As it’s the Christmas/New Year period, tons of you will probably be travelling abroad to get away from the chilly weather.
But have you thought about how you’ll cope going to the toilet while you’re in a foreign land?
Probably not, because you’re too busy thinking about chilling on the beach and getting a nice tan, but apparently pooping problems are a real issue for some travellers.
According to The Atlantic, as many as 40 per cent of holidaymakers experience constipation while abroad.
While you probably just think it’s getting stage fright in a weird new location, science reckons there’s a bit more to it than that.
The whole thing is to do with those cheeky intestinal microbes. Not only do the bacteria in your gut control how much you eat, they’re also responsible for your shitting habits, apparently. Good to know.
And, for many people, these bacteria really don’t react well to being away from their usual surroundings.
As Brooke Alpert, a New York-based registered dietician and expert on all things poop, puts it: “Any time you leave your general habitat, it’s throwing your gut microflora off balance”.
Apparently they can be thrown off balance by the simple act of travelling to your holiday home – the movement during long plane or car rides can cause your intestines to clog up. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, a time zone change can also throw off your natural bathroom rhythm, as can the stress of travelling itself.
So, basically, if you’re going abroad, eat a lot more fruit and fibre and just try to relax.
