How to beat the bloat and embrace your beach body: a dietitian's guide to gut health on holiday

Did you know last-minute packing can lead to bloating? There's a lot to learn about holiday gut health, says Rosie Fitzmaurice 
Photo by Ryan Christodoulou on Unsplash

It's August. Many people will finally be enjoying the holiday they've spent the last year paying off.

You've been smashing the gym and laying off the carbs in the months (OK, weeks) leading up to your break, but then it all goes out the window.

Faced with the temptations of delicious cheese, giant pizzas and bowls of pasta, gorging and boozing takes over, often leading to bloating, which is far from ideal if you're planning to be in swimwear all day.

We asked Kirsten Jackson, specialist dietician and founder of the Food Treatment Clinic, for some simple tips on keeping your digestive system in check and avoiding the bloat on your travels.

Pack fibre supplements

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Jackson told the Standard that it's all about being prepared if you want to look after your gut while you're away.

"When you're travelling, your digestive system can get out of sorts and you can end up getting up at different times and skipping meals," she said. So she recommends planning for your digestive health at least 48 hours before travel. Jackson also advises avoiding packing last minute as that can increase stress which can add to the bloat, as can the change in air pressure when you're on the plane.

Jackson says people often don't eat enough fibre on holidays which can leave them suffering from constipation, so some of her clients will take fibre supplements with them – like fibre gels or linseed – which can easily be added into food or taken as supplements as a backup.

Fibrous foods make you feel fuller for longer and can help with digestion and preventing constipation. Fibre-rich diets are also associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer, according to the NHS. Government guidelines recommend a daily intake of 30g of fibre each day.

Keep moving

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While, of course, you want to relax and enjoy your holiday, keeping active is all part of looking after your gut, according to Jackson, who advises taking a fitness watch with you on your travels to encourage you to stay mindful of how much walking you're doing. While on a city break you often do far more walking than you'd normally do, but on the actual day of travel you can often end up doing very little, she said.

"Make sure you're getting your 10,000 steps," Jackson said.

Eat regularly

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Jackson says that eating regularly is crucial to maintaining a healthy gut. "By eating three meals a day, you're stimulating your gut to move through more, if you're not eating then food sits in your gut for longer, it's creating more gas."

If you have an early flight, she advises eating small at the airport, even if it's 5am, to stimulate gut movement.

Watch your wheat intake

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"We know wheat can cause bloating - even for people who don't have IBS - if you're eating big portions [of it] it can leave you feeling bloated," Jackson says, so she recommends her clients be mindful of portion sizes, particularly with foods like pizza or pasta. "Try and opt for half a portion and a side salad instead of the whole thing," she said.

Finally, Jackson added that getting enough fluids is also crucial to beating the bloat on holiday, so that's even more reason to make sure you're getting the recommended daily intake of six to eight glasses of fluid per day, though you may well need more than this if you're in warmer climes.

The most important thing is that you enjoy your break this summer of course, but taking these simple steps to look after your gut could mean you do so even more.

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