It’s a common vacation symptom that’s uncomfortable and annoying: traveller’s constipation.
Having fewer bowel movements than you’re normally used to can leave you feeling bloated, gassy, lethargic and irritable during your summer getaway.
The good news: There are ways to resolve this travel-related gut disruption so you can enjoy your trip.
Here’s what to know about traveller’s constipation, plus tips to keep you regular while on vacation.
What causes traveller’s constipation?
There are a number of reasons why people experience constipation while travelling.
Sitting for a long time during travel can slow the activity of muscles in the colon that move stool through the intestinal tract.
Long flights can cause dehydration owing to low humidity and recirculating cabin air. If you’re dehydrated, your colon will pull in water from your stool resulting in dry, hard stools that are less easy to pass.
A change in time zone can also upset your usual bowel habits by disrupting your body’s circadian rhythm, its internal clock that keeps body functions running on time, including digestion.
Changing up your daily routine can contribute, too. Meal, sleep and exercise schedules may be off. You may also be eating different foods than you do at home.
The follow strategies can help relieve traveller’s constipation – or avert it in the first place.
Stay hydrated
Drinking enough water each day helps soften stools so they’re easier to pass.
Concentrate on meeting your daily fluid requirements before you go, while travelling and at your destination. Adults need 2.2 litres (women) and 3 L (men) daily, and more when the weather is hot and humid.
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During a flight, drink 250 millilitres of water for every hour of flying. Avoid salty drinks such as tomato and Clamato juice.
Pack a stainless-steel water bottle so you can sip on water during the day.
Limit alcoholic beverages, too. Alcohol acts as a diuretic, causing your body to lose water through urination.
Focus on fibre
Insoluble fibre, found in whole grains, nuts, seeds, and many fruits and vegetables, adds bulk to stool, helping it pass more quickly through the intestinal tract.
Prioritize fresh fruit and vegetables at every meal. Apples, berries, figs, kiwifruit, mangoes, oranges and plums are good sources of insoluble fibre. So are bell peppers, carrots, green beans, parsnips, peas and spinach.
Pack high-fibre energy or protein bars and nuts for snacks
Consider bringing 100 per cent bran cereal to add to yogurt or smoothies at breakfast.
Add psyllium husk powder to your packing list too. When taken with water, this fibre supplement is effective at increasing the frequency of bowel movements and improving stool consistency.
Limit fatty foods
Eating lots of high fat foods – fried foods, processed meats, baked goods, cheese, ice cream – can contribute to constipation. They take longer to move through your digestive tract and they’re low in fibre.
You don’t need to avoid high fat vacation foods, just don’t overdo it.
Add probiotics
Research suggests that consuming probiotics – as fermented foods (e.g., yogurt, kefir, kombucha, kimchi) or as a supplement – can ease constipation by increasing bowel movement frequency.
Start consuming probiotics for one week before your trip.
If you’re considering a supplement, choose one with a probiotic strain that’s been shown to be effective for treating constipation. Bifidobacteria lactis, Lactobacillus reuteri, Lactobacillus casei Shirota and Lactobacillus plantarum are examples.
Stick to your usual routine
If possible, try to maintain your usual sleep and meal schedule while away. Stay active while on vacation, too.
A note about traveller’s diarrhea
Constipation isn’t the only gut disruption that can occur while travelling.
Traveller’s diarrhea, the most common illness that affects travellers, is caused by eating food or drinking water that’s contaminated with bacteria (most common), parasites or viruses.
Besides diarrhea, symptoms can include fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and urgency to have a bowel movement.
In most cases, symptoms go away on their own in a few days and drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration is the only treatment.
The risk for traveller’s diarrhea is higher when travelling to a country that has poor hygiene and sanitation standards and/or when eating at places with poor food handling practices.
According to Health Canada, high risk destinations include developing countries in Central and South America, Mexico, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
If travelling to such a country, use only safe water that’s been boiled, disinfected or commercially bottled and sealed. Avoid eating raw fruits, vegetables and salad greens.
Taking a probiotic that contains the strain Saccharomyces boulardii (e.g., Florastor) has been demonstrated to help prevent traveller’s diarrhea.
Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private practice dietitian, is director of food and nutrition at Medcan. Follow her on Twitter @LeslieBeckRD