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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!)
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?
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.
My coworkers device was a water bottle with a small hole in the lid.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
With enough hot sauce anything is possible.
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.
There’s Mexican food and “mexican” food. Taco bell should be illegal it’s a gastrointestinal crime.
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
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 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.
It probably boils down to people not getting enough fiber and beans end up acting like colon blow.
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…
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.
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.
Pakistani, Indian, Tamil food fucks me up real good. Every time. So delicious though.
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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.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
This makes a lot of sense, thank you for explaining! I absolutely love beans and eat them everyday, so yeah, my tummy must have been used to them already.
They clearly haven’t went to Pujol.
Several a social homebodoes experience with Latino Cuisine came mostly from Doritos and Taco Bell.
BS they don’t have Mexican food. They’ve imported a lot of Mexican culture if their media is anything to go by.
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 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.
Americans need more fiber and flavor in their daily lives.
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!
If you just ate vegetables and beans then Mexican food wouldn’t do this to you.
Better comparison for the second part would be: “What’s the point of having a Ferrari if u don’t live in germany” (cos we got no implicit speed limits on the Autobahn if one isn’t explicitly mentioned)
Me after having birria tacos that were bomb and blowing up my toilet reading this. Ill pray for them.
Unless you are a girl using a public toilet, then its the worst toilet I’ve ever seen in the world (didnt see it myself but my family told me, its terrible)
EDIT: nice downvotes, like the other guy commented, there are squat toilets there, specially if you go to not so touristy areas.
Your family is incorrect. Been to Japan twice, the toilets are so nice, I invested in a very nice bidet when I got home after the first trip. Now I don’t want to shit anywhere else.
Totally get it, never been to Japan but as a proud bidet owner, I hate shitting without one. It just makes me feel dirty if I don’t use one.
It depends on if it’s an old style (squat over the hole on the ground) or a European style one. In hotels at least, the European/American style toilets have bidets, seat heaters, some play music, etc.
In Japan over a decade here. There are still a lot of places with squat toilets and some people suck at using any toilets and are gross. I would not be surprised about this, particularly at a drinking establishment late at night.
Thank you, a bunch of people here downvoting me probably based on their 5-7 days stay in Tokyo/Osaka saying it barely exists anymore.
My wife and I did a lot of travel so far this year. A ton of places, particularly more rural ones, had squat toilets. Even bars we went to in bigger cities would have them. Even when we lived in Tokyo, some places I used to frequent had them. It really just depends on the area.
We didnt find any in Tokyo or Osaka but Nara had a few and the smaller cities had a bunch
You didn’t even see the toilet yourself and are weighing your bullshit versus their real experience? Lmao, learn some humility.
Why would I, a man, go inside of a female public bathroom to confirm something my own mother and sister told me after leaving said public toilet? Learn to not talk like an asshole
The only asshole here is you, who must defend down votes by surely projecting faults on others. Own up and shut up, or don’t and continue to be dense.
It seems I have made a mistake and for that I am sorry. In my desire to give you the benefit of the doubt I failed to notice you talk exactly as it befits your demeanor.
The squat toilets are fine. Not fancy, but fine.
I lived in Japan and have used many different toilets there. The only problem I ever encountered was a lack of soap in some restrooms.
There are some good Mexican, Thai, and Indian places that will gladly give you all the fire your ass can handle.
Bragging.
