Buying superfoods in Saigon is actually quite easy if you know where to look.
I'll start with the obvious - nuts. Whether its almonds, cashew or pistachio, you can get em here for a price. I usually just pop into Ben Thanh market every couple of weeks to stock up.
Very roughly, they are 20-30,000 per 100 grams depending on which type you buy.
You can also buy Brazil nuts from Veggies, natures best source of selenium.
The bag of red berries in the picture is Goji Berries (dried), called 'Ki Tu'. These should be available in your local Chinese medicine shop, 15,000 VND per 100 gram.
The liquid in the La Vie bottle is Coconut Oil. The health benefits of coconut oil are amazing. Just check out the Coconut Research Center or read this book. My father-in-law usually keeps us supplied, making the oil on his fish farm in Ben Tre. If I'm short there is a stall in the wet market at Ben Thanh that sells everything coconut, including the oil - 100,000 dong for 500 grams. Not withstanding the oil, coconuts are 9,000 dong from the supermarket or cheaper if you catch the guy on the bicycle! The meat, milk and water of the coconut are also great foods - which is why I shake my head in disbelief at people who insist in drinking 'diet coke' poison everywhere they go. Yes, that is some people's idea of nutrition, drinking 'diet' soda without even knowing what's in it! Sorry, touched a nerve there.
Also in the picture are some standard fish oil supplements and also a CoQ10 supplement. These can be picked up at most any pharmacy around town - and definitely the larger ones (on Hai Ba Trung for example). Supplement stocks seem to be standard.
Another superfood I've recently investigated is Chlorella, an algae extract and widely considered one of the most powerful supplements you can take. Hard to find in Saigon! We did find some online but the supplier had already sold out by the time we contacted her. What is easy to come by however is Spirulina, another kind of algae also associated with powerful health benefits - that's the jar with Japanese writing on. 300,000 VND for 120 tablets. It's 60% vegetable protein, rich in B vitamins especially B12, has a host of anti-oxidants and a lot more.
Available in any supermarket in Saigon are ginger and garlic, those most basic of ingrediants that are also well known as being superfoods - so why not eat loads of them! Finding ways to include them raw in your diet is the challenging part as cooking almost always destroys the benefits. Also easily found on the shelf is Aloe Vera, another wonder-food, and in the right season, Avacadoes. So good! Organik is a company with a farm based in the dalat area and with a shop on Thao Dien in An Phu. They also deliver, and they stock plenty of organic vegetables and herbs along with the 'Eden' range of organic products. Free range eggs are found in Co-Op mart and everywhere else.
On my list is raw milk. I know Chi's relatives buy it in Cu Chi from a local farm but as far as I know it is unavailable in Saigon - everything is pasteurised...so if anyone has any leads, pls leave a comment!
Although Saigon has a wonderful eating scene and it is cheap, there are a number of problems. One is MSG, that excitotoxin that is used so much in cooking here. Fish sauce contains MSG, as does soy sauce. Other problems include oversalting which is constant. BBQs are great once in a while, but blackened meat from the grill is one of the most potent carcinogenics around! So yeah, just once in a while please. Quality of produce is another think you can never be sure about, along with quality of meat. We already know that GMO animal feed is being used in Vietnam and is therefore in our food chain already. Unless you can find beef that is from grass fed cows only....then we are talking about the good stuff. Unfortunatlely, and thanks to that wolf in sheeps clothing, the monstrosity that is the WTO, GMO is going to be well and truly established in Vietnam soon.
Rubbish!
23 comments:
I've heard the argument but have not seen any scientific studies proving actual benefits of raw milk, only the real dangers of drinking it. We shouldn't confuse "back-to-basics" with good.
http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=491
I would be especially afraid over here. Overseas it usually comes from tiny farms with stringent cleanliness so as to prevent serious disease which the pasteurization would catch.
And the site linked to about coconuts seems full of quackery: "Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses". And a hundred other miracles apparently.
I know coconut water is very high in electrolytes. Just read up a bit on coconut oil, thanks.
Have not read about Goji berries, but wikipedia for what's worth notes: "Since the early 21st century, the dried fruit has been marketed in the West as a health food (typically under the name "Tibetan goji berry", often accompanied by scientifically-unsupported claims regarding its purported health benefits.
Its most claimed nutritional attribute is an exceptional level of vitamin C, to be among the highest in natural plants.[49] However, it was demonstrated by independent assays on dried berries to be quite variable, in a range of 29–148 mg per 100 grams of fruit. This level is comparable to many citrus fruits and strawberries[50] as well as numerous other fruits and berries."
Haven't seen anything showing GMO is bad yet, just a worry as to what could potentially happen. (And economically given patents on the product.) In fact, it does seem to be good for output based on disease prevention in plants.
For raw milk, have a look through this: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/14/the-war-over-raw-milk-heats-up.aspx
I'm not confused and its nothing to do with back to basics. Yes raw milk has to be produced in the right way. Pasteurization simply kills anything good in milk and turns it into a dead liquid.
If you believe what you read in Wikipedia, that's fine! But I'll take the fact that it's been associated with good health in Chinese medicine for 2000 years over some graduate wiki-editor who is told what to write. Probably by people who don't want natural health remedies to become popular because it impinges on their profits.
As for 'Haven't seen anything showing GMO is bad yet' you must be having a laugh!
http://www.amazon.com/Seeds-Destruction-Hidden-Genetic-Manipulation/dp/0973714727
http://www.newswithviews.com/Smith/jeffrey125.
http://www.naturalnews.com/027226_food_GMO_foods.html
http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/2010/09sep/RIR-100930-jsmith.mp3
Regarding GMO - remember that everyone has an agenda, and you can make money by writing books about a big GMO conspiracy.
http://gmopundit.blogspot.com/2007/06/150-published-safety-assessments-on-gm.html
http://academicsreview.org/reviewed-content/genetic-roulette/
The AAEM, which is a primary source for those two articles you linked to, is listed as a questionable organisation on Quackwatch.
http://www.quackwatch.com/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.html
Anyway, in the end we must all make our own decisions about what is best for us and our families.
Yes, and quackwatch is 99% probably sponsored by big pharma.
Again, I'll take the likelihood that the multi-billion dollar agrifood business controlled by some of the most powerful people in the world has more of an agenda than people writing books about GMO...you really should read 'Seeds of Destruction' to understand the bigger picture.
Of course everyone has an agenda - looking at the contributors on GMO pundit they are both hardly neutral!
You are right, make your own decisions for your family. Organic or GMO..hmmm I wonder!
>>Pasteurization simply kills anything good in milk and turns it into a dead liquid.
That is obviously false, as you surely know. Heating food does not destroy all nutritional value while it definitely kills very dangerous elements and prevents disease.
The FDA says there is little to no difference in nutritional value between the milks. There is no scientific consensus that pasteurization is killing off everything - or anything - good that we need in milk. So that means pasteurized milk is as nutritional as raw milk (or close to, if you want) but without the unnecessary risk.
Individual doctors and scientists have no vested interest in warning against raw milk or anything else if actually a good thing. They aren't all working for "Big Pharma"/GMO corps/etc., the vast majority only care about what is proven to work or not.
>>If you believe what you read in Wikipedia, that's fine!
As I said, "for what it's worth".
>>But I'll take the fact that it's been associated with good health in Chinese medicine for 2000 years
So is acupuncture, but it has absolutely no scientific effect other than as a placebo. Yet people waste tons of money on it, cleansings and various other homeopathic-mystical nonsense while condemning science, proven vaccines and "Big Pharma" in a misguided reaction to unhealthy aspects of modernity.
So, unless a special food is shown to provide benefits... It might well be that these berries are a very good source of some things, but unverified Chinese tradition is not a good argument, just a starting point.
>>graduate wiki-editor who is told what to write. Probably by people who don't want natural health remedies to become popular because it impinges on their profits.
Wikipedia is not controlled by any one side, as we all know. And if a natural health remedy actually works, no doubt "Big Pharma" and others ("Big Organic"?) would start selling it to make money, right?
Corporations are interested in profit, nothing else. GMO items are marketed for the same reason any company touts better performance: to sell more.
Corn and such modified to resist disease or grow taller is, in and of itself, clearly a very good benefit and has nothing to do with the "organic" value of the subsequent corn.
Modification is certainly something to worry about though as some could be bad or have unintended consequences.
Cheers.
>>Pasteurization simply kills anything good in milk and turns it into a dead liquid.
That is obviously false, as you surely know. Heating food does not destroy all nutritional value while it definitely kills very dangerous elements and prevents disease.
The FDA says there is little to no difference in nutritional value between the milks. There is no scientific consensus that pasteurization is killing off everything - or anything - good that we need in milk. So that means pasteurized milk is as nutritional as raw milk (or close to, if you want) but without the unnecessary risk.
Individual doctors and scientists have no vested interest in warning against raw milk or anything else if actually a good thing. They aren't all working for "Big Pharma"/GMO corps/etc., the vast majority only care about what is proven to work or not.
>>If you believe what you read in Wikipedia, that's fine!
As I said, "for what it's worth".
>>But I'll take the fact that it's been associated with good health in Chinese medicine for 2000 years
So is acupuncture, but it has absolutely no scientific effect other than as a placebo. Yet people waste tons of money on it, cleansings and various other homeopathic-mystical nonsense while condemning science, proven vaccines and "Big Pharma" in a misguided reaction to unhealthy aspects of modernity.
So, unless a special food is shown to provide benefits... It might well be that these berries are a very good source of some things, but unverified Chinese tradition is not a good argument, just a starting point.
>>graduate wiki-editor who is told what to write. Probably by people who don't want natural health remedies to become popular because it impinges on their profits.
Wikipedia is not controlled by any one side, as we all know. And if a natural health remedy actually works, no doubt "Big Pharma" and others ("Big Organic"?) would start selling it to make money, right?
Corporations are interested in profit, nothing else. GMO items are marketed for the same reason any company touts better performance: to sell more.
Corn and such modified to resist disease or grow taller is, in and of itself, clearly a very good benefit and has nothing to do with the "organic" value of the subsequent corn.
Modification is certainly something to worry about though as some could be bad or have unintended consequences.
Cheers.
>>Pasteurization simply kills anything good in milk and turns it into a dead liquid.
That is obviously false, as you surely know. Heating food does not destroy all nutritional value while it definitely kills very dangerous elements and prevents disease.
There is no scientific consensus that pasteurization is killing off everything - or anything - good that we need in milk. So that means pasteurized milk is as nutritional as raw milk (or close to, if you want) but without the unnecessary risk.
Individual doctors and scientists have no vested interest in warning against raw milk or anything else if actually a good thing. The vast majority only care about what is proven to work or not.
>>If you believe what you read in Wikipedia, that's fine!
As I said, "for what it's worth".
>>But I'll take the fact that it's been associated with good health in Chinese medicine for 2000 years
So is acupuncture, but it has absolutely no scientific effect other than as a placebo. Yet people waste tons of money on it, cleansings and various other homeopathic-mystical nonsense while condemning science, proven vaccines and "Big Pharma" in a misguided reaction to unhealthy aspects of modernity.
So, unless a special food is shown to provide benefits... It might well be that these berries are a very good source of some things, but unverified Chinese tradition is not a good argument, just a starting point.
>>graduate wiki-editor who is told what to write. Probably by people who don't want natural health remedies to become popular because it impinges on their profits.
Wikipedia is not controlled by any one side, as we all know. And if a natural health remedy actually works, no doubt "Big Pharma" and others ("Big Organic"?) would start selling it to make money, right?
Corporations are interested in profit, nothing else. GMO items are marketed for the same reason any company touts better performance: to sell more.
Corn and such modified to resist disease or grow taller is, in and of itself, clearly a very good benefit and has nothing to do with the "organic" value of the subsequent corn.
Modification is certainly something to worry about though as some could be bad or have unintended consequences.
Cheers.
>>Pasteurization simply kills anything good in milk and turns it into a dead liquid.
That is obviously false, as you surely know. Heating food does not destroy all nutritional value while it definitely kills very dangerous elements and prevents disease.
There is no scientific consensus that pasteurization is killing off everything - or anything - good that we need in milk. So that means pasteurized milk is as nutritional as raw milk (or close to, if you want) but without the unnecessary risk.
Individual doctors and scientists have no vested interest in warning against raw milk or anything else if actually a good thing. The vast majority only care about what is proven to work or not.
>>If you believe what you read in Wikipedia, that's fine!
As I said, "for what it's worth".
>>But I'll take the fact that it's been associated with good health in Chinese medicine for 2000 years
So is acupuncture, but it has absolutely no scientific effect other than as a placebo. Yet people waste money on it, cleansings and various other homeopathic-mystical nonsense while condemning science, proven vaccines and "Big Pharma" in a misguided reaction to unhealthy aspects of modernity.
So, unless a special food is shown to provide benefits... These berries are maybe a very good source of some things, but unverified Chinese tradition is not a good argument, just a starting point.
Corporations are interested in profit, nothing else. If a natural health remedy actually works, no doubt "Big Pharma" and others ("Big Organic"?) would start selling it to make money, right?
GMO items are marketed for the same reason any company touts better performance: to sell more.
Corn and such modified to resist disease or grow taller is, in and of itself, clearly a very good benefit and has nothing to do with the "organic" value of the subsequent corn.
Modification is certainly something to worry about though as some could be bad or have unintended consequences.
Cheers.
Sorry, Jon, it kept saying "error, the URL is too long" after submitting, so I was editing it down until it worked last time.
hahaha
who are you?
You say acupuncture doesn't work, only as a placebo? OK then.
Big Pharma can't sell natural remedies because they can't patent them.
you said:
That is obviously false, as you surely know.
Umm, no, I surely don't know, THAT's WHY I WROTE IT.
Cooking DOES destroy the nutritional value of foods, especially at high temperatures. When cooking meat, it also forms cancerous HCA's.
You quote the FDA. The FDA! That shows how little you understand what is happening in the food industry (or you are a shill). The same FDA that acts the gestapo and has NOTHING to do with administering food and drugs but works entirely to protect the profits of the pharma/agribusiness industry.
you said: Wikipedia is not controlled by any one side, as we all know.
As we all know? Again, we don't all know that, THAT's WHY I WROTE IT!
http://www.anh-usa.org/wikipedia%E2%80%99s-anti-natural-health-slant/
Please try and avoid using phrases like 'as we all know' and 'as you surely know'. It's weird.
http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20101017161427.aspx
No more comments from you...
Until you reveal your identity.
Hi Jon, nice couple of articles recently, sorry Connections did not work out in the end...
You know me, I am the one who tried to explain to the father his 2 year old daughter did not need to be fed 2 lunches and 2 breakfasts:)
Hope the family are well.
Ed. Haha, I wondered if that article would get back to you sometime..! It's in Vietnamese in a business magazine.
No need for me to comment, but telling that you censor people who disagree based on not typing in a meaningless (to you) name. Goes with the conspiracies vs science approach.
Good luck drinking raw milk and with the quackery. -Seriously.
Troi oi! He's back! And still too cowardly to even write his name. Not hiding something then? ;-)
Conspiracies? About coconut oil and goji berries?
Conspiracies? This is from the man who says 'Haven't seen anything showing GMO is bad yet'...
Seriously!
Yes I will stick to my research into wholesome, nutritious foods and supplements, thanks. My wife's family drink 'fresh' milk straight from the farm every morning in Cu Chi district (as I am sure many other families do and have done for generations) and they and their kids look pretty healthy to me. I would be interested in the methods used by the farm to keep this milk clean, then I might consider buying some to drink. After all, it IS pretty healthy:
http://www.raw-milk-facts.com/raw_milk_health_benefits.html
Hi there,
First of all let me compliment you on your website with so much good information about Vietnam, and especially Saigon.
My name is Martin and I arrived in Vietnam the same year that you did. it's been a while but time seemed to have passed pretty quickly, which is pretty bad in my opinion because I've been sick most of the time.
I suffer from chronic digestive problems. Obviously got diagnosed with IBS, but had some ulcers and inflammations along the way. Living with this has made my life less worth living to say the least.
Last month I had an upper and lower endoscopy and was diagnosed with yet another ulcer and some growths in my colon that (luckily) were benign. I am afraid however, if I continue like this. The next diagnose might be something serious.
At the follow up of my last endoscopies the doctor diagnosed me with depression and prescribed Zoloft. I told him that he would be depressed too if he had to live in pain or discomfort. I did wanted to give the medication a try, so I did. A week later I decided to stop taking those (piousness) pills. It turned me into a total vegetable and made me feel worse than before.
Now I gave you a short medical history, I didn't tell you that most of my problems are probably my own fault because of bad nutrition. The only good thing I've done in recent years is quit smoking. I'm eating pretty much everything and I feel that I'm in a vicious circle.
I need to change my life style and eat better foods. I saw the documentary "food matters" 2008 and I'm going to give the vitamin approach a chance to help me heal. I would also like to eat much healthier but here is where my problems begins. I have no idea how to this (buy what where) and this is what led me to your website. I did a google " superfoods Ho Chi Minh City)
So thank you for your post, I now have some places to start my search for healthy and organic foods.
Some questions:
Do you feel save eating the vegetables of Organic raw?
How do you eat the goji berries?
Can you recommend a good sushi restaurant and would you think it's a healthy daily lunch?
I bought omega-3 (brand Pharmekal) however, a friend told me that a good omega-3 supplement should be kept and sold straight out of a fridge. Your thoughts?
You shop at Ben Thanh market, don't you feel the sellers there try to rip you off?
What do you think about Vegetable powder as supplement.
I'm just interested in other peoples opinion, even if they aren't professional nutritionists
tnx again
Hey Martin, can you email me at jonathanjameshoff@gmail.com, I have some ideas for you..
beautiful pic
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