Post-travel Protocol: Gut-focused

Now that I'm off the daily GF croissant diet 🙃

Heads up before you read: this is my personal experience and research, not medical advice. I’m not a doctor. Always consult your healthcare provider before applying anything you read here to your own body.

We’ve covered the topic of JET LAG and how to avoid it (I wrote out that entire protocol here.) The circadian piece worked exactly the way it was supposed to. No fog, no three-day recovery, no dragging myself through the week after.

Now, let’s break down how I’m supporting my gut post-travel indulgence, like the infamous midnight tiramisu that I would absolutely choose again in a heartbeat 😎

The gut pays for the trip first

Different water, different food, different timing, a week of eating on someone else’s clock, and hours in recycled air. Even a trip that goes perfectly is a stress test for your microbiome.

I also get asked each time I go to Europe if I’m actually eating the gluten, since many sensitive people do report significantly better tolerance overseas. For me, the answer is still no— simply not worth it. It’s challenge enough to indulge in specialty baked goods, even when GF. I just simply don’t eat that way very often, so the digestive impact is already there.

So the rebuild started the day I got home.

Enter: A new probiotic!

This is the one I’ve been folding in, and it’s the reason I’m writing this now instead of in three weeks.

Omni-biotic AB 10 is built specifically to restore microbiome diversity after antibiotics, travel, and various other exposures. Ten strains, and it comes as a powder sachet instead of a capsule. You stir it into about four ounces of room-temperature water, let it sit for a full minute so the bacteria activate, then drink it on an empty stomach.

Starting with one sachet daily for the first week, I’m now titrating up to 2x daily and loving it. No— it doesn’t taste bad either! There’s a hint of vanilla extract that makes it easy to go down the hatch.

I have to say, I’m so impressed by that one that I’ve added it to my list of troubleshooting protocols for clients as well. It’s in my practitioner-grade dispensary here, and everything in there is 15% off for you.

The peptide sandwich

I bracket my peptides around a trip. Before, during, and after, every single time.

BPC-157, oral, for gut support specifically. I start a week out and I’m still on it. The point is having gut lining support already in place when the disruption hits, instead of scrambling to repair afterward.

KPV for boosting histamine-handling. This one works like none other for helping your gut breeze through seasons of higher histamine intake (cough cough, champagne in France).

Not a peptide per se, but in my regular rotation: Ion Gut Liquid, clutch for helping maintain gut lining (yet not often strong enough for an actual repair job, in my opinion).

What’s next in the rotation

Two more from the same line are already in motion.

Omni-biotic Hetox probiotic is the gut-liver one, and it lands at my door this week. Omni-Biotic labels it for metabolic and GLP-1 support, which, yes. That is an entire post of its own and I am absolutely writing it soon as I trial. They also make a Stress Release blend I’m curious about for a maintenance formula, so stay tuned.

Rebuild first. Then maintain. Same order I’d give any client.

In a perfect world

I’d run my gut protocol, Biome Bootcamp, start to finish. Waiting on my calendar to permit going deep into this again, for a full real-foods reset. It’s based off the Joel Greene Immune Centric Fat Loss methodology, but “Lindsey-fied” and is yours for free when you subscribe as an annual member here!

Sinus side-note:

I came home with great energy, zero jet lag, and yet with a sinus flare that feels pretty pissed.

So I followed up with my local ENT. Another CT scan. Completely clear. No infection, no evidence of one, essentially the same picture as my scan ten years ago. Which means the antibiotic and the steroid pack were never going to work, because you can’t treat an infection that isn’t there.

What my ENT landed on is eustachian tube dysfunction. It feels like pressure sitting deep in my head, and it shifts sides when I roll over at night.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a second opinion, and I’m hopeful he’s going to produce some new options for resolution. Meanwhile, doing all the things at home from a holistic perspective, including incorporating advanced homeopathy with a dear friend who’s in training.

Back to Gut Stuff: Where to Begin??

If you’re reading this thinking about your own gut, I’ve created a tool to help!

The Biome Decoder is my free gut compass. Three quick steps, and it maps what you’re actually dealing with to where you should actually begin. Run the Biome Decoder here.

After working with hundreds of clients and solving complex concerns for many years, this tool will help get you going with what’s actually going to move the needle.

Need more support?

Did you know I have a private community inside for paid subscribers? It’s called LYFE Lab, and I’d love to have you. If you’re running a post-travel reset of your own, or you’ve been stuck in your own version of GI loops, come tell me in the LYFE Lab chat. That’s where I actually hang out, and it’s where the good questions come from 💗

Love,

Lindsey Strong

P.S. Everything I named is in my practitioner-grade dispensary at 15% off. Join as an annual member and get my Biome Bootcamp course as a gift to keep!