Packing food in my backpack for India

tilly-roo

Hi there --

I am type 1 diabetic and would like to pack some food supplies in my rucksack to take to India. The rucksack will be underneath the plane (ie not with me) so will not be hand luggage. I have a few questions...

1) What sort of things food wise would be best to take to India? So far I have packed low carb cereal bars, digestive biscuits, low carb biscuits, nuts, insant packet soups and a few bags of oats.

2) Will I be allowed to take food on with me as hand luggage?

Many thanks

roopeeman

Shure, but try to chew really well, the diabetes may disappear!
Take anything you want. as long as it isn't drugs the police could find or weapons or animals.

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theyyamdancer

How on earth can chewing well help to cure diabetes? I wish some people would think first and write afterwards.

Hello tilly-roo and welcome to IndiaMike!

I am sure some experienced folks will be along soon to answer your questions.

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"Wandering seemed no more than the happiness of an anxious man." - Albert Camus

Haylo

Bear in mind you're not allowed to import fruit, meat or dairy products, but apart from that you can bring whatever you want. Why don't you list the things you need to eat, and we'll tell you if there's anything you can't buy there.

I haven't looked for specialist diabetic foods, but I easily managed to find everything I looked for in Delhi, albeit not of the same quality as I'm used to. For instance really strong mature cheddar is apparently available, but I only managed to find stuff that I consider to be rather average at best.

A lot depends on where you will be staying - in cities, or are you trekking in the back of beyond?

India has people with diabetes and presumably they're not all starving! Pointless taking nuts, it's a bit like taking coals to Newcastle, they're everywhere in India.

Yes, as long as it conforms to the usual airline liquid / paste size limits.

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tilly-roo

I will be taking -- oats so simple packets (X3 boxes) which is instant porridge, digestive biscuits, packet soup, sugar free peanut butter, low carb almond chip cookies, breakfast bars, meal replacement bars, low carb chocolate covered nuts, grilled cheese snack (it's cheese that has been baked untill it's crisp, like chips/crisps), melba toasts, protein bars.

roopeeman

I wish that that too.
Long chewing leads to liquidation of food, which results in a completely different absorbtion of food in the stomach. Most people don't digest food in their mouths by chewing it and using the power of saliva to digest it. So please, just because you hear of something unorthodox, that your brain didn't come up with, don't juge other people, allright?

federica

You can buy oats and packet soup easily in India, and I wouldn't bring anything with chocolate as it will melt right away. I have no idea what melba toasts and breakfast bars are.

A general suggestion: Food gets spoiled very easily in South Indian climate and ants love it, so you might end up with a colony in your backpack.

70s-80s overlander

Hmm. In my notes I have, "Indian Customs will clear 1 week’s worth of food imported for personal use." I am diabetic and have taught many a person how to control blood sugar to the extent possible via simple diet [low-molecular-weight protein, high monounsaturated fat, complex carbohydrate, high fiber]. Here at home, I have to eat, so it seems, all day in order to make this diet work.

For India, I came up with the following core diet: hard-boiled eggs, canned fish, veal cutlets, spinach, apples, nuts, peanut butter on chappati, tea -- or using these to supplement a vegetarian meal. Powered protein and powered greens would be on my own list of items to take in -- but these things depend on what your actual blood test numbers look like.

While there is that blip about taking in only a week's worth of food for personal use, my plan for the next trip was to take in enough packets of fish to have one per day as a supplement.

On a past trip I depended very heavily on hard-boiled eggs -- or egg sandwiches -- and FIRM bananas -- which were available throughout India.

I realize all this sounds like a boring diet to a nondiabetic -- but one gains a certain freedom from knowing that following a straight and narrow path keeps one feeling alert and strong.

Glucerna & Boost Glucose Control -- two diabetic drinks -- apparently are manufactured in India, so I would hope to be able to buy these through contact with a hospital's diabetic clinic. In a diabetic emergency or during other illness, these drinks [essentially flavored soybean oil] or something like them would be among the safest sources of fluid and nutrients. Yogurt would be a second-best but another reasonable option.

I eagerly await others' comments on what items are easily available in India. With the advent of various supermarket chains around India, I am guessing that it might be easier now for a wandering diabetic than it used to be.

wonderwomanusa

Do you not plan to eat any Indian food while there?

Since many restaurants serve oatmeal, I'm sure you can buy it in Indian stores, though it will probably not be the instant variety. They also have "digestive biscuits" and peanut butter (I don't know if there's sugar in it).

I took Japanese rice cracker mix, fresh (unroasted) almonds, and some gluten-free fruit/nut bars (Mrs. May's Treo bars from www.mrsmays.com), as well as a packet of dried cranberries which turned out to be too sweet for me. And a vial of saccherine tablets for my tea, coffee, and "fresh lime soda."

You might find this information helpful.

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The map is not the territory. --Alfred Korzybski

federica

You can buy unroasted almonds and cashews in India, no need to take nuts with you.

tilly-roo

Thanks for your advice, it's much appreciated. I will be following a vegetarian diet so will need to find alternatives. What is your opinion on rice and bread i.e. roti?

tilly-roo

I do, but I have been sick very recently with my diabetes and do not want to run the risk of getting sick again as I have experienced problems with my eyes. I need alternatives should the worst happen, as a diabetic you always need to be prepared for this and having food available that will keep your blood sugars stable is always first priority.

Thanks for the link, it's useful.

fsg

Despite it being illegal to take milk , meat products into India, Im afraid I do it regularly.

Cheese which is shrink wrapped will not be detecable in hold baggage, likewise Salami, if that is what your diet requires.

It might be more of a problem coping with perishables and the heat.

Indians love sweet things,and I think you would be hard pushed to find sugar free peanut butter, again the labeling would not be specific

In the hill states they do sell dried cheese, on a string, but I have no experience of eating that.

Regarding S India food, every next person I know seems to have a 'sugar problem' which type of diabetes I dont know, however I have a good Indian friend who has controlled his diabetes thus

http://kami-horsepower.blogspot.com/...-diabetes.html,
and tells me that he has reduced his mediaction greatly through the water.

You can but try it in the S as Bindi is always available in the veg market

wonderwomanusa

True, but the almonds I bought in Delhi (after my California variety ran out) were very stale and tasted horrible.

wonderwomanusa

I can understand you wanting to be prepared with your own food.

If you eat curd (yoghurt), try to find the kind that comes from the factory; Amul makes one sort. I say this because often they add sugar to the curd, which will not make your blood sugar happy.

Do you have a Frio wallet to keep your insulin cool? Google for it and I think you'll find a source for these in Oz. I had one big enough to hold 3 vials of Lantus, and it worked out very well.