Americans need more fiber and flavor in their daily lives.
I lowkey hate this stereotype that Mexican food makes people sick. If all the “Mexican” food you ever ate is from some shitty fast food place, that’s on you.
They clearly haven’t went to Pujol.
Several a social homebodoes experience with Latino Cuisine came mostly from Doritos and Taco Bell.
I don’t think it’s about making people sick but rather so spicy the cracker body can’t handle it because of their typically bland diets.
Yeah, I didn’t start liking spicy food until I was a teenager/adult and when I started eating it regularly there was a bit of a reckoning until my body adapted.
That said I think it’s a combination of spicy and lots of beans. If you don’t get enough fiber in your daily diet your meal every few weeks that includes an appropriate amount will cause some gastrointestinal discomfort.
American average diet sucks, so when they eat an inordinate amount of beans, they shit they heart out because they are not used to the fibers
I live in an area that has no Mexican restaurants, Northern Europe, so I have searched for recipes and made them myself (well, tried my best obviously) and no sickness at all. I guess this myth is just about fastfood or restaurants’ hygiene levels? (EDIT; And racism?)
Beans and capsaicin. If your daily diet is low fiber low spiciness a meal that’s spicy and high fiber will do that to you.
For comparison consider the “traditional” diet of the American Midwest. It’s largely casseroles from canned goods, with large amounts of dairy. The plants involved are often pasta, potatoes, carrots, or canned. You also have cut of meat + fried potato. It’s a diet high in sodium and fat and low in fiber and where piquancy is delivered in a dash of pre ground pepper. It’s the sort of diet you’d recommend to someone who would rather schedule a day for their bowel movements rather than spending less time more frequently (and easily) on the task. This is rarely how people eat every day even there anymore, and it’s an extreme example, but it’s not that far off of (white) poverty food in much of the US.
To someone with a diet even resembling what I just described, a dish with lots of beans, some rice, veggies, and some kick to it can very easily overwhelm your digestive system.
Then you add some racism in to generalize it in a way associated with food in poorer countries, and add in the fact that Mexico is the most common place for Americans to get travelers diarrhea (often called “Montezuma’s revenge” here).
All these issues are really easy to blend together in your head if you’re the sort of person who normally eats like crap and doesn’t do research before taking a vacation to Mexico.
Skill issue. Literally have never had any problems with Mexican, Indian, or any other non-european food. I think people who have had issues are more likely to speak about it, causing this warped perception. Maybe your stomach isn’t equipped to handle this stuff? If a billion plus people can live with these cuisines, then maybe let’s not blame the cuisines
I’m mexican, I love mexican, indian, thai food. I still have a bad time with them sometimes.
For me, it depends on the spice level. The more adventurous i am at the dinner table the worse off I am in the bathroom the next day. Worth it tho.
It’s either beans, spice, or grease. They get more fiber than normal, they get some exceptionally spicy food, or more grease than normal. And the grease is only if they get taco bell or some other shitty “tex-mex” food.
I never understood this relation of spicy food with a bad time in toilet, do people feel the spicy saucen when pooping? I dont
Sensible chuckle magazine.
The real tragedy is countries with Mexican food not having Japanese toilets.
I never understood the claims about Mexican food causing explosive shits but I do understand why those with weak stomachs keep trying to eat it anyway.
I hear tell that the claims are from people with low fiber diets, who suddenly have to deal with fiberful foods.
(I heard it on the Internet, and so now I repeat it on the Internet and let others handle the fact checking!)
Beans will do that
Beans will fact check?
They are a magical fruit
the more you eat, the more you toot!
If you ask nicely
Yeah Mexican food doesn’t give me shits (mexican ancestry might help) but having a Japanese bidet is nice.
Shit people can get one for less than $100 dollars. I’ve been trying to get my fellow Americans on the same page. I once had a coworker call a foreign coworker nasty cuz he used a portable bidet at work. People here are insane. I can hardly get myself to take a work poop because there are no bidets at work.
Southern American here: bidets are the bees knees.
What’s this about portable bidets? Any reputable brands to look into?
My coworkers device was a water bottle with a small hole in the lid.
Insolife is good. The cheaper ones on amazon are useless. I think modding a water flosser probably has potential as a budget option, some people freak out at the idea because it sounds super intense but if you ever spray one on your wrist they aren’t nearly as strong as it feels on your gums.
There are many reasons but one is that modern European cuisine (over the past several centuries) generally looked down upon spice.
I’ve always wondered if Hot Ones was a concerted effort to broaden the horizons of those who were traditionally opposed to spice.
Idk I feel like buffalo wings as a whole were part of the American rediscovery of piquancy. Tex mex and Mexican food proliferating around the same time also contributed. It was all boomer era shifts. Idk if it was gen x or millenials where Indian food really became popular for most people, but Thai and other spicy Asian foods also have been rising in popularity. Hell when I was a kid Chinese restaurants had a few spicy options, now many have a few non spicy options.
Idk if Cajun will ever rise from its position where a lot of people like elements of it, but it’s definitely a bold thing to suggest a group of friends go out to get, but it is a US original cuisine that prides itself on being spicy.
Also vinegar based cayenne pepper hot sauces have been reasonably popular for a long time. I hear that started with smokers wanting to be able to taste their food.
In Spain and Italy they eat a lot of spicy food. Probably other countries too, but the stereotype is that all European food is as bland as English food or something.
It’s a stereotype that’s the reverse of the stereotype explained in the article. In most of Europe, perhaps with select exceptions, nobles looked down on the use of spices in cuisine when they became accessible to ordinary folk via colonialism. That led to a bit of an elitist attitude against spice which was the attitude I feel was the mainstream even as recently as the 90s in settler colonial nations from those of European descent. The vibe was, to be brief and blunt “don’t eat that you’ll never stop shitting” and real food is steak, casserole, meatloaf or whatever.
The reversal of that stereotype, since the Europeans that generally looked down on spice only make up 20% of the global population and most other regions enjoy it, was to say “no actually you’re the one with the bland food, it’s not that our food is too spicy”.
There’s exaggeration on both fronts but it’s interesting to see these different perspectives. Both have evolved over time.
Trevor Noah does a funny bit in his most recent standup where MLK Jr and his buddies go to a white diner - for the first time after ending segregation - and after having the (relatively) bland chicken, question everything they fought for.
I take lactase enzyme tablets and alpha galactosidase enzyme tablets (Beano) to break down the complex sugars in dairy and beans and it normally prevents any problems. A nutritionist told me once that most beans have some complex sugars that humans can’t normally digest, and when those ferment in the digestive tract it can cause problems, but the alpha galactosidase takes care of it.
With enough hot sauce anything is possible.
Spicy food is worth the pain and suffering that it causes for sure! My bowels absolutely hate hot sauce no matter what I do! The cheaper the spice (think dehydrated red peppers), the worst the experience. That being said, I still put globs of my favorite habanero sauce on my food twice a week at minimum then dealing with the consequences the next morning! Buying a bidet really enabled me to shrug off my horrible dietary decisions even more than I already did, it’s an absolute lifesaver!
Spice capsaicin really doesn’t irritate your bowels, it’s all the fried stuff that does.
TMI - internal hemorrhoids my guy. It does for me
Sounds like you don’t eat it spicy enough
I am a european in my 40s and have never, ever, encountered a shit like described here.
Every time i read about it i wander if it’s because i am just not exposed to the specific food causing it, or if americans just eat so much unhealthy stuff that their digestive system is just fucked up for good. And to this day i don’t know the answer.
I’m American and have never had an issue eating Mexican food and I eat it like three times per week. It’s just a bullshit, hack joke rooted in racism that somehow still proliferates.
Yeah, the only time it makes sense is when you go to Mexico and get Montezuma’s revenge because I guess my American digestive tract is weak af. My brother lived in Mexico City for a few years. First time I thought it was a bad hangover. Second time thought I ate something funny. Third time I accepted it. And that was it, so apparently you just gotta accept it.
Usually that’s caused by different water when traveling. Often not even bad water, just different.
Right, just different amoebas and whatnot, if I can put on my science hat. I either eventually got used to it or successfully avoided the water, but we will unfortunately never know for sure.
Ah true, good point. Maybe that’s where it comes from.
There’s Mexican food and “mexican” food. Taco bell should be illegal it’s a gastrointestinal crime.
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I have this rule that Americans are always wrong. Works out well 80% of the time I’d say. Good enough to live by it
As an american, I think you’re right…
It probably boils down to people not getting enough fiber and beans end up acting like colon blow.
95% of Americans don’t get their recommended daily amount of fiber. So when they finally do have beans, it’s an experience.
I think specifically the oligosaccharides in beans that, if your digestive system has not been accustomed to, will be unpleasant if you all of a sudden ingest a lot of. Also poorly prepared beans that have not been sufficiently soaked, etc. to draw these out.
I am an American in my 40s and I’ve never encountered it either. I eat a lot of Mexican food and a lot of spicy food from different cultures as well, so maybe I’m just acclimated? I feel like for some of these people the spiciest food they ever eat is taco bell and it just destroys them.
Same. I don’t eat a ton of spicy food but when I do everything’s normal afterward.
I didn’t think it was real, I thought it was just a joke. But then again trump is president so I guess people are eating as smart as they vote
I live in the US, I don’t understand this either. I’ve never experienced these purported issues. I’m guessing either I have a stronger than usual stomach or it’s just played up for the memes?
I saw it referenced for example in South Park, and I don’t think South Park would lie about American lore like that.
Maybe you are mistaken, or perhaps just lack a good reference point & don’t know how the rest of the world shits.
(/s)that South Park episode was clowning on a chipotle ecoli incident I’m p sure
Poor Cartman, I can still hear his screams …
Hey, I am a dirty immigrant after all, you might be right 😝
Oh, so you are saying you know how to shit better & therefore you think you are better than the rest of Murikans, do you?!
You have no idea how it is to spend 3 hours evey day continuously powerblasting the toilet & then still muster the strength to again visit the same dirty fast food joint responsible for the jet propulsion formula that can kill you at any moment by spontaneously launching you into orbit!!!
Whoever downvoted this masterpiece of Shakespearean level prose is an absolute monster.
I salute you sir. Godspeed 🫡
Lol, ikr? Do folk think/is it possible ppl read that & thought it 0% sarcastic?
(I’m ofc not even from USA. However I do poop.)But ty for your kind words, I do try my to be the best shitpearian poster my brainhole can manage.
I’m a Canadian in my 40s and a regular once-a-day shitter. I have not experienced a shit so violent that I have destroyed a toilet. However, I have enjoyed Thai food so spicy that my asshole burned.
Spicy food, is my understanding of this.
Pakistani, Indian, Tamil food fucks me up real good. Every time. So delicious though.
It’s really because of the beans. Most Americans don’t eat much fiber, so when they suddenly do…
Yeah, i get that. It’s just that we, on the other side of the pond, also sometimes eat rely spicy food without being exposed to it on a regular basis. And still, have yet to hear or read about this from single non american.
found the person who doesn’t use enough wasabi on their sushi to hate themself after
Wasabi is very mild. Even milder than horseradish
Most Wasabi served in restaurants is actually horseradish. Real wasabi is definitely milder and also more interesting tasting.
Ya know what’s fun, is I’m just not sure I care if it’s wasabi or horseradish. The green shit that i dab on my sushi rolls tastes great and unique, and the burn hits me right between the eyes. Give me the non-descript green shit, please.
i just eat it on its own. doesn’t do much.
You made me suspect there’s probably somebody out there who mixes a lot of wasabi into their natto.
There are some good Mexican, Thai, and Indian places that will gladly give you all the fire your ass can handle.
I used to go to a fantastic Mexican place in Fukuoka in the 2000s whenever I went from Korea to Japan. The owner, who worked in a restaurant in Mexico City for years, had this wall of hot sauces and tequilas behind the bar. All the sauces were free to try and he’d give you a shot of tequila on the house too occasionally.
BS they don’t have Mexican food. They’ve imported a lot of Mexican culture if their media is anything to go by.
The best carnitas I ever had was at a place off Takeshita Street
More like… nvm
Fine… you can take the high road. I’ll take the low.
More like “take a shita street”.
(By the way, Takeshita means “under the bamboo” in Japanese.)
It’s getting easier to find, but it was really hard for years. Even if you find a place that does Mexican (or TexMex or CaliMex), the menus tend to be limited and it tends to be expensive. I think the place I go in my nearest big city (Sendai) has tacos that are only a few cm in diameter and like 500 JPY each (pre-tax median annual salary is < 5 million JPY).
I found one place that did decent TexMex in Tokyo and it really went downhill after corona IMO. Not only did the menu get smaller, the prices went up.
Dude… Have you tried papusas yet? Not Mexican but, ya know, south of the USA. They’re so friggin good.
Mexican food and tacos are just scratching the surface of Latin American food. It’s all so good and so different.
I had them once when I was living in Houston, TX, USA. Unfortunately, I can’t have gluten-containing foods anymore so anything wheat-/flour-based is out. Thankfully, I can get corn tortillas. I mostly just cook things at home, these days.
I’ve eaten at a few Peruvian restaurants as well and I’m sure other countries that aren’t coming to mind right now. I just mentioned Mexican (and derivatives/fusions) as that was what the post was talking about.
I’d say it’s about as prevalent there as Vietnamese food is here in the US. Mid and large cities will definitely have it but outside there the best you’ll get is maybe they’ll have some tacos or quesadillas at an “American” restaurant, similar to how there’ll be an “asian” restaurant in town that might serve one or two Vietnamese dishes.
And where I’m at, I can think of two pho places.
I pass 3 pho places when I’m walking my dog. Gotta love the Pacific Northwest.
I mean some sushi can give you food poisoning if it’s not prepared right, also they do eat lots of raw food so their toilets might’ve seen worse horrors.
I mean some sushi can give you food poisoning if it’s not prepared right
any food can give you food poisoning if it’s not prepared correctly. undercooked hamburgers can kill you just as easily as tuna sashimi.
TIL taco rice doesn’t count as Mexican…
Taco… rice?
An Okinawan specialty. Imagine taco bell, but better, and instead of taco shells, it’s served over white rice (good white rice by the way, Japan doesn’t fuck around with shitty rice).
I’ll agree that it’s better than taco bell, but that’s a really, really low bar. I’ve never found taco rice to be that good (within Okinawa or otherwise); it’s not terrible or anything, but often very bland.
I guess that depends where you get it from. I’ve had bland taco rice too, but find the right hole-in-the-wall stand (literally, like the places where it’s just a window in the side of the building and you walk up and order without going inside), and it can be really good.
Ultimately it’s just rice, lettuce, taco meat, sauce, and cheese. So if those ingredients are quality, it’s gonna be quality; and if not, not. The biggest difference often boils down to the sauce, but of course some lettuce/cheese/etc. is better than others…
They do however have Thai food… I’d argue that Thai food is worse than Mexican food when it comes to “hot shits” because the fiber comes from vegetables and hot sauce instead of beans and hot sauce. Meaning there’s nothing dense to soften the blow that your asshole is about to experience. I also believe this is why all Thai people are so thin! The food literally goes right through them!
Just to note on fiber, there’s a number of thai ingredients such as fragrant leafs that are added for smell and not to eat. Most of us eat around these but literally if you eat these add ins combined with the fantastic amount of bird beak peppers we love, you’re going to have an interesting day. Another example, the number of seeds alone that you can find in some ส้มตำ is almost comparable to a chia flax smoothie. In my opinion the number of fresh plants is not something found in many other cuisines.
Eating like this may not even be possible for every meal, best start your day with a nice fried egg with rice to recover, you know. (Drizzle with chili vinegar fish sauce to survive until your next glorious meal)
Sounds wonderful! My go to us Pad See Ew when I’m eating Thai. I learned how to make it when all of my Thai restaurants closed down during the pandemic and I got pretty good at it! I’m now sort of a snob about the dish knowing when it’s not made correctly…
Hot Thai Kitchen in YT has a wealth of knowledge that she provides to make authentic Thai food and as a bonus she’s gorgeous!
Me after having birria tacos that were bomb and blowing up my toilet reading this. Ill pray for them.
Bragging.
