An ode to my most beloved fruit
Travelers, don’t get scurvy.
No, seriously. I’ve had several stretches during my travels when I was eating badly. You know, mostly heavy carbs. (Or as they say in Mexico: vitamin T. Tacos, Tamales, Tortas, Tostadas, Tortillas…)
During these times, I always ended up feeling awful by the end. I was tired and sluggish. Then I would eat something healthy and be amazed at how the body could feel so good and light.
Above all, foods with high concentrations of vitamin C should be a priority. You don’t want to be fighting colds all the time.
The perfect food, then? Papaya.
If you’re traveling anywhere near the tropics, papaya should be in healthy supply. In Mexico and Guatemala, for instance, there are street vendors everywhere selling cups of chopped-up papaya for very reasonable prices if you don’t want to buy a whole one.
Papaya has a ton of vitamin C. It has more vitamin C, in fact, than oranges, melon, mango and most other fruit.
Papaya is also soothing for the stomach. Yesterday morning, when I was feeling a tad “delicate” after a couple of questionable street tacos the night before, I went straight for some papaya. Soon after, the stomach pain died down.
And man, is papaya every delicious. Pleasantly, and not overly sweet. Melt-in-your-mouth texture. For those strange people that can’t stand the taste: I’m sorry. You’re missing out.
(Fresh and cheap papaya is one of those little things I will seriously miss when I get back to Canada on Sunday. Maybe the next destination will have papaya too?)
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