Eating Wisely and Well in Guanajuato, Mexico

The bad news is watch those tamales. The good news is that every corn tortilla you eat provides 40mg of calcium. So how do you balance the good and the bad while you’re eating festively in Mexico, as I do most of the time during my everyday life in Guanajuato?

Most North Americans know how to avoid illness when they travel south.  Drink bottled water, stay away from raw fruit and vegetables peeled by others, leave the lettuce, and, some people say avoid fish and shellfish. If you eat in the better restaurants, you won’t even have to think. All the fruits and vegetables have been disinfected before they are laid out in front of you.

But maintaining fitness in the face of Mexico’s culinary temptations takes  planning. I go by three basic principles: watching snacks, eating small portions and avoiding fatty food like carnitas, cake or cookies, and pizza, all readily available in Mexico. Just as at home, fast food is usually fatty food, often made with cheese high in saturated fat.

Of course, not all fat is equally bad. When I want  to snack, I munch on shelled monounsaturated peanuts or an avocado, all coming in their natural, protective covers. What could be more Mexican than one of those dark green pear-shaped fruits with the light green insides, many of them grown in the nearby state of Michoacan? At a high-priced restaurant, you may find an avocado half filled with a creamy or mayonnaise salad. Eat all the avocado and leave some of the filling. In doing so, you may even lower the low-density cholesterol level in your blood.




At breakfast, avoid eggs if you want to because you’ll find other choices. You can fill your plate with fruit, add a slice of homemade bread or make your own whole wheat toast. Yoghurt is another popular choice.. Later in the day, if you see lentil soup on a restaurant menu, you’ll be eating a dish Mexicans enjoy and add to your fiber intake at the same time. Remember, that the healthiest beans (an important source of calcium for Mexicans) are ones that have not been refried.