooler jug, filled with purified water at supermarkets or jug-filling stations.

Don't trust water from a Rotoplas, which is a large black tank of water that people often keep on their roof, extremely common in rural areas. You can generally trust water in a garrafón, but make sure it's being filled from a purified water station—not from a Rotoplas. If in doubt, go to a water station yourself and get a garrafón—they aren't expensive.

If you use the water from a garrafón for everything you're consuming: drinking water, washing vegetables, even your toothbrush, you should be safe.

A lot of the produce in the US is imported from Mexico anyway, so there's no reason you can't enjoy your regular salads in Mexico—just make sure they're thoroughly cleaned. There are also sanitizing drops you can get in a supermarket (Microdyn is one brand) that you can add to the garrafón water for extra sterilization when washing produce.

Your Mexican relatives may look at you funny, but insist on washing the fruits and vegetables you eat yourself. Extra caution is warranted in rural areas, even if it doesn't make sense to them.

I've also found that bringing a bag of prunes is helpful for making sure everything goes smoothly during your trip.
posted by vitout at 5:24 AM on July 12 [8 favorites]

Coming in to second what vitout said. I spent a week in rural-ish Mexico and picked up a drug-resistant e-coli which resulted in a hospital stay, would have killed me if I had been older, and has resulted in some long-term deficits to my heart and liver function.
posted by eleslie at 5:55 AM on July 12 [3 favorites]

Don't trust water from a Rotoplas.

Rotoplas is a brand name for plastic tanks, but all water tanks should be avoided. Tinacos are usually filled with either city water or well water, both of which are clean enough to bathe in and use for other household tasks, but neither of which are suitable for human intake without filtering.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:15 AM on July 12

I was in rural SLP last week and there were literally ripe mangoes everywhere! Tons of fiber there.
posted by flamk at 7:42 AM on July 12

Yes to beans, but also: Mexicans eat a lot more cooked vegetables than you'd think from eating in Mexican restaurants in the US. It depends on the regions but I'd talk to the family friends ahead of time to see what you can expect. And fruit is excellent in Mexico as a general rule.
posted by lunasol at 7:04 PM on July 24