Couple eating food on holiday One of the best parts of travelling and going on holiday is trying new foods. This year, I visited Prague for the first time and enjoyed the culinary delight that is tartar sauce on chips and have not looked back since. When we visited New York City for my 30th birthday, my partner was mostly excited about pizza slices and in Riga, we delighted in the many different ways Latvians prepare potatoes. The only downfall of this, of course, is that sometimes our guts aren’t best pleased with the sudden shift in diet and the somewhat excessive consumption of richer foods. Why travelling upsets our stomachs In his latest newsletter , NHS Surgeon Dr Karan Rajan says: “The first casualty of travel isn’t your sleep or your diet, your exercise routine… “It’s your gut.” He explains that the changes in environment make an impact saying: “Your bowels take one look at a different time zone, strange food, fluorescent airport lighting, and say, ‘absolutely not.’” He explains that this is because our guts have a circadian rhythm , too, and when they’re thrown off, this can be destabilising. Dr Rajan adds: “Travel stress also hits the vagus nerve… the communication superhighway between gut and brain. “When stress is high (tight connections, delays, mysteriously expensive airport sandwiches), vagal activity drops. Low vagus tone means reduced motility + worsened digestive symptoms.” This makes so much sense. Our bodies are tense, our brains are trying to keep on top of everything and we have likely been on the go for hours. No wonder our guts act out a little. Bleugh. How to have a calmer gut on holiday Dr Rajan recommends: Morning sunlight within the first hour of waking to ‘anchor’ your circadium rhythm Eat at consistent times Prioritise fibre when choosing meals Stress management including deep breathing, slow exhales, 5 minute meditations ‘Move more than you think you need to’ by going for walks after meals, stretching and ‘hotel-room mobility sessions’. Ahem. Happy hols! Related... Always Constipated? Here's How To Retrain Your Bowels To Go Every Day This Is What Your Bowel Movement Frequency Says About Your Overall Health Sunny Places For UK Winter Escapists