🇲🇽 Mercado Medellín - 03.31.2025

Mercado Medellín is a popular market in the southwest end of the Roma Norte neighborhood and only a few blocks from my apartment. It has all you could possibly need… all types of food and an astounding variety… to housewares, keys, clothes, tattoos, drugs… whatever you need… and if you catch them in a friendly mood… you get the local prices and not the pinche gringo prices.

I love the popular markets and tianguis (popup street market) in Mexico… all of Latin America for that matter. I never am not amazed… and excited to stroll through. I get lots of, “güerito! (Hey blondie!) Ven aquí… tenemos ______…” I love it. And love practicing my Spanish and chatting it up…

I’ve had difficulty restoring my system to baseline from an intestinal blockage surgery in January. I went to a gastroenterologist a few weeks in CDMX and he reported my problem was solely mechanical and it was about my lack of natural flora that was damaged or irradiated because of the mass of antibiotics. I received some meds and instructions of restricted diet, chew 10 times each bite, only drink water in between meal as to not dilute digestive enzymes… and all made sense to me. The problem… I had zero improvement. And simple things… like drinking plain water… and breathing air… were causing wrenching pain and severe inflammation. It’s been depressing.

I did more research… much more research… and watched a documentary on gut health. I’m aware of probiotics… and have had them on my radar as far as it relates to overall health. I added foods, drinks and supplement to my diet… and this was before surgery. But… this research… focused on prebiotics… the food that you eat that benefits (feeds) that bacteria in your digestive system. And there’s no ‘one’ thing… it’s many, many things. And if a type of bacteria is not getting what it needs… it begins to feed on the mucus of the lining of your intestines. ¡Guácala!

So… the summary of this… it’s not about calories… or necessarily about a type of food (carbs, fats, sugar, fibre, protein)… it’s about the variety. And the recommendation is… to have 30 different types of foods per day… and 50 grams of fruits and veggies. Ok… shopping, buying, and storing 30 different types of food, for ‘one’ day is a task… but my health is rough… and I understand the pre-probiotic formula on a basic level.

And now… I hit Mercado Medellín with intention… I need variety… I want variety. I have generally steered clear of potatoes because of the carb factor… but potatoes, roots, tubers are an excellent prebiotic source… and there are a variety available at this market.

Potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, yams, and taro… and mystery things… I hit a stall and start asking what this and that is in Spanish. I tell the gal I need different varieties for my stomach flora… she looks at me, “en serio!”

“La verdad” and I explain my situation. And she gets to it showing me this and that. It a moment I have a half a dozen types… and then I wonder how do I prepare these things, are they going to poison me because I didn’t prepare them correctly. “Discúlpame, cómo cocino estos?” I ask… and she patiently tells me how to cook them, and peal them properly, and don’t eat this skin… and you can eat that skin but clean it first… and 120 pesos later… I have a bag full of prebiotics that I’ve never had in my life.

Another stop in the market for mushrooms, sprouts and raw honey… and now my hands are full. I’m on a mission to restore my health… but I have feel-good grins… simply because of the experience at the market.

I’ve had many similar experiences here in Mexico. I love it… and I will miss it. In a month I head back to the States… first New Mexico to sort out my bodega, Colorado to deal with a motorcycle… and then back to West Coast. Specifically San Francisco… and I will be there late into Autumn… if not indefinitely…

I’ve played out my time and a life in Mexico City… and I’m sure I’ll return in some capacity and I will miss it immensely… but I have little life remaining… and much to see, much to do… and there are things unknown to me… to love and cherish… and the next adventure is waiting for me.