It’s reported that over 30% of people experience constipation or get ill (eg. the common cold or an upset stomach) while travelling.
Here are the necessary supplements that we suggest you take with you whenever you travel.
#1 – Probiotics
No matter where you are planning to spend your family vacation, taking probiotics are essential. Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that keep your gut healthy and strong, thus boosting your immune system. Since probiotics populate your gut with beneficial bacteria, your body will be protected if it encounters any foreign microbes (bacteria, parasites, etc.), especially from exotic cuisines. If your GI tract is not adequately defended, you are more likely to experience illnesses like the dreaded traveler’s diarrhea. On the other hand, if you keep the beneficial bacteria colonies in your gut flourished, the chances of suffering digestive imbalances from foreign pathogens is significantly decreased. So, unless you’re planning on spending your time in the hotel bathroom, be sure to take probiotics on your trip!
At our clinic, we always provide you with a therapeutic grade probiotic supplement containing 10 billion strains of acidophilus, 25 billion strains of bifdobacterium, and 8 other strains in the millions and billions. We recommend taking something of a similar quality.
Take the dosage recommended on the manufacturer’s bottle and double up on your dose if you begin to experience any type of stomach upset – indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, etc.
#2 – Oil of Oregano
Oregano oil is another crucial supplement you’ll want to put high on your travel packing list. Wild Oil of Oregano has been laboratory tested and proven to be as strong as pharmaceutical antibiotics with none of the associated hazards. Use it topically and internally for any kind of infection including Food Poisoning, Colds, Flu, shingles & Herpes.
Oregano oil contain healthy nutrients such as omega-3 and fiber, it is also a potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial, providing protection against bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. It guards against infiltration both within the body as well as the physical environment. This includes bed bugs, lice, fleas and mosquitoes.
Oregano oil can also help treat common symptoms of food-borne illness – nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating and/or indigestion.
Because oregano is a potent antibacterial agent, you will need to take it at least one hour away from the time you take your probiotic and double up on the probiotic when taking the higher dosage of oregano for acute infections.
# 3. Digestive Enzymes
The key is to help your body better digest these foods before they reach your colon. But how can you do this? Supplementing with digestive enzymes can help improve digestion, reduce toxicity in the intestines and colon, and thereby improve elimination and reduce occasional constipation especially while travelling.
Everything we eat needs enzymes to not only digest foods into nutrients, vitamins and minerals, but to also deliver these nutrients to the cells. Food enzymes exist naturally in raw food, but when food is cooked, the high temperature of cooking destroys their natural enzymes. Even if we choose raw foods, the enzymes available are not adequate for human digestion of that food.
It is also true that our body makes digestive enzymes whose role it is to digest the cooked food that we eat. However, we cannot assume every digestive system functions at its peak all the time, nor are our food choices ideal 100% of the time. Overconsumption of processed or fast foods or even living a stressful lifestyle puts a greater demand on our digestive systems. Furthermore, the more we depend on our internally-produced digestive enzymes, the more stress we put on our body’s systems and organs and the less time these systems have for rebuilding worn out, damaged cells and tissue and keeping our immune system strong.
Research shows that as we age, we lose the ability to produce enough digestive enzymes to help with complete digestion, which may be why many sufferers of constipation are older. And when toxicity builds up in our colon, this can put stress on other systems and hinder their ability to create the enzymes necessary for complete digestion. Enzymes play a key role in not just digestion, but also healthy elimination. Very simply, the colon is the sewage system of the body. The best of diets can be no better than the worst if the sewage system is clogged with a collection of waste.
