I recently saw an article on Buzzfeed which questioned why our toilet habits are different when we’re abroad. I thought it was just me and my family that suffered from this change of lifestyle, but apparently it’s a problem many of us face. Seeing as it’s come to light, perhaps it’s the right time to share some solutions to these uncomfortable issues we have with our behinds. Hopefully you won’t spend your next holiday with trapped wind, bloating or being stuck on the toilet to make you miserable!
I have a very strict breakfast routine. When you’re abroad, the joys of a continental breakfast (croissant, yogurt, honey, and that weird but delicious cake thing they seem to have in lots of places round Europe) are very tempting, but make sure you always have a bowl of cereal every morning. I only eat about 4 types of cereal, but bran cereals or Weetabix style cereals are usually the highest in fibre. If you can, add some raisins to your cereal to make it tastier and to increase the fibre content. Also, a glass of fruit juice like orange or apple juice at breakfast is a good way to get nutrients if you are rushing around on holiday and don’t have time/the willpower to buy fresh fruit.
For the same reason, it’s wise to take some fruit from home with you, if your luggage allows. It would be silly to take bags and bags of fresh fruit, so dried fruit is a much better option. Dried apricots, banana chips, dried apple, prunes, raisins, even dried strawberries are a tasty and easy to transport snack. You’ll eat them while you’re away, so no need to worry about taking them all back with you! If you’re not allergic, then nuts can also be helpful as some contain high protein and fibre amounts. Buy unsalted, plain roasted nuts to get the best health benefits possible.
The trouble with going abroad is that all the food options are far more tempting than at home. At restaurants, we tend to pick what’s most appealing to us, rather than at home when we just eat what’s put in front of us. If you want pizza, go ahead, I would too. Just try to even it out by having a side order of vegetables (chips don’t count I’m afraid) in order to maintain some sort of “balanced diet”. Also, the juice trend is really picking up in parts of Southern Europe, more so than it does in the UK. So if you’re out and about in hot weather, why not get a glass of iced fruit juice, especially when you can choose any combination of fruit you like!
If all else fails, perhaps it’s time to bring out the first aid kit. The green cross in Europe means there is a pharmacy, and they’re so brightly illuminated that you can’t miss them. They might look a bit different to Boots but you can get more or less the same things inside. You can get laxative (things that make you poo) and diarrhea medicine, depending on what your problem is. At least this way you won’t have a miserable holiday!
This article may not have been ‘educational’ as such, but what it lacks in knowledge it makes up for in usefulness!
Image from: http://www.daisygreenmagazine.co.uk/expired-competitions/win-a-bumper-tropical-whole-food-hamper/
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