Are you wondering how to avoid digestive upset while traveling?  Bali Belly, Delhi Belly, the Turkey Trots, the Cairo Curse, the Bangkok Bloat, the Dakar Dash, Montezuma’s Revenge, or the Hong Kong Crud do not have to accompany you on your exploration of a developing nation. 

You’re a savvy enough traveler to know not to drink the local water, including using bottled water to brush your teeth and avoiding opening your mouth while in the shower.  You already have packaged foods to carry in your day bag to fill in for meals in case you don’t trust that the local produce was washed with purified water or that the animal foods were thoroughly cooked.  What if you feel a rumble coming on and suspect that something got down the hatch despite your precautions?

Nearly all digestive disturbances while traveling are bacterial or parasitic. Most Western remedies mask the problem rather than cure it. (For example: diarrhea is the body’s response to getting rid of a pathogen, so plugging yourself up with the medications you’ll find in drug stores to halt the purging only results in the pathogen having more time inside of your body to colonize, rob you of the nutrients you eat, and burrow into your tissues. Your goal is to eradicate the pathogen, not give it more time to proliferate inside of you.)   

I’ve explored 23 developing nations within the last 8 years, and in doing so, I’ve relied on some trusted herbs that have served me well (while traveling via camel, sleeping in mud huts, and admittedly downing any foods that looked good despite their unknown origins). My favorite three anti-parasitic herbs are wormwood, black walnut (check the label to be sure what you’re buying was harvested while the hulls were green), and cloves.  The first 2 annihilate the adult and various developmental stages of at least 100 parasites, and the clove kills the egg version of them (if you don’t rid yourself of the eggs, they will grow into the adult stage of these parasites and lay more eggs). I carry liquid tinctures of these three and make an herbal cocktail each night before bed (take them on an empty stomach for the strongest impact) as part of my daily traveling regimen. You can also find these three herbs in capsule form and pop them between meals. In addition to taking them throughout your trip, take them daily for 2 weeks upon return to ensure you eliminate any parasitic eggs planted in your alimentary tract.

Quassia and grapefruit seed extract are two other helpful remedies to take, both on a precautionary basis and after an infraction.   The astringent resin of the quassia tree (indigenous to Jamaica, Panama, and Brazil) inhibits insects and other pests from resting on it yet in humans it is not only safe to be used for purging worms and parasites as well as taming malaria, some brewers use it as a substitute for hops when making beer. You can easily find quassia and grapefruit seed extract in either capsule or liquid form in most natural supplement stores.

While in Bali and India, I carried with me, in addition to the herbs as mentioned earlier, an ionic silver liquid. I forgot to notice if the bottled water I had purchased in India was sealed or not, and I realized (after gulping down 1/3rd of the bottle) that it was not sealed (refilling empty water bottles with tap water and selling them to tourists is not uncommon, so always check the seal). I was grateful to have a bottle of ionic silver with me, and a few drops later, I didn’t even experience so much as a hiccup. 

Hydrochloric acid is crucial for complete digestion.  Despite what the pharmaceutical advertisements blast at us, most people have too little rather than too much. HCL kills the pathogens we eat- they cannot survive beyond our stomachs without adequate HCL.  This means that if you produce (or consume) enough HCL, you won’t have to worry about parasites getting into your small intestine or lower because they’ll be killed instantly by your stomach juices.  Buy HCL in capsule form and take it with meals in unhygienic locations. Start with 1 or 2 capsules (always with food, never on an empty stomach), and if you don’t feel a burning sensation, increase the dosage to up to 6 capsules during a large meal.  

If you experience the opposite problem (constipation being common after extended plane flights and having changed time zones) be sure to drink 60+ ounces of bottled water being careful to space your water consumption apart from meals. (Drinking more than a few ounces of water with meals dilutes your gastric juices, which are needed to break down your food and kill any food-borne pathogens entirely.) Magnesium (in the citrate, oxide, or malate form) attracts water and pulls water through your body, breaking free of what may feel like an abdomen of cement. There’s no danger of overdosing since you’ll excrete whatever your body can’t immediately use.  The ascorbic acid form of vitamin C (in doses of 2000 mg, taken multiple times daily) is another powerful tool for moving the bowels.  Both magnesium and vitamin C are safe to take for extended periods.

Happy travels to you!