Katie, a 37 year old female, presented to clinic for a pre-travel naturopathic consultation. She was taking her family to Mexico for a week in June and wanted to support her immune system and gut barrier to promote resilience and avoid acquiring diarrhea.

Traveler’s diarrhea is common when visiting other countries (20-60% of people affected) and usually occurs near then end of a 2 week trip or shortly after the return home. Most infections are caused by bacterial or viral pathogens and can be mitigated in an out patient setting.

Katie’s travel protocol started 2 weeks before departure. It included the following:

-1 gram of Lypospheric Vitamin C daily (order by phone or on location)

-1 capsule of Templebiotic, a multi strain 25 billion strength probiotic

-10,000 units of Vitamin D daily

While abroad her family would take a Mayan herbal formula (Tummy Temple’s Traveler’s Tonic) preventatively to avoid acquiring an infection and subsequent GI distress. I also recommended high dose L-glutamine powder daily (Intestimax) to supply her intestinal cells with the building blocks they need to stay strong and intact in the face of exposure to a pathogenic organism.