Is Arabic/Middle Eastern/Iranian cuisine healthy?

Question

When you go to Arabic (M.E) countries, are the people there healthy? Is arabic cuisine healthy?

Answer 1

Yeah! The real Arabic cuisine is generally much healthier than our Pakistani spicy foods. We never find a taste in our food, unless we kill every possible nutrient in it with our spices and cooking.LOL.

They don't use half that amount of cooking oil.

But they have lots of nice stuff. Many Pakistanis find it difficult to eat Arabic food which has not been soaked in spices and oil. They have some weird stuff too, though.Some Saudis even eat fish, camel and goat eyes. It's considered v. tasty. Yuck!

Answer 2

Yes, but they overcook the vegetables so the vitamins are all cooked out.  It's best to eat veggies raw as much as possible (slice them really thin and they taste great).

I don't like arabic food.  Iranian's ok, but not spicy enough.  Indian/Pakistani is outstanding.

Answer 3

most of it is healthy, but you may find in some of the arabic gulf countries less healthy due to fatty ingredients, which causes high cholesterol concentration in blood.

Answer 4

Overall, I would say it is healthy to a limit. I cook lots of Arab cuisine but the problem is the portion. Just like in America, many Arabs are overweight, obese. This is because of the portion of food the eat. Heaps and Heaps of rice, so basically lots of starch and carbohydrates. They eat lots of protein too and almost always include some type of meat in every meal except breakfast. The typical breakfast of an Arab is Hummus (Chick pea dip) drowned in olive oil, Fool (Fava beans) drowned in olive oil, Feta cheese, Labne (similar to yogurt) drowned in olive oil, and pita bread. Now, they consume so much olive oil in breakfast alone, olive oil is healthy for the most part since the oil doesn't go towards the heart and clog up arteries. But heck, that all concentrates on your lower half and that means cellulite beyond repair. The lunch menu varies, but almost always includes lots of rice, meat, and salad. Dinner is the worst, also rice and meat and salad, and lots of it. The problem is the portion. It's Arab custom to be hospitable and that means being generous, with food. They will use a big plate and pour about 3-4 cups of rice. It really depends on the specific family, but I'm talking a significant amount of Arabs do this. They eat very healthy kinds of food, but the wrong portions. Some of the food though, I would have to say, is very oily. Musa'ah (eggplant, potato, and tomato with spices eaten with pita bread) is loaded with oil and potatoes. Kabsa, a very common mean typically eaten in the Gulf like Saudi Arabia, consists of chicken and lots of rice. A similar variant of that in the other Arab countries is called Maqloobah, but has lots of vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, eggplants, potatoes, etc. So healthier, but again, the portions of rice is unbelievable. Having big dinners at night and going to bed means you got lots of fat to burn which isn't going to happen. A good bit of the younger aged Arabs are healthy since they move about. But when they get older in age, the majority is overweight. The key is portion, serve the right amount and it's healthy since it includes something from every food group. Iranian cuisine is very similar to Arab cuisine, as is the Afghani cuisine. I would say the Persian cuisine is a tad bit healthier since they don't use as much oil as Arabs do. A typical Persian cuisine consists of Kebabs, rice (not a very big portion), Khoresht (stew), aash (soup), vegetable omlets (kookoo), and lots of salad. I find the Persian cuisine much healtheir then the Arab cuisine for sure. They use less oily foods and in big portions, but smaller than that of the Arabs. Indian/Pakistani meals are similar to that of the Arab cuisine but have a lot more varietes. Curries, prata/naan/roti, chutni, salads, etc. Overall, all three cuisines are very similar to one another but the portion is what decides if it's healthy or not. They use foods from all of the food groups, so yes it's pretty healthy if you eat the right amount. The healthiest without a doubt is Asian cuisine.

Answer 5

Yes, Arabic cuisine is healthy.

But many Arabs eat American food like hamburgers, Hot-dogs and the other junk food which cause illness and FATS.

So, when they see ill, fat Arabs/middle Easterners ... they blame their cuisines but the Junky American food is the one that should be blamed

Answer 6

middle eastern and mediteranian food is really oily

and i find it bland most of the times but it gets you really full

arabic food is good though like shawarmas are really good

Answer 7

Arabian and Iranian food are of the most healthiest and tastiest cuisines in the world. We were born with tastebuds.