When people travel abroad, especially to developing countries, their risk of going down with traveller's tummy may be increased. Your holiday can be ruined by unsafe or contaminated food. Many places outside of Europe do not have the investment and regulation for water supply, refuse disposal and sewerage that we take for granted in the UK. Food poisoning on holiday is often cause by contaminated or tainted water, poor hygiene by food handlers, contamination of food by insects such as flies and wasps and numerous other possible causal factors.

The normal treatment for food poisoning is prescribed antibiotics and whilst they perform their role of destroying the harmful bacteria, they are not without side effects and can disrupt the balance of the good bacteria in our gut. This does not mean that you should not take antibiotics when you have food poisoning, but you may be able to prevent this concern or certainly replace the good bacteria lost through antibiotic usage by using a good probiotic.

I normally tend to recommend a good probiotic such as Mega Probio, usually taken seven days before your holiday, whilst on holiday and for another week upon your return. Probiotics are live bacteria that confer a wide array of positive benefits to our bodies. Specifically from the food poisoning point, they may help to fight of disease-causing bacteria which commonly cause food poisoning.

I also always take a supplement with me on my travels called Enterosgel Sachets. The sachets contain a unique form of silica, which acts like a sponge to remove toxins, viruses and bacteria that cause inflammation leading to diarrhoea. This helps to prevent rushing out to the local pharmacy in case I get affected by a dodgy stomach.

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