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 James McNabb, M.D., C.N. |
Don't Let Traveler's Diarrhea Cramp Your Style
Going to areas of the world where the sanitation and food handling are not up to Western standards can be a challenge. Jet lag and sleep deprivation weaken our resistance to disease and compound the problem. Traveler’s diarrhea and infections will truly sap the vitality out of your trip. There are certain things that you can do, however, to reduce your chances of becoming sick.
What Causes The Problem?
We harbor, within our gastrointestinal tract, bacteria that serve many beneficial purposes. Probiotics is the generic word for these bacteria. They serve many important functions, but the one most important for travelers is that by occupying ecological niches within our GI tract, they prevent the establishment of pathologic bugs such as E. coli from causing their dirty work. By maximizing our numbers of good bacteria, traveler’s diarrheas that are caused by these pathological bacteria are diminished. In order to maximize the numbers of good bacteria in your system,
Take Probiotics Instead of Drugs
I recommend taking 1 probiotic capsule daily as a preventative, and up it to three times a day if GI symptoms begin. Pepto-Bismol is also recommended to treat any signs of traveler’s diarrhea. This condition is better to prevent than to treat. Taking antibiotics to kill any offending bacteria will raise even more havoc with the normal GI bacteria, leaving you perhaps worse off than before, unless conscious efforts to replenish the normal bacteria with probiotics is undertaken.
The ease with which antibiotics can be obtained in foreign countries often leads to promiscuous use. The majority of infectious disease is viral and not treatable with antibiotics anyway. Taking an antibiotic for a viral illness not only will not help the problem, but also wipe out the normal bacteria in the GI track, thus leaving you more vulnerable that before.
There are a number of natural antibiotics I recommend that work to fight infections, both viral and bacterial, yet do not share the pharmaceutical antibiotic’s tendency to wipe out our natural probiotic organisms. Garlic was known by Louis Pasteur to be an effective antibiotic, long before Fleming discovered penicillin. It has effectiveness not only against bacteria, but also against viruses and fungi. I recommend 1 garlic capsule (300mg) daily as a preventative, and four times a day for an infection. I also recommend carrying oil of oregano capsules and olive leaf extract capsules, both natural antibiotics, in case of infection. Berberine, 300 –1200 mg daily is a good antibacterial and antiviral. It is used to treat an infection, not as a preventative. Echinacea works well to treat but not prevent colds. Take 1 or 2 capsules (500mg) four times a day. Curcumin is used to treat both infection and allergic disease. Take 1-3 capsules a day. Vitamin C supports your immune system by arming the white blood cells, allowing them to kill bacteria and viruses more effectively. It is also a mainstay against oxidative damage to cells. I recommend 500 mg daily whether you are traveling or not.
By taking this nutritional armamentarium along with you on your next trip, hopefully you will remain healthy and really enjoy the sights. Bon Voyage!
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