3 Simple Tips for Healthy Travels
Most of us prepare for our holidays with a list of things to pack, planned itineraries to explore, visas, tickets, travel insurance and so on… But how many of us plan ahead to ensure we are healthy for our travels before we even leave?
I write this article as I sit on an airplane bound for my own “holiday”, and thought it is important to share the background preparation one should take to make sure your vacation is a healthy one for yourself and your travel companions.
Health as you probably know, can either make or break your time on holidays. You can book the most extravagant or adventurous holiday away, but sickness definitely has the potential to dampen the whole experience! So, a little health assurance can go a long way. To ensure maximum enjoyment and maintain your health and vitality it’s important to know what areas of your health you can strengthen and support before you leave. That is when some pre-holiday planning can be beneficial.
From the moment we step onto an airplane, bus or cruise ship, we are sharing common space with hundreds, if not thousands of strangers. Touching the same things, breathing the same air and sharing the same facilities. This markedly increases our chances for sharing their same germs as well!
We certainly can’t surround ourselves by a bubble if we want to experience and explore the world joyfully, however, what we can do is boost our natural immune response and make informed preventative choices with our own health!
Here are some especially important areas to pay attention to:
Support your immune system:
A great way to support your immunity and prevent contracting contagious health issues is with immune supporting nutrients and herbs. Make the effort to include these in your daily diet at least 2-3 weeks before travelling. My go-to staples are Zinc, Vitamin C, Echinacea, Olive leaf and Reishi mushrooms, while also ensuring enough vitamin D, either through adequate sun exposure or supplementation where that’s not possible. There are some great “immune boosting” nutrient/herb formulations available to add more ease to your packing when taking these with you. (Let me know if you need any good recommendations).
Maintain your gut health:
One important area of health that I’m especially vigilant about when I travel is looking after my gut health. Just one bout of “Bali belly” or food poisoning overseas caused enough trauma to keep me cautious and prepared for life! So, preparing your gut for travel is another vital factor for boosting immunity, and preventing gut issues that can commonly arise when eating foreign foods and drinking foreign water. Promoting good gut health can start by taking a broad-spectrum probiotic, including fermented foods to your meals daily (see post on fermented foods), and reducing your sugar and gluten intake well before you travel.
While you are abroad, I recommend taking a shelf-stable probiotic supplement with you that doesn’t need refrigeration. A great strain for travellers to alleviate existing ‘gastro’ symptoms if you have them is Saccharomyces Boullardii (SB).
Taking a toxin binder such as charcoal, zeolite clay, or my personal favourite – Enterosgel, is also another backup to help bind and clear any toxins from your gut if you want to be extra prepared! (These can also be found in most pharmacies in main cities around the world).
More mindful hygiene practices:
Nothing beats maintaining good hygiene. But as you find when you travel, some cultures around the world do not share this understanding. So, when mixing it up with people from seemingly ‘hygiene-ignorant’ backgrounds, you should take responsibility for your own mindful hygiene practices. Without becoming overly obsessive about it, one can never be too cautious about the germs you come into contact with in places like airports, hotels, public restrooms and public transport. It doesn’t take much to maintain personal hygiene. The most effective and basic way that has been proven by science to prevent most diseases is to wash your hands! It is such a simple concept that has the potential to literally save your life! If you can’t wash your hands with soap and running water, always carry some antibacterial hand sanitiser with you in your bag while travelling and be especially mindful to use clean hands when eating or touching your mouth. The Hand-to-mouth route is the most common mode of contracting communicable illnesses.
And lastly, stay hydrated, remain active and above all, enjoy your time away! Be prepared for your travels in every way you can to make sure to make the most of every precious and memorable moment!
Safe and healthy travels to all who are going away and Happy Holidays to you all!
In health and love
Deena x
