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Healthy Foods To Try On Your International Vacation

26th August 2015

Vacation is the time to sample a new country's unique cuisine, which could lead you to discover some surprisingly healthy fare. We've selected a sampling of some of the world's healthiest foods for you to enjoy no matter where your travels take you.

Destination: Africa

Sub-Saharan Ethopia in Africa is well known for its healthy diet with its array of stews packed with vegetarian proteins including chickpeas and lentils. These are accompanied by a spongy flatbread called injera. Its main ingredient is a kind of flour called teff that's high in both fibre and protein.

Destination: Asia

Considered by some to have the world's best selection of street food vendors in its capital of Bangkok, Thailand is hard to beat in terms of health. Fresh vegetables and fish make up a good portion of the diet and coconut milk is a main cooking ingredient. Coconut milk contains vitamin D, vitamin B12 and calcium and is an obvious choice for those who suffer from lactose intolerance.

Learn to make it yourself: Our Favourite Cooking Schools In Thailand

Or go up-market: Top 12 London Hotels With Michelin-Starred Restaurants

Destination: North America

If you're looking for a small jewel in a big place, try hitting the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, and that of Maine in the US, where lobster is abundant and affordable. It's low in calories and fat if you go easy on the melted butter, and it's also high in selenium, which is beneficial to thyroid function.

The West Coast of the US and Mexico has an ideal climate for growing avocadoes and artichokes, two vegetables that not only taste great, they are both highly alkaline and balance out the more acidic foods you may consume otherwise.

Destination: Europe

Now is the chance to toggle between the north and south of Europe and enjoy each region's highly buzzed-about diet. Yes, we're talking about the Mediterranean diet of Greece and the Nordic diet of the Scandinavian countries, originating in Denmark.

These two diets offer a refreshingly enjoyable selection of fish and vegetables and the Mediterranean one even accounts for wine. The key ingredient in each diet is the oil: olive in the south and colza in the north. Colza oil has received a lot of attention lately because it has been proven to contain more omega-3 fatty acids and even less saturated fat than olive oil.

This article was from AFP Relax News and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.