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HOW TO TRAVEL AND MAINTAIN YOUR DIGESTIVE HEALTH DURING YOUR SUMMER VACATION

By: Alyce M. Sorokie, Author of GUT WISDOM UNDERSTANDING AND IMPROVING YOUR DIGESTIVE HEALTH (Career Pre

Few things can dampen a summer vacation more quickly than the varied stomach and digestive ailments that often result from travel. There are proactive things that we can do to protect our gut for our summertime travels. The key to insuring a healthy and hassle-free trip is to improve and balance the ‘friendly bacteria’ in your gut. Once the bacterial balance in the gut is upset, everything is invited into the gut to live, ruining a good vacation.

Acidophilus and Bifidus are friendly gut bacteria and are vitally important to our overall health. They normally reside in the gut, helping to keep our digestion working properly. Travel, stress, vacation foods, alcohol and medications alter the healthy balance of good protective bacteria with the gut. The result is bloat, gas, heartburn, IBS and a spoiled vacation. When the ‘friendly bacteria’ are in short supply, we become susceptible to illness and gut ailments caused by unfriendly bacteria and their chemical reactions within us. They are also essential for normal digestion and elimination.

Taking acidophilus and bifidus supplements two to three times daily at least one week prior to traveling can protect yourself from the wide range of ailments and illnesses that can strike during your journey. They are our knights in shining armor.

There are other things that you can do to ensure healthy travel. Taking digestive enzymes to assist in digesting ‘vacation foods", from contaminated food and water consumed on foreign travels to the typical overindulgences during vacation time. "Vacation foods" can cause extreme digestive complications. Digestive enzymes are powerful protection against undesirable bacteria and parasites that can enter and thrive in the digestive tract. These critters can pass through and make a home in the gut, creating chaos. Digestive Enzymes will kill such undesireable bacteria before they can begin to cause discomfort. Recommendation: Begin or continue supplementing with each meal.

Taking the immune-enhancing herb Echinacea in order to guard your system against bacteria in airplanes, food, and water can boost the immune system, as well. Recommendation: Two weeks prior to your trip, add it to your nutritional supplementation and use as directed.

In addition, "belly breathing" (i.e.: deep abdominal breaths) can support healthy digestive function. This will help reduce stress, which results in inhibited gut function. She also suggests drinking plenty of bottled water to keep your bowels hydrated and bringing along healthy snacks such as fruit, nuts, dried mixed fruit, and rice cakes.

Here is a survival pack for better bowel function when traveling:

* LBC-Lax and cascara sagrada are gentle, natural, herbal bowel laxatives.
* Super Green tablets can be a source of fiber and nutrients, as your diet selections during your travels may not be vegetables. Recommendation: four to six capsules daily.
* Metamucil or ground flax seed is easy to mix in a hotel room. Take it in the morning and in the evening. Always follow with a full glass of purified bottled water.
* Include digestive enzymes and acidophilus/bifidus with each meal. This will eliminate the need for antacids, reduce gas, and kill "foreigner" bacteria before it makes itself at home.
* Ginger capsules or tea can be used for motion sickness, which will help minimize nausea.
* Wisdom squat at the toilet. Use a foot stool (or the waste paper basket or thick telephone book) at the base of the toilet to help assist an easy bowel movement.
* Belly breathe to release the anxiety. Thinking that you may not be able to eliminate just tightens your gut even more.
* Suppositories can be helpful to activate a bowel movement. Recommendation: vitamin E or tea tree oil suppositories.

When Diarrhea Hits
* Use charcoal capsules every two hours until diarrhea subsides.
* Pepto-Bismol can help clear diarrhea with no side effects, however your still will be black to the bismuth. Imodium A-D slows down your peristalsis (bowel muscle contraction) thus allowing your waste to absorb more water. Kaopectate bulks up your waste and my help absorb as well as trap bacteria. Bentonite is a volcanic ash that absorbs 10 times its weight. It will grab and hold on to bacteria to eventually move it out of your system.
* Eat lightly when diarrhea speaks. Choose white rice, bananas, applesauce, and herbal teas.
* Enjoy your travels

For more information
call Partners in Wellness at 773.868.4062 or visit the website at www.gutwisdom.com. Partners in Wellness is located at 1967 N. Dayton, Chicago Gut Wisdom: Understanding and Improving Your Digestive Health (Career Press, 2004) is available at bookstores nationwide.

Article Source: http://www.e-zine.com

GUT WISDOM: UNDERSTANDING AND IMPROVING YOUR DIGESTIVE HEALTH (Career Press), Alyce M. Sorokie

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