Expert reveals how to avoid ‘health nightmare' caused by common holiday habit

Summer vacations can often involve a whole lot of planning but few people think about including their health in these preparations. Dr Lucy Williamson, gut health specialist and nutritionist, noted that it’s a quick slope for easy-going vacations to turn into a “health nightmare that ruins the break” and shared a few simple choices and changes that could alleviate the health woes abroad.

The expert noted that travelling itself can wreak havoc on an unprepared body as the change in diet, routine, timezone and flying alone can “adversely affect the gut and digestion” and see many people suffering from travellers' constipation or travellers’ diarrhoea, which the CDC branded “the most common travel-related illness”.

Dr Williamson advised eager holidaymakers to address their gut health before leaving home: “Eating a bigger variety of plants is the single, best thing we can do to nurture our gut health. Why is this worthwhile? Most of our immune system sits within our gut wall so looking after our billions of beneficial gut microbes really helps to build our resistance to those holiday bugs.”

For those looking to glow on their summer getaways, the expert pointed out how diet can affect a person’s skin advising that they follow: “Rule of thumb is the 3Ps – 1. Probiotic 2. Prebiotic and 3. Polyphenols”. She explained that probiotics are found in fermented foods like yoghurt and sauerkraut, while a wide variety of plants provide ample prebiotics.

Lastly, for a polyphenol fill the doctor advised: “Antioxidants in all colourful fruit and veg like berries, beetroot and sweet potatoes are rocket fuel for our good gut microbes. Plant oils are a fabulous way to get skin-boosting Vitamin E too – enjoy olive oil on your salads or use cold pressed rapeseed oil for roasting.”

Once at the airport, arguably the most stressful part of a holiday, Dr Williamson recommended doing some breathing exercises to stay on top of your mental state and keeping hydrated on the plane to aid in the unnatural changes a body goes through in flight. She explained: “Changes in the air pressure can alter water balance between tissues in the body often resulting in swelling or bloating, but it can also make the gut medium become more watery.

“A decent amount of fibre in your breakfast such as porridge could be helpful in absorbing extra water and therefore avoiding excessive bowel movements in the gut. Alcohol may also upset the water balance during flights so try to avoid it however tempting a celebratory holiday toast might be.”

While on vacation, Dr Williamson recommended holidaymakers make the most of their locale by sticking to local, seasonal food, getting some vitamin D from the sun in the early hours or late afternoon and keeping a 12-hour overnight gap between meals to keep their gut in line. She also strongly advised against one of the most common vacation habits: overindulging in wine.

Dr Williamson explained that one or two may be fine, but warned: “A lot of preserved foods contain sulphites, including wine! These can upset our beneficial gut bacteria, so go easy or build in some ‘dry days’. However, the good news is that red wine and cider are high in those gut-loving polyphenols, so as always there’s a balance to be had.”

Some simple lifestyle changes while on holiday can also help fend off the post-holiday blues according to the expert as she shared: “Our body is wired to like the natural rhythms of light. It’s how we’ve evolved. Try to get to bed early and wake up with the natural light rather than sleeping on into the day. Allowing our body to wake up naturally with its inbuilt circadian rhythm, greatly reduces low-level stress and will help to ease you back into life back home.”