5 Tips to Survive the Holidays

Your bags are packed and waiting by the door, but are you ready with the right supplements to keep your immune and digestive systems strong?

Donna shares what she packs when she travels:

1. Bring the Right Enzymes

When it comes to an “emergency” digestive enzyme, not just any will do. You want to look for an enzyme supplement that has HCl (hydrochloric acid) and a special enzyme called DPP-IV (otherwise known as Dipeptidyl peptidase-4).

Bringing your own holiday recipes to share will make it easier to make healthy food choices around the dinner table. Even better, keep fermented foods and drinks on hand to support digestion and fight stress with friendly bacteria!

HCl is naturally found in stomach acid. Oftentimes, proper digestion is dependant on whether or not there is enough HCl in the stomach. HCl also helps to protect us from gut infections and food poisoning. So what leads to an HCl deficiency? As it turns out, stress is one of the biggest factors; stress shuts down the production of HCl.

The enzyme DPP-IV helps to break down proteins.

This includes the irritating proteins found in wheat gluten and milk casein. (1)(2) If you accidently eat wheat or dairy, you can pop a few capsules that contain DPP-VI and bypass many of your usual responses to wheat gluten and milk casein, such as joint pain, migraines, and acne. Body Ecology’s Assist Dairy and Protein includes both HCl and DPP-IV.

2. Pack Your Fermented Foods

Probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, help to keep other gut bacteria and yeast in check. They also assist with the digestion of food. And when it comes to breathing airplane air, a daily dose of good bacteria will prime the immune system for the stress that accompanies travel.

If you ever feel bloated or gassy after eating, you may want to consider incorporating fermented foods with each meal.

An easy way to do this while traveling is to pack a bottle of InnergyBiotic to enjoy during meals and before bed. Over time, the addition of probiotic-rich foods can transform your inner ecology and create an environment where food moves through effortlessly.

Studies show that probiotics fare better in the stomach when they are consumed in the form of a fermented food or drink. (3) Encapsulated probiotics simply aren’t dressed for the occasion. In other words, stripped of a protective matrix, they are not equipped to survive the harsh environment of the stomach. 

3. Bring Your Own Recipes

You may cringe at the idea of bringing your own food so that you will not be tempted to nibble on holiday cookies.

Because chances are that you do not want to be that person. You know – the person that has a long list of special dietary needs, which may look more like requests than needs to friends and family members.

Our advice is to bring your own food. And to share when it feels right.

• Share food and try making a delicious Body Ecology side dish for you and others to enjoy.
• Share information. If others are interested, explain why food type and food quality matters so much to your health. Who knows? You may help those that you love with their own nagging health concerns.
• Share gentle jokes about your special needs. It is not easy to limit the foods that you eat, especially during the holidays. While you know the value of listening to your body, not everyone will understand. That’s okay. Keep it light and take care of your unique dietary needs, however you see fit. 

4. Bring Your Sugar Alternatives

If you are permitted to help out with the preparation and cooking of meals, you have an opportunity to make suggestions – such as cooking with a high-quality saturated fat, rather than a refined seed oil, like canola oil.

Have the ingredients handy to create sweet alternatives to the regular sugary treats that fill up a home during the holidays. At Body Ecology, we recommend stevia concentrate and Lakanto. Lakanto can be exchanged one-to-one with sugar, which can serve as an easy substitute in recipes. 

5. Keep Alkaline

Eat plenty of land and sea veggies. 80% of your meal should be veggies and only 20% should be acidic grains or proteins.

A quick way to keep alkaline while traveling is to make a greens smoothie with lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, mint, lemon, or ginger.

If a blender isn’t available, a superfood greens powder like Vitality SuperGreen can easily be mixed into water. Drink first thing in the morning and early afternoon to give your adrenals a boost.

Happy Holidays!