One of the problems I experience when traveling is an increase in tummy trouble because of IBS.
What seems to help me the most is eating a high fiber cereal like Kashi Good Friends. Can I take a box with me to Italy (Venice) or do they sell it there? Or do they have an equivalent?
I have successfully dealt with the same problem while traveling by adjusting my diet to the following: Breakfast: Yogurt sprinkled with a high fiber cereal (any offered by the hotel) and an occasional croissant. Lunch: 1 Imodium before eating anything, then a light high carb meal. Dinner: Pasta for carbs, fish and a salad for fiber.
Eating high carb meals, not over-eating at any meal, and not eating red meat works for me. Of course, eating high carb meals in Italy is a pleasure and a treat due to our low carb eating habits at home. Somehow I seem to walk off the extra calories.
Have a wonderful time on your upcoming trip to Italy!
Ginger, there is no reason why you couldn't take a box with you - and it would give you an empty space for a treasure to bring back . I've seen plenty of high fiber cereals in the Tuscany supermarkets, and Venice has small grocery stores where I would think you could buy some. It's easy to figure out from the package which are the high fiber ones, so I don't think you'll have any trouble.
I take fiber pills with me. I take those puppies like they're candy, I swear! I also drink a lot of water and avoid foods that are too heavy. I also take aloe vera pills with me just in case I need the extra boost.
What a delightful topic! But timely for me, since this is one of my pre-trip anxieties before I depart in a few days with a case of post-C-diff IBS.
Like Kathy, I'm packing fiber pills. I looked at a bunch of reliable websites (like med schools, etc.), which said that the synthetic ones, calcium polycarbophil are less likely than psyllium to cause er...um... unpleasant side-effects. (Can I mention bloating and cramping in such refined company?) That's been my experience, but of course, it depends on your own reaction.
But I have to say that this is such a pain that if you know that Kashi helps you, I don't see why you shouldn't pack some.
Good luck.
Posts: 691 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
I take Citracil caplets. You can buy them in any drugstore. They are made of methyl cellulose and don't have any bad side effects. I'm not a fan of Metamucil. I used to swell up like a birthday balloon on that stuff.
My gastroenterologist turned me onto Citracil as it's known for being gentle and non bloaty. The caplets make it really easy to travel with it. CVS sells a generic that is cheaper and just as good. It's called soluble fiber therapy.
I've had IBS since I was in my teens. Stay away from too much caffeine whilst traveling and drink tons of water. Most of all just relax and enjoy!
Thanks for all the advice and sorry this is kinda an indelicate subject, however, I don't want to try anything new without testing it out first.
So you think it would be okay to take a box of Kashi in my luggage and not get in trouble going through customs? What about eating it for breakfast, will the hotel think I'm some sort of crass American lunatic even though it's for medicinal purposes? Should I just eat it in my room?
Ginger, why would you take boxes of cereal with you when you can get even more fiber from pills and they are so easy to take with you? It's the fiber you need, not the cereal. I've discussed this with other IBS sufferers and we all just take a fiber supplement with us. My dad traveled the world taking a big old jar of Metamucil with him. Thank God they came out with the pills!
If you really feel you can't do without a special cereal I'd suggest finding one at the local market when you get there as Gail has suggested. I saw a ton of them in a big supermarket in Venice. You can just take it down for breakfast and ask for milk. Heck, you'll be saving them money so I doubt they'll bat an eyelash.
Yes, you can take a box of cereal into Italy if you want to. If you'll be more comfortable with your regular routine, there's no reason not to take it and no need to explain your choice to anyone at the hotel.
Posts: 186 | Location: Washington DC | Registered: 11 January 2006
Just a caution... If you are gluten/lactose intolerant along with your IBS...and those 2 often go hand in hand with IBS...then your source of fibre will have to be gluten-free, and that's tricky, because a lot of fibre supplements have gluten in fillers and such.
I'm all for taking food that you are familiar with, as I do. If I left my meals and snacks to the vagaries of the airlines, the hotels/B & B's/apartments and all of the unfamiliar grocery shops in the places that I visit, I'd be in huge trouble.
I would also be careful with foods that look the same, packaging is the same, name is the same, but manufacturer is different...I've been bitten by a cereal that had the same packaging and brand name as the one I usually have at home, and about 30 minutes after eating it, I was in big trouble! There actually was a contamination of gluten in the ingredients, when I read thru' the list. Who knew?
Long story short, take your own food, if you have any concerns at all. I do, and there are no end of great people to help you along the way...I take my hot rice cereal mixture and a small travel-size of soy milk into any restaurant...they all have the means to cook it for me and are very kind about doing it. I've had conversations with some servers about gluten intolerance and IBS...not my idea of a savory breakfast topic, but hey! You do what works!
How lucky you are that you can tolerate the fibre capsules, KT, Kathy & Friend of Fiesole! I cannot...I only wish! Ground flax seed is my fibre of choice and it is very gentle on my poor little tumtum. Psyllium husk is as harsh as they come, according to my N.D. She recommends flax ground up as a much kinder way of sweeping out the little corners and crevasses!
Ginger, I empathize...travel makes me worse, by far. It's the long hours spent sitting, all of the different water, tea made with that water, the stress of travelling, all aggravated by lack of proper sleep and JET-LAG! So, it's bottled water for me!
"All food starting with p is comfort food: pasta, potato chips, pretzels, peanut butter, pastrami, Pizza, pastry." ~ Sara Paretsky Brenda
Psyllium husk is as harsh as they come, according to my N.D.
Brenda, the pills I've suggested are not made of Psyllium husk. They are are not abrasive and are gluten free! I am as sensitive as they come and Citrucel is the number one leading fiber supplement recommended for people who are sensitive to the other stuff. Methyll Cellulose is very gentle.
Take a look at this and this so you can see what I'm talking about. I think you might actually be able to use this as well!
I tell people my siblings inherited my father's kidney issues and I inherited his stress butt.
Yes, thankfully they now have Citracil tablets instead of that awful powder. If those are too sluggish, I bite the bullet and take Senokot which is not too harsh.
How come men never seem to have this problem????
Carole
Posts: 1107 | Location: Laguna Beach, CA | Registered: 09 February 2006
Maybe they do, Carole...they just don't talk about it?
Kathy, thanks for the information! I'd be grateful forever if this is something I can tolerate! I'll check it out, then let you know. Likely I'll only try a teensy weensy little bit, til my tum gets used to it.
I'm training my system to accept UDO'S 3.6.9 oil, right now...a few drops then a few more, then a few more...hopefully I'll be able to take the 2 teaspoons at sometime in the future. The EFA's usually contain fish oil which is so awful for me! This 3.6.9.that UDO's makes is made of flax oils and such, so we'll see....
"I would like to find a stew that will give me heartburn immediately, instead of at three o'clock in the morning." ~ John Barrymore Brenda
The fiber pills I use aren't psyllium husk, either. They're calcium polycarbophil (brand name FiberCon, but I use the store brands), which is less likely to cause problems, and I've been okay with it so far. Metamucil, whether in powder or capsule form, is psyllium. From all I've read, the side effects of psyllium are not due to a mechanical abrasion, but because of the way the fiber is digested: the bacterial degradation can cause the side effects. Calcium polycarbophil and methyl cellulose are processed differently than that by the body.
I feel like I'm getting a bit too graphic for a travel site, especially since it's about dinner time out here on the west coast!
I'm off to pack my fiber pills...and maybe a few items of clothing, as well.
Posts: 691 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
Ginger, as a fellow IBS sufferer, I'm very glad you raised this! I have taken a box of cereal in my luggage on past trips to Italy (well, not actually the box; I've separated the contents into a few ziplock plastic bags)
But I'm really intrigued by Kathy's suggestion of the fibre capsules Citracil -- I hope I can find these in Canada!
Kathy's idea sounds like a good one, but I wouldn't try it for the first time while you're away! If you don't have the time to check it out before you leave, stick with what works for you now, and then experiment and explore when you return.
When are you leaving, btw? (I must have missed that somewhere!)
I agree, Terry...there's absolutely nothing worse for me than starting a trip with the ol' tum-tum slightly off-balance. It's gonna get worse before it gets better!
I've googled Citracel/Citrucel, depending on the article as to the spelling of it, and it seems it is available in Canada, so I'll track it down and give it a try...a tiny little bit at a time. I'll let you know how it feels!
Chemicals, n: Noxious substances from which modern foods are made. ~ Unknown Brenda
I know last year while in Itlay I really suffered with a slight"plugged" problem. Sorry for the details...however I attributed to eating so much caprese everyday...fresh mozz. So I will bring the Benefiber with me this year.
Originally posted by suncoast: .. What about eating it for breakfast, will the hotel think .... Ginger
The hotels in Rome, where we have stayed the past 5 years, all had dry cereal. Some boxed, and there was a good Fruit and Fibre one that I can't find over here, and some have it in covered bowls to scoop into your bowl.
There has always been at least one bran/fiber choice.
Topic Closed
. I've seen plenty of high fiber cereals in the Tuscany supermarkets, and Venice has small grocery stores where I would think you could buy some. It's easy to figure out from the package which are the high fiber ones, so I don't think you'll have any trouble.
