Last updated August 2, 2019 by Lisa Richards, CNC   Reviewed by Katie Stone, ND.

How To Stick To Your Candida Diet While Traveling

Traveling while on the candida diet

Staying true to the principles of the Candida diet can involve some major changes in your eating habits. Accomplishing this at home is one thing, but traveling brings its own, entirely different, set of challenges!

Luckily, with a few simple strategies, you’ll find that eating healthily while traveling is entirely possible. There are plenty of options for avoiding added sugars and staying Candida-free while on the road, and also for avoiding gut infections or parasites.

Eating While Travelling

The type of cuisine available in a country or region will vary significantly from one to the next. Many Asian countries use a lot of sugar and salt in their foods, while some European countries may use more fermented and starchy foods. It pays to do some research beforehand so you know what you’re in for.

Your best bet is to be prepared. Take a ‘back-up plan’ of healthy snacks, in case you can’t find something you’re able to eat. Here are some ideas…

  • Book yourself a hotel room that has a mini-fridge. This way, you’ll be able to keep your ‘special’ foods fresh and plan ahead for meals.
  • Find expat communities or travel information centers that can help you with finding certain foods. Sometimes this can be as easy as searching on Facebook!
  • Go to a supermarket as soon as you arrive and stock up. Basic Candida diet foods such as nuts, eggs, vegetables and teas should be available in most supermarkets around the world – and could prove invaluable if you’re unable to find anything else.

Flying While On The Candida Diet

Airplane food is notoriously bad, but there are at least three more reasons why you might want to make plans to avoid it.

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Firstly, the low pressure environment at 35,000 feet does strange things to your taste buds. Flavors that might seem overwhelming at ground level suddenly become bland and uninspiring. That’s why airline carriers load their foods up with salt and sugar, to make them seem more appetizing to your enfeebled taste buds.

Secondly, the food on airplanes is designed to make us happy (or at least less annoyed!) No one enjoys being crammed on an airplane with 300 other people, and so the airlines like to treat us with tasty, inexpensive snacks like chocolates, pretzels and bread rolls. None of these foods are good for the Candida diet.

Lastly, the boredom of sitting on an airplane can lead us to make bad dietary choices. We eat because there’s nothing better to do. It fills in the time and perhaps makes the flight go a little faster.

As you can see, replying on the airline to feed you is not the best strategy! Here are some tips for eating healthy while in the air.

  • Take your own food. Although many airlines now cater for special dietary requirements, you do have to make a request in advance. And you might still find that whatever meal you’re given isn’t appropriate – or to your liking!
  • Airports are a difficult place to find food that’s both Candida Diet-friendly AND reasonably priced. Once again, you’re better off bringing your own food. Airport security will generally let them through as long as they are not liquids.
  • Good choices for snack foods when flying include ones that will be OK out of the refrigerator for several hours. Raw veggies, nuts, seeds, hard-boiled eggs, dried coconut.

Dining Out In A New Place

So you’ve taken your plane, train or automobile, and now you’re in your new location. Now where can you eat? Here are some tips for finding good local food that won’t wreck your Candida diet.

  • Do your homework! Research what the local cuisine of a new town or city will be like, and plan what you can and can’t eat. Do this before you travel.
  • Keep in mind that what you call a ‘salad’ back home might not be the same in another country or state! Ask about the ingredients of a dish before ordering, and always request for sauces to be served on the side (or not at all).
  • Stick to what you know: grilled lean meats such as fish, beef or chicken are fine. You can usually find olive oil, lemon, and salt for flavoring.

Shopping For Food

If you’re following the Candida diet, it’s far safer to prepare your own food. Wherever you are, local supermarkets will have at least a few options for a healthy, low-sugar meal.

  • Visit local markets for fresh vegetables that you can wash and eat raw.
  • In most parts of the world, you should be able to at least find tomatoes, salad greens, radish, peppers, avocado and other delicious salad ingredients.

Gut Infections While Traveling

Tummy bugs and parasites are all too common when traveling – and if your gut has already been weakened by Candida, you may be even more susceptible.

If you experience diarrhea, vomiting, gut pain, loss of appetite or other unpleasant digestive ills, it’s likely that you’ve picked up some sort of gastrointestinal pathogen. While this can put a slight damper on your holiday, there are ways to deal with it quickly and easily.

  • Take probiotics BEFORE you leave home in order to prepare your gut for any invading parasites. You’ll boost your numbers of gut bacteria and have a better defense system against possible infection.
  • Travel with shelf-stable saccharomyces boulardii. This beneficial yeast can survive out of the refrigerator and is invaluable both for preventing and treating traveler’s diarrhea. It’s been proven to reduce the risk of diarrhea when travelling in countries with poor hygiene and high rates of gastrointestinal ills.
  • Take activated charcoal. Charcoal is safe to use internally and works wonders for treating a gut infection. It works by harmlessly absorbing the toxins, gas and other irritating byproducts in the gut and then allowing your body to flush them out. You can buy activated charcoal capsules in your home country before setting off, as they may be difficult to find in some areas.
  • Drink plenty of electrolytes. Diarrhea causes the body to lose fluid rapidly, which is why dehydration is a major risk factor in travel illness. You need to replace both the fluid and the minerals lost with electrolytes, which can fortunately be found in pharmacies around the world.
  • Avoid spicy food, dairy, sugar, fruit or any strong flavors.
  • Try coconut oil off a spoon or in hot water. The anti-inflammatory properties of coconut oil will help to soothe the irritation in your gut, while the powerful antibacterial and antifungal properties will work to kill off the bacteria.
  • If your symptoms don’t improve, see a doctor. In some cases, it may be necessary to take a course of antibiotics to treat a serious bacterial infection. You can always treat yourself with probiotics during and after the antibiotics, to reverse any harm done to your gut bacteria.

Candida Or No Candida: You Can Still See The World!

Don’t let your Candida problems keep you at home. While it may be more difficult to adhere to a strict diet on the road, it’s not impossible. Preparation is key – and a little planning. Just remember to make allowances for your sensitive gut and know what to do if you do get struck down by a gut infection.

Probiotics are a must – and fortunately, many are now readily available in travel-safe form. Just remember to have a good supply for as long as you’ll be traveling: the best probiotics are usually the ones you can get at home.

Would a Candida-safe shopping list be useful on your holidays or business trips? The Ultimate Candida Diet program includes a comprehensive set of shopping lists that you can print out or keep on your phone for when you’re shopping in an unfamiliar supermarket.

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