This article was originally published in the Massachusetts Senior Games Program 2024 Yearbook.

Traveling can be exciting, educational, exhausting and energizing! And, the food you enjoy while traveling can be delicious and memorable. However, culinary excursions while traveling can be a hazard to your health. This quick guide can be helpful and refer to it while packing and traveling to help you eat right while traveling.

Clean your produce: rinse all fresh produce under running tap water before packing it in a cooler, including produce with peel-away skins or rinds.

Keep cold food cold: place cold food in coolers with frozen gel packs or ice. Stashing it at 40°F or below prevents bacterial growth. Consider packing beverages in one cooler and perishable foods in another since you are likely to grab beverages most often.

Keep hot food hot: that means your best bet when packing is to take a pass on hot food unless you have a portable heating unit that can be used safely. Pack healthy non-perishable snacks. No matter how you travel, your family can keep eating healthfully with these simple options:

• Whole or dried fruit.
• Freeze-dried vegetables.
• Nuts (pre-portioned into snack-size bags).
• Nut butters (travel packs are great for planes).
• Whole-grain pretzels, crackers and bread sticks.
• Snack bars. Look for bars made with whole grains, nuts and fruit with few added sugars.

Carry hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes. These come in handy washing your hands or other surfaces.

Be safe with water: water is regulated and tested throughout the U.S., but, when in doubt, don’t drink the tap or well water. This also goes for anything made with water, such as ice or fountain drinks. Stick with sealed, bottled beverages if you have any concerns about the local water supply.

Remember the two-hour rule: if you buy cold or hot food at the airport or train station, eat it within two hours of purchasing. After that, bacteria multiply. In hot weather, the safe time limit is one hour. Set a timer on your watch or phone to remind you.

Think before eating: on the plane, clean off your tray table with disinfectant wipes. Never set food directly on the tray table. If hot food is served on the plane or train, make sure it is, indeed, hot.

Stay hydrated

Water is the best way to stay hydrated. When on the road, try drinking fizzy seltzer water or add a slice or two of a lemon or lime to regular water and drink up! If you drink a lot of coffee, cola or other drinks with caffeine on the road, you’ll arrive at your destination buzzed and might have trouble sleeping. Instead, pack a bottle of iced tea with sprigs of mint, slices of lemon or cucumber. It’s really refreshing when you’ve been sitting in a car for a long time.

Manage your Medications

Carry a list of all your medications, including the dosages and pharmacy information. In addition, make sure your medications are clearly labeled, and you have enough for your entire trip. If your medications need to be refrigerated, plan for how to keep them cold while traveling and at your destination, such as in the hotel. When packing your medications, our suggestion is to pack extra in case of travel delays, such as bad weather or other flight problems.

With a little planning and preparation, you can make the most out of your trip while still managing your health. Before you leave, check in with your doctor to find out about any restrictions or special precautions, as well as to update any prescriptions and get a copy of your medical record summary. If you need medical care while away, talk with your primary care doctor or specialist about coordinating care with a medical facility at your destination.

How to deal with Travel Constipation

Travel constipation, or vacation constipation, happens when suddenly find yourself unable to poop according to your regular schedule, whether it’s for a day or two or longer. Constipation can occur for a number of reasons, from a sudden change in your diet or exercise to bodily changes from certain health conditions. It’s worth thinking about these possibilities when you suddenly can’t go number two. But travel constipation is common after a long flight for pretty much all of these reasons. When you travel, your diet is usually interrupted, and sitting down for hours at a time can slow things down in your gut. Annually more than 4 billion people take scheduled airplane flights. And that’s not even including all the travelers on road trips and train rides. So you’re far from alone in having experienced this side effect of traveling. There’s plenty you can do to treat it after it happens and prevent it from ever occurring in the first place. Let’s get into why it happens, how you can treat and prevent travel constipation, and when you should see your doctor about it.

Here are some home remedies for constipation that you can try while you’re on the road or after you get home from a trip and still aren’t regular:

Drink water: make sure you’re drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of fluid or more each day. Travel with a reusable water bottle and find refill stations at airports or train stations.

Eat fiber: bring along travel snacks or meals rich in fiber so that you can get the recommended 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. Try dried fruits and vegetables that are low in added sugars, or fiber bars and trail mix. But remember you must drink enough fluids for the fiber to have a positive effect. If you just eat more fiber and don’t supplement with additional fluids, you could end up more constipated and gassy.

Pack fiber supplements: Fiber supplements — like psyllium (Metamucil) and calcium polycarbophil (FiberCon) — can help poop move through your intestines.

Try stool softeners: use a stool softener before you head out on a long flight or trip. This can help you poop more often or more easily by making stool softer and easier to pass with natural intestinal moisture. Try an over-the-counter stool softener like docusate sodium (Colace).

Consider osmotics: bring along an osmotic to help your colon produce more fluid. This includes over-the-counter (OTC) osmotics like magnesium hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia) and polyethylene glycol (Miralax).

Prevention

Here are some tips to prevent constipation while you’re traveling:

• Try to maintain your usual diet, sleep, and exercise routine while you travel. Eat the same meals at the same times and try to sleep at your usual times.
• Reduce or avoid caffeine or alcohol while you’re traveling, as these can make you dehydrated and increase your risk of constipation.
• Avoid snacks or meals that can reduce bowel movement. This includes cooked meats, processed meats, cheeses, and milk.
• Eat snacks with probiotics to help encourage the growth of healthy bacteria to have regular, healthy bowel movements. You may want to start doing this a few days before you travel so that the bacteria has time to grow.

Be careful about eating any new foods in the places you’re traveling. Different countries have various ingredients and cooking styles that might affect your bowel movements in unexpected ways.