The Sneaky Things Wrecking Your Gut When You Travel

Forbes

5 days ago

Restaurant meals, stress, alcohol, and low fiber while traveling disrupt digestion fast—learn what's behind the bloat and how to keep your gut in balance. getty
You finally get some time away—maybe a beach vacation, a city break, or just a change of pace. But instead of feeling refreshed, your stomach's in knots. Bloating, brain fog, sluggish digestion... sound familiar? It's not just the plane ride or the hotel buffet. According to gut health expert Dr. Daryl Gioffre, travel itself can be a full-body stressor, and your gut often bears the brunt of it.
'Travel might be exciting, but it's become a literal minefield for your gut,' Gioffre explains. Between unfamiliar foods, erratic routines, and stress, your digestive system ends up overloaded and under-supported. The good news? With a few smart shifts, you can protect your gut and still enjoy the trip.
Eating out is part of the travel experience—but it comes with a price, and your gut usually pays it. 'When you're on the road and eating out more, you're getting slammed with the toxic trio: sugar, seed oils, and refined salt,' says Dr. Gioffre.
'These aren't just common—they're guaranteed in most restaurant meals because they are inexpensive to source, and they hit what's called the 'bliss point,'' he explains. 'That's the exact combo of unhealthy fats, sugar, and salt that lights up the dopamine receptors in your brain, trapping you in a vicious cycle of cravings that's almost impossible to break.'
It might feel satisfying in the moment, but it wreaks havoc internally. Sugar feeds the wrong kinds of bacteria, including Candida, yeast, and other inflammatory microbes. This throws your microbiome out of balance and can lead to a condition known as leaky gut. Gioffre points to research showing that just 12 days of high sugar intake in mice led to gut microbiome disruption and even memory issues.
But sugar isn't the worst offender—seed oils take that prize. 'Seed oils like canola, corn, soybean, and sunflower are even worse than sugar. These pro-inflammatory omega-6 fats inflame your gut lining, clog your brain and arteries, and stick around for the long haul. Their half-life is seven years,' says Gioffre. 'One meal can mess with your gut and body for nearly a decade.'
Refined salt piles on more problems. 'It dehydrates your cells, throws off your mineral balance, and puts added stress on your gut,' he explains. Unlike unrefined sea salt, it lacks the trace minerals needed for enzyme function and digestion. The result? Sluggish digestion and a weakened gut barrier. Travel-Related Stress
Sure, you're not clocking in at the office, but travel brings its own kind of chaos. Delayed flights, unfamiliar beds, irregular schedules—it's all stressful. And stress, Gioffre warns, is one of the most dangerous things for your gut.
'Your nervous system goes into overdrive, and your brain can't tell the difference between real danger and emotional stress. So it shuts down digestion and prioritizes survival,' he says. That means your stomach acid drops, your digestion slows to a crawl, and suddenly you're bloated and uncomfortable.
Worse still, stress increases intestinal permeability—also known as leaky gut—by weakening the gut lining and allowing toxins and harmful microbes to enter the bloodstream. And it doesn't stop there. 'Stress wrecks your microbiome. It suppresses your good healthy probiotics, fuels the bad ones, and even flips on their virulence genes—making them more aggressive in a weakened terrain.'
To protect your gut, Gioffre recommends calming your nervous system daily while traveling. 'Breathwork, movement, cold plunge, or meditation—whatever activates your vagus nerve and pulls you out of survival mode.' Increased Alcohol Consumption
Let's be real—vacation drinks are part of the fun. But your gut sees things differently. 'Alcohol is one of the most acidic and damaging substances you can put in your body, and your gut takes the biggest hit,' says Gioffre.
A single glass of wine, he explains, has a pH of around 3.1, making it 10,000 times more acidic than water. That acidity can inflame your gut lining and lead to leaky gut. Alcohol also weakens the valve that keeps stomach acid in place, leading to reflux and heartburn.
Then there's the microbiome disruption. Alcohol fuels the growth of harmful bacteria while suppressing the good ones. 'Think of your gut as a garden. When we drink alcohol, the weeds begin to overtake the garden,' says Gioffre.
If you do drink, Gioffre suggests neutralizing the acid in advance. 'Just five drops of Acid-Kicking Alcohol Alkalizer in every drink neutralizes the harmful acid.' And if you've overindulged? Cut back on alcohol for a week, drink water with electrolytes, and load up on mineral-rich greens, enzymes, and probiotics to help restore gut health. Low Fiber Intake
'Fiber is usually the first thing to disappear when you travel,' Gioffre says. And that's bad news for your digestion. Most people already fall short of the recommended 25–35 grams of fiber daily, and travel meals exacerbate that gap.
'Without fiber, digestion slows down, bloating ramps up, and harmful bacteria start to dominate your gut microbiome,' he explains. That can lead to leaky gut, food sensitivities, and chronic inflammation.
To stay regular, Gioffre recommends aiming for a half-cup of fiber-rich, slow-burning carbs with each meal. And when options are limited? 'My favorite travel-friendly hack is the Internal Shower Shot: 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, lemon, and sea salt in water. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then mix and drink. One shot delivers 10 grams of fiber.' Ultra-Processed Convenience Foods
It's easy to lean on protein bars, hotel snacks, and fast food when you're traveling. But these 'ultra-processed convenience foods' are gut bombs.
'These foods are loaded with synthetic additives, seed oils, emulsifiers, preservatives, and artificial sweeteners that drive up inflammation and wreck your microbiome fast—sometimes within days,' Gioffre says. He points to research showing that just three days on a highly processed diet can significantly disrupt the microbiome.
'These foods are engineered to be addictive but stripped of everything your healthy gut bacteria need to thrive,' he warns. That leads to bloating, brain fog, fatigue, and full-blown dysbiosis.
To rebuild, Gioffre recommends Gut Punch: 'One scoop every morning helps reseal the gut wall, reduce inflammation, and rebuild your microbiome from the inside out.'
Travel doesn't have to destroy your gut. 'Sugar, seed oils, and refined salt leave you bloated, foggy, and trapped in a cycle that keeps destroying your gut from the inside out,' says Gioffre. But with awareness and some simple strategies, you can stay on track. 'One clean choice at a time—and over time, the good will outweigh the bad.'