Most people visit London and come back with all sorts of souvenirs, both chic and gauche. Me? I picked up a little something in a Brick Lane restaurant, a “gift” that destroyed the rest of my holiday and took several weeks to recover from.

Got a similar tale of Bali Belly or the Sultan’s Revenge? There’s no reason to repeat the experience. All you have to do is take the following precautions with food and drink. Here are our top tips to avoiding food poisoning while holidaying: 

• Avoid tucking into anything that has been cooked and left to sit at room temperature (such as buffets). Always opt for dishes freshly cooked and steaming hot upon service.
• Most of us understand the importance of avoiding raw or undercooked meat, seafood and eggs, but fruit and vegetables can be just as hazardous to your health. If dining at a buffet, select fruits you can peel yourself such as bananas or oranges and give salads a wide berth. You don’t know what they’ve been washed in, or if they’ve been washed at all.
• Street food, while often delicious and wallet-friendly, can be risky when it comes to hygiene practices. Choose vendors with long queues and dishes that are served piping hot straight off the grill.
• Be wary about how your drinks are served. As a general rule, ice should be avoided, as should lukewarm “hot” drinks. Bottled or canned drinks are always your safest bet and even then you must ensure the lids are sealed.
• Dry, packaged and factory-sealed foods and snacks, such as canned tuna, biscuits and bread are usually considered safe to eat. Just be sure the packaging hasn’t been tampered with in any way before you purchase it and, where you can, opt for a trusted brand with which you’re familiar.
• If you’re going off the tourist trail, always seek recommendations from foodie friends and travel industry insiders and, if you can, select eateries that are well patronised. That diner that looks like a bus shelter might appear authentic but you could be picking up a lot more than the bill.

Related story: How to avoid the 5 most common types of food poisoning 

Healthy holiday food prep

To help keep your eye on your health on the road, consider making the following changes to your holiday eating routines: 

• Pack plenty of healthy snacks to prevent you from gorging on all the wrong foods once hunger strikes. This means loading up on bags of nuts, seeds and, once you hit up a local supermarket at your destination, plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as apple, carrot and celery that you can enjoy with a hummus dip.
• It’s easy to skip meals while you’re travelling but to do so is to trick your body into thinking that it’s starving, which then slows down your metabolism. Instead, make eating small meals and snacks frequently a priority – even if you have to schedule mealtimes into your days.
• Gearing up for a long day of hiking, cycling or kayaking? Make your meals beforehand protein-heavy so you’ve got the energy to keep on bouncing. Pair lean protein with plenty of leafy greens and try not to make your meals too big – doing so will leave you feeling sluggish.
• Pack a water bottle and aim to drink at least two litres of water every day, particularly if you’re travelling in warmer climates.
• And by all means, please go to Brick Lane and eat your body weight in curry. If you follow the advice above, the gift from your experience will be a positive one.

This article originally appeared on escape.com.au. It has been republished here with permission. 

Related story: How to tell if a restaurant is a tourist trap