3 Travelling Tips from a Naturopath & Nutritionist

Recently, I had the privilege of travelling the world! My husband and I spent 5 x weeks overseas, in Scotland, England, France and Italy. It was an experience I’ll never forget! I wanted to share what I learned about how to look after your health while travelling, with the top three strategies I used to stay well and feel good!

1) Pack a kit with emergency supplements
I don’t know what I would have done without my little kit of supplements! Here are the supplements I took, and why:

• Magnesium Citrate: A Europe trip always involves lots of walking, which means aching legs and cramps (at least it did for me)! Magnesium citrate not only prevents cramping and aching muscles, it is fantastic for sleep and helping keep your bowels regular. The combination of jet lag and eating foods you don’t normally eat can easily result in funny bowel motions (constipation or diarrhoea). Magnesium citrate helps to keep you regular. There are lots of different forms of Magnesium, however Magnesium citrate in particular provides all these benefits.
• Probiotics: I ate radically differently while I was overseas, with more gluten and dairy than I am used to. In addition, I was drinking different water. Eating different foods and drinking different water can have a drastic effect on your gut bugs, and lead to gastroenteritis or (again) funny bowel motions. Probiotics helps to prevent gastro, keep you regular and is also great for supporting your immune system (who wants to get sick overseas?!).
• Immune Support: Speaking of getting sick, it’s almost inevitable that you will catch something when you’re travelling on crowded planes, trains and buses. I made sure that I had a well-rounded immune support tablet with me at all times. I took it every day, but doubled the dose when I caught a bug (yep, I told you it was inevitable!). Seek advice from your Naturopath, Nutritionist or Pharmacist about the best immune support for you.
• Electrolytes: I travelled in summer (and yes, there was a heat wave), so keeping hydrated and maintaining electrolytes was key! Not only do electrolytes prevent dehydration in the heat, but they’re great if you do end up with a bout of gastro and need to replenish your losses.

2) Stay Hydrated
Maybe this seems like a no brainer, but it’s easy to forget to drink when you’re exploring the world and having the time of your life! Make sure you have a refillable drink bottle, and don’t rely on buying water (you never know when you’ll come across the next shop or café!). Limit alcohol to a maximum of one drink daily, because alcohol is also dehydrating.

3) Cook some of your own meals
Eating out for 5 weeks eventually gets old…REALLY old. While the novelty of not having to cook your own meals is great at the start, you’ll eventually be craving that wholesome, home cooked meal that makes you feel good. To prevent that yucky feeling of takeaway foods everyday, we stayed in air bnb’s that had a small kitchen or kitchenette. Occasionally, we batch cooked some meals and packed them for our travels throughout the day.

In Italy, we visited a locals market and found some delicious risotto, mushrooms, in-season veggies and parmesan and made some vegetarian risotto, yum! Not only did we feel good, we got to experience what life is like as a local Italian resident, purchasing their fresh ingredients from the local market and cooking up a storm.

And last but not least, have the time of your life!