Stay Healthy This Summer: Travel & Festival Essentials
It’s that time of year again – we’re all on the move! Either heading off on holiday, or off to enjoy some mud and music at one of the many festivals around the Country. Read on for my top tips on how to stay healthy no matter what you’re doing with your summer.
MANAGE MOSQUITOES AND MIDGES
Whether in a festival field, or enjoying a break in the sun, midges and mosquitoes can be a real pain – especially if, like myself, you’re a really tempting treat for these biting beasties. Ever since reading about the potential benefits of taking vitamin B1, this supplement has accompanied me on every camping trip and holiday abroad.
The story goes that taking a vitamin B1 supplement every day can help us to smell less pleasant to biting bugs (but not to other people!): This is certainly my own experience, and that of many of my clients over the years. I used to be the perfect buffet for all biting beasties, and now I get attacked less than my husband; I can only put this down to a daily B1 whilst travelling.
TOP UP WITH GOOD BACTERIA
Thanks to writers such as Dr Michael Mosley, and research being reported almost daily, most people will now have heard of ‘The Microbiome’ – the small, but incredibly complex, ecosystem inside all of us, containing hundreds of different competing and co-existing bacteria, which play a vital role in keeping us well. The Microbiome is vital for effective digestion and elimination and has a role to play in the health of the immune system. Furthermore, low levels of the right type of bacteria could lead to diarrhoea and upset tummy.
Research has shown that topping up the Microbiome with good bacteria can help to keep ‘bad’ bacteria under control, preventing the development of sickness and diarrhoea – thus making a probiotic the perfect travel companion for anyone.
If you want to try using a good bacteria supplement to keep tummy bugs at bay, you will need to look for a high strength product. There are at least 100 trillion bacteria inside us, so if we want to ensure that the ‘good guys’ have the upper hand, we need to send in plenty of re-enforcements. Look for a product which provides at least 30 billion bacteria in each capsule, and contains a good number of different bacteria strains, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Streptococcus thermophilus.
STAYING HEALTHY – DESPITE OTHERS!
One of the main problems with air travel is being locked into a confined space for several hours with hundreds of other people – not all of whom will be in perfect health. Who hasn’t heard someone coughing four rows up and immediately worried about catching whatever it is, ruining their holiday?!
Equally, camping in an often-damp field, again surrounded by hundreds of other bodies, probably not getting enough sleep and likely indulging in a few treats, is also not the recipe for staying in perfect health!
To try and keep these infections at bay it could be worth considering a daily immune support supplement. A good combination would provide nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin D, Zinc, Selenium and Copper, which all support a healthy immune response. Other useful ingredients include Beta Glucans, Elder and Garlic.
Beta Glucans have been the subject of over 600 different clinical studies and have been shown to reduce the risk of infection by 25%. Elder has been shown to help support the action of the immune system in fighting off the flu virus. Finally, garlic is a natural anti-bacterial agent – making this the perfect combination for holiday health.
ENJOY YOURSELF
The most important thing though, is to ensure that you relax, unwind and have a good time.
Written by Jenny Logan DNMed (Jenny is a nutritional therapist who has worked with clients in health food stores and private clinics for over 20 years).
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