Restoring normal bowel function after your holiday

Specific Health Concern 7 September 2018

Diet and lifestyle changes, proximity or exposure to exotic microbes and bacteria… Summer only makes bowel function disorders more likely to happen. Here are a few tips to restore a healthy and functioning digestive system after the holidays.

Restoring regular bowel function

Homeopathy

If you’re that person who only feels comfortable using their own bathroom at home then the following problem might sound similar…

In effect, constipation when travelling is an integral characteristic of two important homeopathic ‘terrains’, ‘Platina’ and ‘Ignatia’.

So, for homeopaths: 

– The woman “PLATINA”, usually with regular bowel function, will be constipated when travelling, not due to a physical problem but for psychological reasons*, temperamental or educative. 

– The woman “IGNATIA” will be constipated when travelling in general (car/plane journeys) and this constipation will last into the initial holiday period.

*When dealing with temperamental issues, treatments are given in high dilution.

More generally, to avoid temporary constipation, follow the tips mentioned in a previous article:

– Drink enough water

– Eat enough soluble and insoluble fibre

– Follow regular probiotic treatments

– Cook with coconut oil

– Move as much as possible

– Practice yoga

– Go to the toilet at regular times of the day

Relieve gut pain caused by raw vegetables  

Summer is a great time for salads and means we can spend less time in the kitchen whilst getting all the right vitamins.

Unfortunately, our gut doesn’t always agree and we can start to experience bloating and painful stomach cramps.

The solution:

Rest your gut for several days. 

If you are a regular faster, this can be a good idea to help rest your digestive system. 

Just remember to regularly hydrate with filtered vegetable broths.

For a less drastic approach, opt for a ‘low residue diet’ by eliminating raw fruits and vegetables during several days and instead opt for starches, steam-cooked or grilled meat and fish and hard cheeses. 

You can then slowly reintroduce the following:

– Tender vegetables: sliced carrots, green salad, asparagus tips, chicory, peeled and

deseeded tomatoes, beetroot…

– Ripe fruit, peeled and deseeded: banana, apple, pear…

 

Restoring healthy gut flora

Understanding traveller’s diarrhoea 

Fortunately, aggressive bacteria and microbes such as salmonella and amoebae are not always at the origin of traveller’s diarrhoea. Prevention remains the best remedy: drink bottled water, avoid raw vegetables and ice cream, and regularly wash your hands. 

The simple fact of changing diet, eating more spices, food cooked in a different way, drinking more iced drinks, stress (fear of flying for example) can all provoke diarrhoea and disturb your gut flora.

To avoid creating the ideal environment for autumn stomach bugs, follow a probiotic treatment (ideally containing lactobacillus and bifidobacteria) as soon as you return home.

My Advice 

Immunity Support – 2 per day for 15 days.

Helping your liver to recover 

The gut isn’t the only thing responsible for bowel problems. 

The liver and gall-bladder affected by excessive alcohol consumption or fried foods can also cause nausea, bloating or diarrhoea. 

The Digestion Cleanse treatment will allow you to digest fats more efficiently and will improve intestinal transit. 

 

References 

  • Traité d’homéopathie de Catherine Gaucher et Jean-Marie Chabanne

By ARIANE MONNAMI, PH.D.,NUTRITIONIST AND EXPERT IN MICRO-NUTRITION & NEURO-NUTRITION