Q My wife and I are planning a trip to Central America. The last thing I want to do is spend the trip in the bathroom with traveler’s diarrhea. We know to avoid unwashed produce and to drink only bottled water. But are there any vitamins or herbs that might offer some extra protection?
A Your best defense against intestinal bugs while traveling is…intestinal bugs. The good kind, I mean. A healthy gut is host to trillions of beneficial bacteria, collectively referred to as your personal “microbiome.” Among the many things these bacteria do to earn their keep is help protect you from any harmful bacteria you might take in by accident.
A study conducted by Sweden’s Skåne University Hospital found that travelers who had the most robust and varied microbiome (that is, they had many different types of bacteria in their guts) were less likely to suffer from bacterial blues while traveling to high-risk destinations.
How do you promote a robust and varied microbiome? By eating a wide variety of pre- and probiotic foods in the weeks leading up to your trip. Translation: eat a variety of whole grains, legumes, nuts and vegetables. (Those are your prebiotics.) In addition, incorporate more cultured and fermented foods into your diet. (Those are the probiotics.)
Probiotic foods include things like probiotic yogurt, kefir, fresh sauerkraut and pickles, Korean kim-chi, or the fermented beverage called kombucha. Although some of these foods may be a little unfamiliar, you shouldn’t have to look further than your local grocery store to find them. Fermented and other probiotic foods are enjoying a huge wave of popularity these days.
Another way to keep that microbiome healthy is to avoid taking antibiotics unless your doctor agrees they are absolutely necessary.
Finally, some research suggests that taking a probiotic supplement before and during your travels may offer some additional protection against traveler’s diarrhea. The two probiotic strains that have the most research on this count are Saccharomyces boulardii, sold as Florastor (find it here) and Lactobacillus GG, sold as Culturelle (find it here).
