“It was a wonderful time in my favorite city that ruined my microbiome.” When I typed the title on my huge social media following last October, I didn’t expect the Instagram post (an article I surrendered to the gastrointestinal dangers of New Orleans for a few days) to resonate so strongly. I suspect that the positive reception volume is not an aesthetic snapshot of my hotel rooms and banana foster care, but instead, the general awareness is that travel does actually wreak havoc on our poor little microbes. I won’t try to dissuade you from laying off employees on the next holiday, but I travel to make a living and no longer be able to eat on the road like King Henry VIII (yes, gout people). Although I haven’t found the perfect balance yet, in destinations around the world, people have been bubbling food trends, like a compelling remedy: fermentation.
Fermentation is a flash of news, just as ancient as civilization itself. However, it has recently been part of its destination selling point (whether through chef-led workshops or crafty menu products), which feels like an emerging concept (in detailing this). This makes sense, considering our culture’s pursuit of what is called a healthy gut. For board-certified dietitian and writer Mia Rigden, eating a fermented food daily is an easy way to improve the microbiome. “Yogurt, pickles, chutney and flavoured foods contain live probiotics that can help support the balance of bacteria in the gut,” she said.
When we travel, the infamous health is hard to regulate. (Sitting in a pressurized metal tube, blowing from the sky is not completely screaming Easily digest. ) “Traveling can discard your regular diet, sleep, and stress levels, all of which can affect the gut,” Rigden notes. Of course, there are other ways to fight your belly during your vacation, not including fermented food. Regarding this, Migden recommends keeping hydrated and eating fiber-rich plants such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and beans. “These foods act as prebiotics and serve as fuel for good bacteria in the gut.” She also noted that supplements can help fill gaps when traveling. “I often recommend full-spectrum probiotics or sugar therapy, a beneficial single-crystal probiotic that especially helps prevent diarrhea from travelers and supports gut health under stress,” she said. “In addition, magnesium is great for sleep and maintaining exercise for digestion, and electrolytes do help keep hydrated.”
Aside from these practical tips and strategies, if you are curious about how to merge a healthy gut with niche travel trends like fermentation, then allow the following destinations to impact your Wanderlust take you and your microbiome.
Fermented Vegetable Gardens in Tuscany
Photo: courtesy of Borgo Santo Pietro
