Wife is from Cebu, I'm American, LOVED diving in the Philippines

[Centrals]

I have no problem of eating street food in China, HK, India, Philippines or anywhere I had been. BUT I always have a good look on couple of things before I sit down.
You do not get cross contamination from properly cooked food.
Food which have been standing unprotected(uncovered) or half-cooked for a long time and then reheat/recook again is far more dangerous.
Higher rate of heart disease and obesity, I thought you are talking USA. BTW, do not forget to add smoking and alcohol as the culpit as well.
Most junk food in Philippines is "imported"!!! Jolibee, Mac, KFC, Pizza Hut etc etc.
Go to Kamayan for Pinoy's food in Manila.
As for parasitical infection, I read from somewhere that study is being carried out to see if re-introducing certain parasitic worm would get rid of allergy!!!!!!

You can buy a piece of best cut and make a very tasty Adobo.
You can remove the skin and the fat of a chicken and make another tasty Tinola.
But if you do not have the money then you just eat anything that is digestable. That is life.

Pinoy's food can be as healthy as anything else.
It is the money in your pocket which ultimately decide what you can/not eat.

 

[DevonDiver]

I have no problem of eating street food in China, HK, India, Philippines or anywhere I had been. BUT I always have a good look on couple of things before I sit down.

You've been lucky. I got salmonella poisoning in India. Had to go to hospital after collapsing. I was fine in HK, but wasn't there long. I was never ill during a month in Vietnam, nor Cambodia or Laos. I was never ill during 2 years in Thailand.

Other than serious food poisoning in India, I found Egypt was the worst for 'travellers tummy'... I've found I get constantly sick there. I didn't eat street food in Africa - having grown up for a few years in Senegal, the dangers of such were well educated to me. Middle eastern destinations have been fine - Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE etc. Central America was fine also. I didn't try to eat the street food in Kabul... but the dangers in stopping to eat on the street there weren't limited to the food. LOL

You do not get cross contamination from properly cooked food.

It depends on what you mean by 'properly cooked'. If you mean simply temperature/time, you're wrong. If you mean proper food preparation and handling, then you're right.

No matter how well cooked the food is, if it's handled with contaminated utensils, dirty hands or (as is often the case in Philippines) marinaded from raw-to-cooked with the same brush, then re-contamination will occur. If something touches raw food, then touches cooked food, then bacteria will transfer will happen. Street vendors here in the Philippines don't seem cognisant of that logic.

Higher rate of heart disease and obesity, I thought you are talking USA.

I wasn't aware that the USA had re-situated itself to Asia?

Most junk food in Philippines is "imported"!!! Jolibee, Mac, KFC, Pizza Hut etc etc.

Exactly.... and Filipinos have a great penchant for anything imported.

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As for parasitical infection, I read from somewhere that study is being carried out to see if re-introducing certain parasitic worm would get rid of allergy!!!!!!

I'd be interested to hear of that study, because it sounds like quackery to me. But I guess that there may exist certain parasitic worms that aren't potentially lethal or cause huge health risks.

I saw a US TV program where a woman was advocating 'deliberately ingesting tapeworm' as a 'dietary supplement'. You can guess what the medical opinions were.

 

[Centrals]

We can talk endlessly on food preparation, rotton meat, Indian quick step etc etc.
No body would like to eat dirty, unhealthy food(USA excepted) if they can help it.
I have a choice if I do not like what I see, there are always alternative. But the local(walang pera) don't.
My mate used to work for Oxfam and he has plenty of revolting food stories to tell from Somalia, Ethiopia and war torn Iraq etc etc.

Enough of these on a scuba forum.