Traveling with IBS and other GI Issues: A Comprehensive Guide for Managing Gut Health on the Road
Summer is here! You know what this means- hot dogs, watermelon, and travel. These can strike fear in the heart of anyone with diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and food sensitivities. After all, regular life is hard enough to navigate. The unpredictability of GI symptoms can make it challenging to plan and enjoy travel to the fullest. Not knowing where the bathroom is, being unable to prepare your meals, added stress, dehydration, and being out of your regular routine all affect how travel affects our gut.
Every summer, my dog and I drive from South Carolina to Maine for a month or so. I am lucky to work from home, so I can see my family without interrupting my schedule with 1:1 clients. Traveling is something I have done in every stage of my Crohn’s disease, so even though I am in remission, I still follow a lot of these tips (because of PTSD). Plus, having a plan for what you are eating, having some OTC meds in case you don’t feel well, and taking time for yourself-all things that can serve anyone who travels, not just those with IBS/IBD.
This comprehensive guide will delve into the world of traveling with GI issues and provide valuable insights and strategies to help you confidently navigate your journey. Remember that ALL advice you read on the internet is general, meaning it is not tailored to your body and your symptoms. If you are looking for a way to personalize food suggestions and other lifestyle modifications, check out my GI Library membership. Now let's get this show on the road!
My three tips for traveling with IBS
1. Prepare
We have three types of trips, right? Work, leisure, and family. We only sometimes get to choose our itinerary or our destination, so we must control what we can.
The fun part can begin once you know where you are going and how you will get there. I encourage you to think of travel as just that, by the way-fun. I know a break in routine can be scary or cause anxiety, but there are a lot of benefits to getting out of town and exploring - stay in that positive mindset!
Research your destination and find some restaurants
Think about your dietary requirements. Gluten-free? Search ‘gluten-free bakeries in ___’, ‘best gluten-free restaurants in ___’. Start making a list of all of the places that look good. Look at the menu at each place and identify your favorite ingredients and at least two things you can eat. Do not overlook the sides- you can make a meal from sides if you need to, and they are often really thoughtful and delicious.
Low FODMAP? Look for Asian cuisine (chicken and rice!) Hibachi is a crowd pleaser-skip the onions and the mayo, enjoy what is pretty simple food without seeming out of place.
Fast food restaurants are commonly low FODMAP because none of them have fiber, but remember, fried food is also hard on your stomach because it can be hard to digest fat with IBS/IBD. If you have a favorite, add it to your list. Chipotle works well for some. I also ALWAYS look at the grocery store situation in my destination. Whole Foods has many options in a pinch, and any grocery store can help you with a rotisserie chicken (skip the skin if seasoning bothers you), saltines, and a ginger ale in emergencies. Remember to do this for your trip as well. Check out the airport options, terminal by terminal.
When driving, plot out your trip. We will discuss snacks, but in terms of actual food, it is important to know where you will be and at around what time. Again, take a look in the general area and identify some safe spots. If you aren’t planning to eat road food, read on to learn how to manage your own meals in the car.
Now that you have your list of all the possible food options in the area of your destination where you can eat at least two things, take a biiig breath. So far so good, right?
Bathrooms are next. Airport bathrooms are plentiful, which I love. If you travel by train or bus, choose a seat that is close enough to see if there is a line, and close enough to get there quickly if you need to. You can also look at the plane you are flying on and choose a seat closer to the bathroom. Road trips are trickier, but if you can identify the times you will NOT be close to a bathroom (upstate NY I am looking at you) plan around those times, knowing most roads have options frequently enough. If driving, remember you can always put ‘rest area’ into your maps app of choice.
May all your gas station bathrooms be without a key this summer (IYKYK).
2. Pack
Create a toolkit. If you travel frequently, get a zip pouch, make a tool kit, and keep it in the car or in your carry-on all the time.
Items for your toolkit
Any Rx medication you have been given.
Pepto Bismol, Imodium, activated charcoal, milk of magnesia (honestly the best for gas), wipes or toilet paper or tissue, Tylenol, mouthwash, motion sickness meds (great for nausea), peppermint oil (like IB guard or NOW foods peppermint gels), chewable papaya enzymes, ginger tea bags, extra underwear, possible diaper, laxative of choice, hydration pack like LMNT or Hydrant.
My favorite road snacks
- Whole nuts or single-serve nut butter packets are a great option for healthy fat and a little protein, pair with a rice cake, rice crackers, or fruit to get a balanced snack with carbohydrates.
- Small portions of fruits that are generally well tolerated like strawberries, blueberries, grapes, oranges, and clementines.
- Pumpkin or sunflower seeds (shelled) are high protein options to pair with your fruit.
- Hard boiled eggs (Trader Joes has premade with no stank) – bring some salt and pepper!
- Coconut yogurt and granola
- I love a bar! For protein bars, my favorites are Rx bar and Go Macro.
- Lola Snacks is the best with probiotics and whole grains for snack bars (they contain less than 8g protein so not technically a protein bar). They gave me a code, cool right? WOMENSGUTHEALTH at checkout hooks you up with 15% off.
- None of these bars have artificial sweetener which is fine in small amounts but certainly can cause diarrhea, bloat, gas in larger amounts.
- If you can bring a cooler bag, hit up a Whole Foods or Fresh Market for a premade salad or some salad bar stuff to snack on later. Other options for the cooler are hummus and guacamole.
Supplies
I hate to overpack and always end up bringing a little too much so I’ll keep this short. Make sure you have enough underwear if you have an accident, an extra shirt or two in case you get the ‘toilet sweats’ (IYKYK), unscented baby wipes, an extra pair of pants, and the clothes you will need. Does tea soothe your stomach? Saltines? Ginger gum? Heating pad? Epsom salts for bath? Have some of these comfort items available to you. An hour rest feels a lot more rejuvenating when we have some of our comfort items.
3. Plan
Planning Meals
If you have a kitchen:
You know what works for you. Stock up for the time you are there. You may need to take some shortcuts, such as microwave rice pouch instead of cooking it from scratch or rotisserie chicken instead of baked. You can always call the supermarket nearest to you (bonus points if it is a customer service centered like Publix, Hannaford, Albertsons- not sure this trick works at Food Lion) and order a plain rotisserie chicken with no added seasoning. They will cook it with the other guys, but it won't have that marinade under the skin like most do, and removing the skin can help you tolerate chicken because it eliminates a lot of that extra fat and grease.
Carve out some time to make a little grocery list and do some prep in advance so you have 4 days or so worth of things to grab and go. Meal kits work well here, too, because everything is measured already.
If you are in a hotel:
Call ahead and request a fridge. Keep some basics in there if you have access.
Restaurants and IBS
Foods that commonly cause symptoms:
-High-fat foods (fried foods, restaurant meals, cream-based dishes, BBQ, processed meats)
-High-fiber foods
- Sauce on side. No restaurant will explain the sauce in detail on the menu, so this is one of the huge unknowns when it comes to eating out. No matter what sauce it is, there will usually be a lot of it, and most sauces have a fat or sugar base. Fat and sugar can cause GI symptoms, so why not have control over this by enjoying your sauce in a smaller quantity?
- Read menu beforehand. Decide what you are going to eat based on ingredients you can tolerate.
- Do not be afraid to ask questions. If this makes you nervous, call ahead and ask! Having confidence when it is time to order and focusing on your companions instead of what the heck you are supposed to eat is easier and makes dining out more fun.
- Modify when needed. IBS is one of thousands of health conditions that require attention to nutrition. Lowering salt, spices, this veg or that veg is all part of being human, so please understand that if you need your green beans steamed instead of swimming in garlic and butter, that is normal and okay.
- Keep it simple. Grilled chicken and a starchy side. Spinach salad dressing on the side. Baked potato. Soup. Plain pasta. It is okay to be boring sometimes.
- Do not skip meals because you don’t want to prepare and then order a bunch of stuff that gives you diarrhea because it looks too good and you eat super fast.
Plan time for yourself
Boundaries are the jam when it comes to gut health. Overscheduling, not factoring in time for meals, and making the needs and wants of others more important than your own will burn you out, exhaust you, and make your stomach hurt. Give yourself a break this year by scheduling time to eat and scheduling 10-minute ‘time outs’ or ‘naps’. Make it a little joke by telling others you need a 10-minute time out. Make it a routine for everyone to sit quietly or simply pass the kids to a partner or friend and go to the grocery store. You can sit alone in the parking lot and get a snack that you tolerate, wins all around.
Quiet time, prioritizing self, eating and resting are important components of a healthy gut. You’re on vacation, right? Act like it!
Conclusion
To succeed in life, you have to have some sort of plan. Traveling with IBS is no different.
Your friends and family may know you have trouble with your stomach, or they may not. Traveling is stressful enough, but if you manage IBS while also trying to navigate family dynamics, luggage delays, and traffic-it adds fear, stress, and shame for some. Having IBS is nothing to be ashamed of, and preparation is going to make or break how confident you feel out there on the road. If you cannot make it work-you plan, you eat bland foods, you cook everything- it’s time to dig deeper. Your first stop is the doctor to address or rule out serious medical issues.
Barring any diagnosis outside of IBS, that 15-minute visit with a GI specialist will not address the lifestyle and nutrition changes that may be the key to healing your body. Functional nutrition therapy looks at the root cause of your IBS symptoms and addresses that cause. Once you target what is really going on, you will feel better, and your life will be more manageable.
I hope you hit the road prepared and without fear this summer, and if you find reading a blog about travel tips did not solve your ultimate problem, learn more about what I do here.
