There have been reports of YouTubers I watch getting sick after eating food in third world countries. However, these countries are also home to a large number of people who do not get sick from eating the same food. I think this suggests that the locals may have developed stronger immune systems. What do you think?
Don’t tell anyone, but we third worlders convert bacteria into energy, neutralising them. That’s how we survive restaurant potato-mayo salad, and street hot dogs!*
OK, I’m joking with the above. Serious now: if there’s any quantitative difference on the immunity system between people living in poorer conditions, related to food poisoning and similar, I’d expect it to be a smaller component. Instead what I expect the most is a qualitative difference, between people living in different areas: you’re more used to the strains of bacteria around your home, than the ones elsewhere, so when you’re travelling you have a higher chance to get some stupid food poisoning.
If my reasoning is correct you should see something similar happening with travellers in general, even if they stick to places with a similar economic status as their homeland.
*or street hot dogs with potato-mayo salad. Yes, they’re a thing in my city - that’s why we call those street hot dogs something loosely translatable as “big rotten”. (I once got food poisoning from one of those. It was not fun.)