Skip the plane food and other ways to look after your gut on holiday

Telegraph

3 days ago

I always look forward to my trips to Spain – not for grand restaurant meals, but for the simple pleasures of local ingredients that put their dull British counterparts to shame. Often it's the most basic, affordable foods that bring the greatest joy.
The first thing I seek out is proper tomatoes, which taste like a completely different fruit, and nothing at all like the bland versions back home. I made a salad with spring onions, local extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. The local anchovies are fantastic, and I'll have some served as tapas on some fresh bread soaked in tomatoes and olive oil. In summer, the peaches and nectarines are amazing, and I keep a large bowl on the table.
Holidays are rightly seen as a time where we can relax and indulge in good food and drink. However, over recent years as I've become more immersed in how what we're eating affects our health, I've come to realise that there are still ways we can indulge that also look after our health. You can absolutely still enjoy wonderful food, and look after your gut.
Travel, especially long flights, can quickly disrupt your digestive system. Dehydration, changes in routine, alcohol or sugary drinks, and unfamiliar foods can all upset your gut microbes, who are just as sensitive to change as you are. This might mean constipation, bloating, or sudden digestive upsets – even in the absence of any infection.
Here are my simple tips on how to look after your gut while still making the most of your well-earned break.
Bring travel snacks – and never eat on the plane
Even on long haul flights to the US, I'll never eat a meal on the plane. Airline meals are usually mass-produced, over-processed, overpriced and not remotely gut-friendly. Worse still, eating at 35,000 ft can confuse your internal body clock – your gut microbes have circadian rhythms too – and eating out of sync can disrupt your digestion and sleep. Hold off until you land and eat a proper meal on solid ground.
For most of us flying to European destinations this summer, the flight will be less than three hours, so there's no reason to accept the biscuits or pretzels either. These snacks are designed to make you thirsty, encouraging you to spend more on drinks. They're low in fibre, full of sugar and salt and are highly processed, and eating them will signal to your immune system that something's wrong – leading to fatigue, inflammation, and hunger pangs soon after.
Instead, have a well-balanced meal before leaving home, so you're not at the mercy of what's available on your journey – the food you'll come across at service stations, in the airport and on your flight will be lousy.
To avoid being tempted, I try to always bring a bag of mixed nuts and seeds (or a sachet of Zoe daily 30+ mix), the more variety of plants and the fresher the better, usually in at least a 50g bag or a jar, and bigger if I'm sharing with the family. If you forget, you can often pick up nuts at the airport. I think of nuts as a treat and look forward to eating them, knowing they are high in protein, healthy fats and also high in polyphenols and fibre for my gut microbes.
Dodge the hotel breakfast trap
Some of the worst dietary decisions you'll make on holiday happen first thing in the morning. Hotel breakfasts can be a minefield of heavily processed choices: white bread, pastries, jams, sugary cereals and fruit juices masquerading as healthy options. It's a sugar overload that leaves you crashing by mid-morning, more tired and more likely to overeat later in the day.
Then there's the cooked breakfasts loaded with processed meats like bacon and sausages, full of unwanted unhealthy chemicals and additives that will irritate your gut microbes.
My advice is to avoid all of these options. For the healthiest start to the day, fill a bowl with an unflavoured yogurt and top with any fruit, nuts and seeds that are available. Also put some of the local cheeses on your plate for some extra protein. These are all gut-friendly foods adding polyphenols or natural probiotics in the fermented foods that have been shown to improve your immune health.
Don't assume this option will be boring or that it won't fill you up. The local fresh food will be delicious and healthy – reframe it as a proper treat you don't get to enjoy at any other time of the year. When I'm in Spain, I particularly look forward to eating the local goat's cheese on a pan con tomate or a slice of bread covered in olive oil and squeezed tomatoes.
If there aren't many fruits or nuts available, seek out a good supermarket on the first day and stock up, so you can add your own healthy toppings to your yogurt the next day.
Get your fibre fix – and enjoy some diversity
When you find a nice restaurant for lunch or dinner, the salad and vegetable options can sound dreadfully boring on the menu. However, while the translation may just be 'boiled vegetables', these will often be a fantastic mix of local vegetables with a delicious dressing. I try to find fried artichokes, charcoal grilled aubergines and large flat green beans fried in garlic.
Try to get some diversity into your diet by enjoying these vegetables that you wouldn't normally include in your meals back home. The more different plants you eat the more diverse your gut microbiome is supporting many different species. With Zoe, we have worked out that around 30 per week is optimal.
Holidays in the Mediterranean also provide a great opportunity to try local fish. My favourite are fresh barbecued sardines which are great in Spain and Portugal. Bear in mind that many prawns and calamari on menus in Europe are likely to be imported from Asia and frozen, rather than being local and fresh.
Try orange wines – and stay hydrated
It's easy to overdo it on alcohol on holiday, but if you are going to drink then red wine is always a good option as it's high in polyphenols. But if red wine isn't your thing, it's worth trying local orange wines, which contain more polyphenols than their white counterparts. Polyphenols are essentially fuel for your gut microbes.
While going about your day, remember to always carry water with you to keep hydrated. I don't bother in the UK, but it's really important in the heat. I carry my reusable water bottle with me when travelling, which I can fill up at airports now. Dehydration can make you easily constipated and your gut sluggish. Passing urine less often than usual, having dark urine or being constipated are all signs you need to be drinking more.
For non-alcoholic options that aren't water, you'll be better off with a non-alcoholic beer than a sugary soda, like Coca-Cola or Fanta, or enjoy some fizzy mineral waters that have some taste, like the San Pellegrino in Italy or Vichy Catalan in Spain.
Remember to eat fermented food
Whatever damage you do to your gut by overindulging in food and alcohol on holiday, fermented food can help to counterbalance this. Fermented foods, if eaten daily, help protect your gut lining and reduce gut and body inflammation. Just three small portions a day can make a meaningful difference.
One way to get them into your day is to enjoy fresh, local cheeses, many of which are naturally fermented and rich in beneficial microbes. I also always pick up some kefir (a fermented milk drink) from a local supermarket and add it to my breakfast each morning throughout my holiday.
If I'm going somewhere like the US, where fresh fermented foods are harder to come by, I take no chances: I'll take a sachet of dried kefir grains and add milk to it on the first day, effectively making my own kefir. It will last me the holiday and is a guaranteed way of keeping your microbes happy – even in the most processed of food environments.
Don't forget to move
It's easy to slip out of your exercise routine when you're on holiday, but staying active is one of the best things you can do for your gut. Regular exercise prevents constipation, reduces bloating and even has a modest but meaningful impact on the diversity of your gut microbiome.
Think about what you can do in the local area – climb the steps at the tourist attraction and make the most of sunny mornings and late evenings by going for a walk. Don't get stressed about it, but don't completely abandon your step count – I aim for at least 10,000 steps a day even when on holiday.
Don't worry about holiday weight gain
Your holiday won't damage your gut health irreparably, but you can get it back on track by getting back into a healthy routine when you're back home.
Resuming your regular meal times and including enough fibre at each meal will help. I also find it helpful to try time-restricted eating, delaying breakfast until 11 am and not eating after 9 pm, to give my gut a break – but that's not as easy in the Med.
Almost everyone puts on weight while on holiday – I often gain 2kg – but it should return to normal within two weeks without too much stress.
While these tips can keep your gut in good shape while on holiday, don't be too obsessed about your health while on your break. Relax, de-stress and savour the local food, your gut – and your whole body – will thank you for it.
Bon Voyage!