Hannah Aylward (00:00.046)

So try not to get like too wrapped up into gripping to your health practices too too much. Bring the support, bring the enzymes, bring the bitters, take the deep breaths, all of that stuff. Absolutely. Hydrate really well. All of those things are gonna help you. And also like allow yourself to just enjoy because if you are stressed out about what you’re gonna eat before you’re even gonna eat it.

in your you’re entering that fight or flight state that’s going to impair like stomach acid production, bile flow, gut motility, and enzyme output, all of those things. If you can trust your body, eat slowly and enjoy, you are literally going to digest your food better.

Hannah Aylward (00:45.303)

Welcome to the Nutrient Dense Podcast. I’m your host, Hannah Aylward, holistic health coach, functional gut health practitioner, and the founder of Han. So many people are continuously failed by conventional and alternative health care. We are here to do it differently. Alongside my team of functional registered dietitians, I’ve helped hundreds of women around the world overcome their chronic digestive issues when nothing else worked.

I’ve learned a thing or two about what it really takes to transform your health from the inside out, and I’m here to share it all with you. Please keep in mind that this podcast is for educational purposes only and should never be used as medical advice. Now, let’s dive in. Your transformation is waiting. Hello, hello, my dears, and welcome back to another episode of the Nutrient Dense podcast. Today we’re gonna be diving into

How to order at a restaurant when you’re traveling to really support your gut health. So I’m about to take off on a little trip myself. It’s kind of that summertime, that summertime travel time. Hopefully you have fun and exciting summer plans, at least for a little weekend to getaway at some point during this summer. and I know that this can kind of bring up a little bit of like fear, hypervigilance, overwhelm for those of us that

maybe dealing with chronic digestive issues, or if if you’re just like health conscious and you want to support your gut as best as you can when you are traveling, I really wanted to just kind of get into some of that with you all today and specifically like how to order when eating out. So when we travel, of course things can get a little off kilter here and there. You know, it’s like sleep routine is disrupted. We’re eating many meals out. We’re

Even drinking different water, maybe we’re flying, we’re changing time zones, there’s like stress, there’s a lot of preparation, there’s less sleep, there’s excitement. we could have more movement or less movement, maybe more alcohol, more sugar. So there’s kind of a lot going on. So the the body experiencing like some switch ups during this time makes sense. But most of the time when we are traveling, we’re eating a lot of meals out. So on the trip that I’m about to take.

Hannah Aylward (02:52.899)

I’m gonna be eating basically every every meal out. And this is something that I could not do before I did this deeper gut work. I was just way too sensitive and I was very reactive to everything that I ate. So eating out at restaurants, like quite honestly, used to terrify me. And I’m in a much different place now, and I trust my body a lot more now, and I can tolerate a lot more now. So

When you build that gut resiliency and when you deal with those deeper issues in the gut environment, you become more resilient to these things. You can handle kind of, you know, little iterations outside of your routine much better than you normally would or than you would have when you had those deeper gut issues. But I just wanted to kind of jump into, yeah, tips kind of tips and tricks for like eating healthy when traveling.

How to order at a restaurant to support your gut health and and some of these things that I lean on time and time again and things that I do personally in hopes that they may help you. If you have summer travel, if you’re going to eat out at a restaurant, or if you’re just like doing a little stay staycation and eating out more, it’s kind of that summer, summertime energy for many of us. I know we have people all over the world that listen to this podcast. So hello, you might be like, girl, it’s winter. It’s winter here. but if you are in the summer vibe, you know, it comes with like more events and

And eating out and all of that. So wanted to just kind of touch touch on some of my like go-to tips for this and little hacks and things that I personally do. So let’s let’s just kind of get into it. Like I said, travel can kind of throw us for a little bit of a loop because we are shifting routines very drastically. Where I’m going, I’m flying, I’m gonna be traveling for a long time, I’m gonna be on an airplane for a long time, I’m gonna be changing time zones. I’m going to be basically not sleeping for an entire day. And, you know, digestion, doing some

Little turns during that time would kind of make sense. It’s a lot to put the body through, right? So for the first thing that I’m gonna do is I’m going to prep my own snacks, right? So I always, always, always, when I am traveling, whether I’m taking a car trip, like a road trip, or I’m flying in an airplane or I’m taking a train, whatever, I’m always, always, always packing my own snacks. So some things that I’m gonna be doing is prepping some like gluten-free turkey sandwiches.

Hannah Aylward (05:03.991)

Because they’ll be okay in a bag for a little bit. They’re super simple. They’re super easy. Bringing snacks like this is totally fine through TSA. I’ve never had an issue with it. You can’t bring things like yogurt. I think I’ve gotten in trouble with peanut butter before if it was too much. Or like hummus. You can’t bring those things that could be liquids or like an overnight oats or something. I’m not sure about that. But like sandwiches, fruits, veggies, you know, nuts and seeds, things like that are totally fine. So I’m gonna prep some sandwiches.

I’m gonna bring, I have some like grain-free pretzels, like gluten-free, grain-free pretzels that I grabbed at the store because they were on sale and they’re very yummy. I’m gonna bring a piece of fruit or two. I’m gonna bring some aloha bars, I’m gonna bring some walnuts, what else? Some electrolytes, big emphasis on the electrolytes there. So I’m gonna drink those. I always have mine every morning, and then I’m also gonna drink another portion on the airplane. And another big thing to just kind of point out here is just to try as best as you can to avoid the light.

Constant snacking. So I think when we travel, especially if we’re in the car on the airplane, it’s just so easy to like snack nonstop. And that is going to disrupt your migrating motor complex. I have a whole episode on that topic itself that we’ll link below if you want to dive into that more. But it’s just like when we snack all the time, we don’t allow our gut’s natural cleaning process, that MMC, to really do its job. So we will be more bloated during that. we will be more gassy or maybe even constipated if we’re just snacking like nonstop.

So if you feel like my digestion’s strong and I’m good, then go for it. If you’re if you lean more sensitive, you have more of those kind of chronic like digestive issues and gut issues, one of my number one tips is to like hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, and then also space things out. So if you can eat a meal before you get on the airplane or before you get into the car, however you’re traveling, and then give your body a good like three to four hours, that’s going to be ideal before you jump into eating that next meal, right?

try to avoid that constant snacking. And then once again, always pack some of your own stuff to bring to eat. You will not catch me eating airplane food. I try to avoid eating food from the airport for the most part, but of course it it has to happen sometimes. And I just make the best decision that I can under those circumstances. Cause sometimes you don’t have any snacks or you eat them all or whatever it might be. Usually on the way back, right? On the way back from your trip, you’re like, oops, I ate all my fun stuff and all my healthy snacks, and now I just gotta like make the best choice that I can. So

Hannah Aylward (07:27.693)

The tips that I’ll walk you through in this episode will also apply to instances, instances like that. So your gut doesn’t really need you to be perfect, right? It does thrive on consistency, it thrives on routine, it thrives on like going to bed and waking up at the same time, knowing when it’s gonna eat, hydrating well, lower stress. Like that is the environment in which your gut and digestive health will thrive and and function optimally. So do your best that you can here. When you’re traveling, once again, this does get disrupted. So

When we’re eating out at restaurants, it can be harder on our digestive function for many reasons. And and of course, this will get better as you do the deeper gut work. This has been my experience. I’ve watched this happen to hundreds and hundreds of clients that have gone through this process with us. You build more resiliency as your gut gets more, yeah, gets stronger. It gets more resilient. As when you’re not dealing with overgrowths and maldigestion patterns and all of that, you’ll be less sensitive to these things. So keep that in mind. But

Restaurants, you know, nothing will be cooking at home because when you cook at home, you know exactly what goes into your food. When you’re eating at a restaurant, you really don’t know what’s going in what’s going into your food. So we’ll usually get like higher amounts of, you know, seed oils, vegetable oils, maybe just higher amounts of oil overall. We can get more salt, more sugar. There could be gluten kind of hidden in some things, spices you’re not normally used to. We’re usually drinking more alcohol, more processed foods, maybe fried foods, bigger portions, all of that kind of stuff. So

When you pair that with like the stress that travel can bring, dehydration, less sleep, snacking all day, disrupted bowel movement routine, you know, your digestion can feel off in these situations. So the bloating, constipation, diarrhea. It can sometimes come come with this. So it’s not always it’s not always the one meal that you may eat out at a restaurant, right? It’s traveling is kind of putting the body under a a decent bit of stress. It can totally be awesome and fun, of course.

But I just try to be really gentle with myself under these conditions. You know, like if I’m not sleeping well, if I’m kind of the preparation that goes into travel is usually a lot. You know, you’re like packing, you’re ordering things ahead of time before you go. It’s just it’s kind of a it’s kind of a lot, you know, on the it’s amazing and it’s fun, but it’s a it’s a lot on the body and it can be a lot on the nervous system too. So it’s not always just like the one the one meal that’s ticking you off. It’s usually a culmination of all of these things. So

Hannah Aylward (09:50.776)

It’s like hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, eat as well as you can. We’re gonna get into tips for that. Sleep, really, really prioritize sleep, especially when you’re first getting somewhere or first landing. And then also really, really tend to your nervous system. So if it does kind of wind you up, like traveling kind of winds me up a little bit. And a couple days before, like I’ve felt the stress as I’m preparing to leave tomorrow. I have felt the stress in my body. I can.

I’m like, gosh, it’ll be a miracle if I sleep tonight, you know? Because I’m just like, okay, I gotta get here and then I gotta hear, and I have a connection, and I’ve got this. So it’s like my nervous system is activated, and when I feel this increased, it’s really, really important that I dive into those like gut brain supportive exercises. So things that you can do are breath work, journaling, meditation. Honestly, I will often wake up a little early.

Earlier in the days leading up to it. So I I make sure to prioritize my sleep, but I’ll try to also get up a little earlier so I have some time in the morning to like drink my lemon water, drink my adrenal cocktail, drink my coffee, and kind of like settle a little bit. And then I’ll also do a little mindfulness practice. So something that can be helpful here. Once again, meditation, breath work, journaling, and kind of like journaling out everything that you’re worrying about. I think that.

For me at least, traveling can kind of like stir up a lot. I’m like, my gosh, I have to pack this and I can’t forget this. And what about this? You know, what if I don’t sleep at all? What if I I cannot sleep on the plane? I don’t know about you, but I am not sleeping on the plane. It’s like I would need to take drugs to sleep on the plane. It’s just not happening. However, I usually get a lot of work done on the plane, which is a big plus for me because it’s like serious focus time and I’m trying to pass the time. But I am just not someone that’s like, I sit out down on the plane and I just conk out. Like I wish my nervous system was that solid. I am not that way. I’m worrying.

All of the things. So, you know, brain dumping all of these feelings out onto a piece of paper when you’re journaling can be really, really helpful. Like everything that I’m worrying about, everything that I’m feeling, all of the negative thoughts, like all of that really icky, sticky, ugly stuff that my brain is just like looping on, like brain, like kind of like vomiting it onto a page with with a pen and paper, and then ripping it up and throwing it out can be really, really helpful here. And sometimes also just like letting your body process.

Hannah Aylward (12:07.023)

‘Cause I f sometimes I think it can bring up this this kind of double edged sword where you’re like, it’s so awesome that I get take this vacation and I’m so excited and I’m so like grateful that I get to do this. And also, my gosh, I gotta prep all this stuff for work. I’ve gotta handle all these, I’ve gotta wrap up all these projects, I’ve gotta, you know, p pack all this stuff. So it’s like this weird, like we feel guilty for feeling kind of stressed and we don’t wanna feel stressed ’cause we wanna travel. And it’s kind of like a lot of emotions at once.

For me at least, because I’m like, this is gonna be so great. And also, my gosh, I have to do three hundred thousand things before I leave, you know? And I don’t want to forget anything and all of that. So it’s kind of like a mixed bag. I don’t know, maybe you’re more chill than I am, but sometimes I’m super chill and sometimes I’m not. It depends on the day and where I’m at in my cycle. So sometimes it can kind of like rev me up. So once again, that journaling practice where you’re just like brain dumping everything onto the page can be really, really seriously supportive during this time.

Something else that I will do are like gut brain hypnosis. So something like the Nerva app is a great resource for kind of stress-induced anxiety that may be like travel-induced stress or anxiety that may be ticking off your gut issues and digestive health or just kind of messing up your sleep and making you a little anxious. Those those things can be really supportive. So there’s an app called Nerva. We do recommend it to our clients quite often.

it’s a it’s great in conjunction with the work that we do that’s like microbiome and you know digestive function and all of that kind of stuff, but it really supports that nervous system piece. I have no affiliation with this company. I should. I’ll I’ll I’ll do what I can to reach out and get you guys like a discount code for anyone that’s interested. in the next few months or something, we’ll see if we can get that together. But they offer this like gut brain hypnosis and it can help you kind of settle.

really support that gut brain connection and settle that nervous system a little bit. You can also go onto YouTube and like type in like gut brain hypnosis and a couple free options will pop up for you there. And some of these are like 10 minutes and some of them are 30 minutes. What I’m gonna do for me personally is I’ve been doing them in the morning just because I’m feeling more stressed. Like the travel is making me kind of anxious. I don’t know if it’s because I’m just like getting older or what, but I’m just feeling a little anxious about it. I’m doing them in the morning.

Hannah Aylward (14:26.088)

And I you can also do them in the evening if you’d like, but I highly, highly, highly recommend if you’re someone that deals with like elevated anxiety or you feel hypersensitive or like you’re you’re a highly sensitive person or you deal with the chronic gut and digestive issues, waking up while you’re traveling and taking like 20 minutes for yourself, taking your time, doing your journaling, or doing one of these hypnosis practices can be so incredibly helpful. That’s what I will be doing on my vacation.

Making my water, making my adrenal cocktail, having my coffee, maybe re reading a couple pages of a book and doing a little like gut brain hypnosis to support myself for the day. And if I even get in like 20 to 30 minutes for myself, it’s absolutely game-changing for me. So take that if that lands with you. Highly recommend. I always recommend this to clients because it’s very easy for bowel movement habits to shift when we travel, especially if we’re like waking up and go, go, go. You may not have time for bowel movement. You may not feel like you have space for it.

And that can then kind of disrupt our digestive function for the rest of the day. So, like when I’m traveling, one of my number one priorities is having my bowel movement. Maybe that’s TMI, but I’m like, I want to wake up, I’m gonna drink my water, I’m gonna do my thing. And then I can take off for the day. And that’s the time that I need. And I’m not gonna apologize. I’m not gonna apologize for needing that time. So if that lands with you, if you needed that permission, please take that and support yourself when you are traveling because it’s gonna make your whole vacation much better versus just like trying to.

push through it and then you’re like, my gosh, I can’t even be present and enjoy myself because I’m not feeling good. Take 20 to 30 minutes for yourself first thing in the morning. Okay. So we’ve talked a little bit about like prepping for plane or car, minimizing snacking. We’ve talked about some like gut brain support there as well. So let’s get into the actual topic for this podcast episode. I just love, I just want to like give you guys all the tips, but really specifically on ordering out, right? So when you are going to eat out out at a restaurant.

The first thing that I look for is protein. Like when I’m looking at a menu, I want to start by choosing protein first, nine times out of ten. Of course, there will be some times where it’s just like not happening. Maybe you’re traveling and you go to a cafe and you get a pastry and whatever, it is what it is. But more often than not, I want to focus on getting in my protein because it’s just gonna make me feel better, especially if I’m leaning a little bit more anxious. Really balancing my blood sugar and focusing on that and focusing on getting in enough protein is.

Hannah Aylward (16:51.055)

Game changing, it’s gonna impact your sleep better. You’re going to just feel better, your energy’s gonna feel better, your gut’s gonna feel better, all of it. So protein really helps to stabilize your blood sugar and it keeps you full. It’s really supportive for like those satiety hormones, so actually keeping you satisfied. It’s gonna support detoxification, it supports gut repair, and it really helps prevent that like blood sugar crash that can leave you feeling really hangry and anxious.

And I don’t want to feel that when I’m traveling because it’s already sometimes you already don’t know where you’re going to eat or when you’re gonna eat, or you’re kinda walking around and you know, you’re in maybe a new country, you don’t know where things are. So it’s like stabilize blood sugar to support yourself. So the anxiety can kind of, you know, just simmer a little bit there. So when I’m looking at a menu, I’m looking for protein sources. If it’s breakfast, I’m looking for like eggs.

Honestly, eggs primarily, if there’s like sausage or anything like that, those things can be super supportive too. If you tolerate dairy, something like your yogurt can be great there as well. Sometimes I’ll also pack with me like some scoops of protein powder, just if I’m like really in a pinch and I can mix that with water and it’s like better than nothing. It’s not the most glamorous, it’s not the most like super awesome. But if I’m traveling for a couple weeks and I’m just like, I cannot

And I’m in I’m in an area maybe that like doesn’t have a lot of protein or a lot of protein sources. Cause sometimes you go to different places and a lot of the breakfast is like very, very, very carb heavy, which is fine, except I’m not gonna feel good in a couple hours if I do that too much. So I’ll bring some protein powder scoops or I’ll always travel with some bars as well, like protein bars and things like that. So I might do like in Aloha bar. Once again, I have zero affiliation with them as well, but I should because

I purchased so many of those things and I recommend them a lot. They’re great. There’s like 15 grams of protein. I want to say there’s like nine grams of fiber, maybe 10 or something like that in the bar. So those are super great. I always travel with those and other protein rich sources as well. I’ll have some like nuts with me, like walnuts, not super high in protein, honestly, but I will also have something like a Chomps or an Epic Bar that’s like a more like meat meat-based bar, just in case I need that like protein hit throughout the day.

Hannah Aylward (19:02.522)

So when I’m looking at a menu, once again, breakfast, I’m looking for eggs, I’m looking for maybe Greek yogurt, I’m looking for any sort of like breakfast meat kind of deal. If it’s lunch, maybe you’re looking at like shellfish or you know, shrimp or scallops or mussels or anything like that. Those are gonna be really rich in minerals, things like zinc and selenium. they’re also gonna be really high in protein. And or it could be something like chicken, it could be you know, beef, it could be steak, a turkey burger.

Whatever, roasted chicken, you know, a burger patty, you can you could eat that without the bun, but really trying to like focus on make sure you’re getting in enough protein overall and then build from there. So you can get, you know, if you’re out at a burger place, you could get a burger, you could eat half the bun, you could eat no bun if you’re sensitive to gluten, maybe they have a gluten free bun. If you feel free to eat fries with it, whatever, but just make sure you get your protein in. I would say first and foremost.

You could also do if you’re going out for like Mexican food, you could get, you know, beans and rice and chicken and guac. Like that’s a really well-balanced meal there. You’re getting inadequate protein, you’re getting in good fiber, you’re getting in good healthy fats. But really prioritizing starting with that protein first could look like salmon with veggies, could look like, you know, roasted chicken with a baked potato and some asparagus, could look like a salad with chicken or shrimp or salmon or whatever steak on it, all of those things will work.

But really focusing on that protein there and building the plate around protein so you’re more satisfied and your blood sugar is supported there.

Hannah Aylward (20:39.163)

We are big fans of eating enough protein over here on Team Han. Protein is essential for muscle repair, a strong gut lining, balanced blood sugar levels, and so much more. For most of our clients, we like recommending around 100 grams of protein per day to start, and adding in a good quality protein powder can be super helpful for hitting those numbers. It’s an easy add-in, you can throw it into a smoothie or even add it to oatmeal. Choosing the right protein powder can feel so overwhelming.

Half of them are full of fillers and crap ingredients, and the other half honestly just taste bad. Equip protein is one of my go-to recommendations for our clients and one of my personal favorites. We love it because it only has a small handful of ingredients. It’s 100% carefully sourced, real foods, no additives, allergens, chemicals, fillers, or other junk. It’s gluten-free and it contains 21 grams of protein per serving. Equip’s Prime Protein also offers

a complete amino acid profile. It’s also independently tested to make sure that the protein powder is free of harmful amounts of heavy metals and toxins like glyphosate, which is honestly super hard to find. Equip prime protein is a grass-fed beef protein. So it is animal based, but it’s dairy free, unlike whey or casein protein powders. Grass-fed beef protein is packed with collagen, gelatin, and micronutrients that your body needs.

We also see that it’s typically much better tolerated in our clients with chronic gut and digestive issues over something like a plant-based protein powder. In addition, some of their flavors do contain natural flavors, but they’re distilled vapors from natural and organic compounds or fruits like vanilla, coconut, and strawberry, and are processed without any chemicals, fillers, binders, or artificial ingredients, which once again is incredibly hard to find. Personally, I buy both the chocolate and the vanilla.

Flavors of the Equip Prime Protein, but honestly, they have like so many other incredible flavors out now. If you’re interested in trying out Equip Prime Protein, you can use the code HANNAHAYLWARDHHC at checkout for 15% off. And we’ll pop that code in the show notes of this episode for you as well. So once again, you can go to equipfoods.com, choose the flavor of protein powder that you want, and then use code HANNAHAYLWARDHHC for 15% off.

Hannah Aylward (22:55.758)

The next thing that you can look to do is kind of choose a more simple preparation. So overall avoiding things like fried foods, you know, is gonna just help you feel better, especially if you had any have any fat maldigestion issues or like gallbladder, bile issues, anything like that, avoiding fried foods overall is gonna be gonna be supportive. Personally, I love a French fry. So if I’m going to eat a French fry, I’m gonna eat it with something to to pair it with something a little less like.

greasy and fried. So it might be grilled chicken and then I can have some French fries on the side. But I do love a French fry and I feel fine after eating them. So I will be eating some of those. But choosing a simpler preparation, trying to avoid the fried foods when you can, things that are like loaded in cream sauces, all of that, going with like a grilled fish with veggies and and baked potato. A steak, right? Grilled chicken, something like that that’s a bit more simply prepared can also be really supportive here.

And it can also help to just like, yeah, minimize the fried stuff, cream based soups, heavy cheese dishes, that kind of thing. I understand when you’re traveling, like sometimes you want to eat the the quote unquote fun stuff. And you should. And you really should. For me, I kind of pick and choose. So if I’m gonna eat, if I’m going out for pizza that night, I’m not gonna eat like a croissant for breakfast and then

you know, the French fries for lunch and then pizza at dinner, it’s just gonna be too much for me. So I’m gonna try to really prioritize my protein and good fiber and good healthy fat, stay well hydrated and then like enjoy the pizza later, later that night. But spacing it out and kind of picking and choosing, I know that sometimes when you’re traveling, you don’t really have as much of a choice. But if you’re at a restaurant in most places, you can make you can make it work and you can kind of don’t be afraid to ask for what you want and just kind of like

Make your own plate, honestly. So if they have a side of roasted sweet potatoes, and then they have like a salad or they have an appetizer that’s like a chicken skewer or something, you can catch me finding, you know, ordering like an appetizer, chicken skewer situation, and then like two sides, and that’s gonna be fine. You know, put put the meal together that’s gonna work for you. Overall, you want fiber, protein, and healthy fat and a good quality carbohydrate at at each and every meal there.

Hannah Aylward (25:11.568)

The next thing that you can look to kind of do to support yourself is just asking for sauces on the side, which I know sounds very simple and basic, but sometimes it’s just like too it’s just too much. It’s just too much sauce. And if you ask for it on the side, then you can control how much goes in it. And maybe you use it all and maybe you use half of it. But that’s just a very simple thing. Sit like super simple thing to ask for whether when it comes to like dressings or other things that seem seem very saucy, different bowls and things like that. I’ll just ask for it on the side so I like

I can choose how much of it I want to use because oftentimes they’re just using like way too much of it overall. The next thing is don’t skimp out on carbohydrates either. So look for these good sources of like complex carbohydrates. So things like roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, white rice, brown rice, corn tortillas, even fruit, oats, all of those, like rice noodles in like a pad thai dish or like a pho or anything like that.

plantains, beans, squashes, all of these are like great sources of complex carbohydrates that you can eat to support your body’s like energy needs throughout the day. And if we go too low carb, it usually doesn’t support us either, and we’ll just end up like starving, starving later on. So try to make sure that you have one one source of good quality carbohydrate at each and every meal as well. And then the neck my next tip that I had that I kind of already got into.

For you is just kind of like picking and choosing your your like worth it foods. So, you know, if I’m going out to eat and once again I’m going for that pizza later and I’ve got the reservation there and I know it’s gonna be awesome and I wanna like dive in, well then I won’t make my whole day like that. It’s just not gonna, I’m just not gonna feel very good if I if I do that. So I try to kind of balance it out, you know. if I’m gonna have a sugary pastry in the morning.

morning, well then how can I maybe I can get that pastry after I eat like two eggs and a little bit of fruit. Or maybe if I’m having, you know, a cocktail or two, I can pair that with a meal that’s gonna support my blood sugar a little better. So if I’m gonna have a dirty martini or like a glass of wine or whatever at dinner, then can I have that with a salad and olives and grilled chicken and that kind of thing to kind of pick and choose

Hannah Aylward (27:27.414)

where where I want to get my little wiggle room, you know? So making sure to eat breakfast, trying to eat a good quality lunch. And then at dinner, just picking and choosing what kind of what’s yeah, what I the easiest way to say it is just like what what is it what’s worth it to you? And maybe that looks like not having a glass of wine at lunch ’cause you’re gonna have one at dinner. And maybe that looks like, you know, eating eggs and fruit for breakfast ’cause you know you’re going out for pizza later that night. Just just picking and choosing what’s gonna work

Best for you without creating too much restriction. But for me personally, I just know that if I overdo it too much, I’m just not gonna feel good. Like, and not even necessarily my digestion, just like my mood, my energy, I’m gonna feel sluggish, all of the things. I want to maintain my health as much as I possibly can when I am traveling because my whole travel experience is going to be better. So I am not gonna just like you know, go balls to the wall every at every single meal.

I’m just not gonna feel good if I do that. And I’m not gonna feel good about like wearing my outfits and I’m not gonna feel I my sleep is gonna be impacted and all of that. So kind of picking and choosing. And with that being said, you know, trying to space out alcohol as much as you can. So I feel very grateful that I don’t drink a ton, my partner doesn’t really drink a ton. A lot of my girlfriends don’t really drink a ton. Like we we could honestly hang out together a for an entire weekend and not drink at all.

So I have a lot of people in my life that are very sim like very supportive of that without any altercation or any like judgment whatsoever, as it should be. As it should be, right? But when even when I’m traveling, I try to space it out a little bit. So maybe we have like a fun dinner reservation booked for this night, and I know I’m gonna have like two glasses of wine, I’m gonna have my dinner and enjoy myself. Well then maybe I don’t drink the day before that or I don’t drink the day after that. Cause once again, those like back to back days will start to

wear away at me a little bit and then I’ll get to the point where I’m like, I don’t even want this wine and I’m in Europe and I’m at this beautiful restaurant and maybe I’m in like Italy and I’m like th I’m surrounded by delicious wine and I don’t even want to drink it because I’ve like overdone it, you know? And you always want to listen listen to yourself, like listen to your body’s needs. But I just try to space, space it out a little bit so I can like really be present and enjoy when I want to. And then when I’m not as interested, I

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I’m just not gonna do it. I’m not gonna do it just to do it. And I’m not gonna do it just because I’m on vacation. Because it’s to me it’s very much that like all or nothing mindset, which is not how I live my life. And I think that maintaining good health long term is really not about the all or like it the all or nothing mindset does not support that at all. I wanna maintain my healthy eating habits and my healthy habits as much as I can. And then I’m gonna like drink a little wine and enjoy myself where I want to as well. But I’m not gonna go like

zero to a hundred and just throw it all throw it all away because I will I just will not feel good doing that. So really picking and choosing where you want there and giving yourself permission to space it out if you need to, to not drink even if friends and family are drinking. Like listen to your body’s needs as much as you can during this time and you don’t need to feel any like guilt or shame. I think for for some of us as well, at least at least for me, what can come up sometimes is like

well, we’re on vacation and everyone else is doing it. So like maybe I should do it too. And everyone else is drinking. So maybe I should have something to drink too. And then when I really get quiet, I’m like, I don’t really want this right now. I actually want to like make sure that I get some sleep tonight because we’re gonna go do this fun thing tomorrow. And I don’t really want it right now. And since I give myself that permission to just say no, then I also give myself permission to say yes when I actually really do want it. And that works much better for me than just like.

doing it because I think I should, or just going like zero to a hundred overall. So hopefully that resonates with with w someone listening to this podcast. Cause I think for me, since I am interested in my health and since I obviously do this as you know, as my job and for my career and it my health and well being means a lot to me. So sometimes what can come through is like I feel less fun because I don’t drink as much or because I don’t want to eat all this like, you know,

unhealthy food, even though I that kind of sounds silly to even say. But I think this can come up for some of us, right? It’s like, well, I don’t really wanna I don’t want to party like that. I don’t want to eat that stuff. And also sometimes I do. And that’s fine too. But you know, I think it’s just easy it’s easy for that to come up for many of us that are interested in our health. And then we feel less fun or we feel excluded or we feel like we’re being too much or whatever. And just take let let me be your example of like take the permission that you need

Hannah Aylward (32:08.902)

To take, to not drink if you don’t want to, to not eat the crap food if you don’t want to, to go to sleep a little earlier if you want to, and just like take care of yourself because it’s gonna make your whole experience much better. Okay, a few other kind of options and examples that may feel supportive for you when you are traveling or eating, eating out at a restaurant. Things to look for. So, like for breakfast, eggs with potatoes and fruit, super easy. Greek yogurt with a little bit of fruit, maybe an egg on the side if you can get it.

these things are great. An omelet with like veggies and maybe breakfast potatoes can be a great option. you could ask for like a burger patty on a salad, which is kind of like more of a brunch vibe. Oatmeal could be a good option, and maybe you can get like a couple of eggs on the side. These are super easy things to get. And then other options that you can look for are like, you know, tacos with corn tortillas. You could look for salads with grilled veggies and grilled meats on them.

Gluten-free pasta, if that’s available, just make sure you get a little protein in with it. For appetizers and things like that, I tend to lean towards like olives and pickled veggies and things like that. If you don’t have a histamine issue, of course, or like protein-rich appetizers, or even something like a guacamole, you could always ask for a veggie side with it, or like there’s one restaurant that we’ll go to and they give hummus with like pita. And I’m like, hey, can we get it with a veggie or like cucumbers, carrots? I’ll take any veggie you got.

Or even corn chips, I’ll take that. So it I’m just not getting like eating too much gluten in one sitting. But these are all things that you can kind of think about. And with this being said, make sure not to go to the restaurant absolutely starving. If you can, if you can hand if you can do it, if you can control it, or just support yourself a little bit, try not to show up like absolutely starving because that’s when A, we’re setting ourselves up for suboptimal digestion.

And B when you’re just ready to like literally eat anything and everything, which will often lead to more issues down the line. You’re gonna either overeat, eat too fast, eat things that don’t support you because your blood sugar’s crashing and you’re just like absolutely starving. So try to avoid showing up totally, totally hungry. Get yourself an appetizer if you need to. Bring a little snack in your bag if you need to. I try to like walk around with a little snack in my bag because I find when traveling, I don’t know. For me, I’m like often in these situations where I’m like,

Hannah Aylward (34:26.951)

I’m I’m starving. We’ve been out all day long and we don’t know where we’re going to eat. And like I need to eat a little something now. Maybe it’s a bar or it’s a piece of fruit with like some nuts or something, something like that. other things you can look for, like I mentioned, like hummus with veggies is great, Greek salad is great, you know, baked fishes with veggies are awesome, shellfish with veggies is awesome, beans can be really supportive for gut health as well. So those are some things that you can kind of think about and focus on and really building that plate.

Once again, around the protein first and foremost. And then other things, you know, before you get to the restaurant or while you’re kind of before you get to the restaurant, look in the menu is always a good idea. So I think most people that listen to this podcast probably do that, but just take a look. Know, know a couple things that are gonna like work well with you and lean on those things when you can. Have a little snack if you’re going to dinner late, if you’re going to breakfast late, if you’re like walking somewhere to

Get breakfast. I find that sometimes when I’m traveling, I’m walking like a million and a half steps, which is amazing. so just make sure that you have a little something if you need it. And then, of course, during your meal, bring some things that are gonna support you there as well. So a couple simple habits that you can implement: chewing your food really, really well, slowing down when you’re on vacation.

Hopefully you’re slowing down a little bit. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like that, right? I’m like, my goodness, this itinerary is slammed. Like, I’m gonna need a vacation from my vacation. Anyone else? Which I know is like, woe is me. But you know what I mean? Like sometimes it’s so busy and you’re like, my goodness. But try to take it as an opportunity to just like chew your food really well. Take six deep belly breaths into your lower belly, in through the nose, out through the mouth before you’re eating. Sip on a little bit of water before.

You can even get a little bit, ask for a cup of warm water with a slice or two of lemon to sip on before your meal to help to stimulate some of those digestive juices. Put your fork down in between each bite can help you just like not scarf your food and barely chew it and just kind of swallow it down because that will impact your digestion. Just try to take, you know, finishing a meal should take you like 20 to 30 minutes, not five. So if you tend to eat too fast, try to like put your fork down, chew really well.

Hannah Aylward (36:40.207)

And taking a couple deep breaths before usually helps with that because it just gets you back into your body a little bit. Supporting the nervous system, supporting the gut brain connection, smelling your food, being present with your food, all of these things are going to help you digest your food a little bit better. And trying to just like surrender a little bit too. I think when we are on this health journey, we can really grip so, so much. And for me, I know that just spirals me into a place I don’t want to be in.

So you do your best that you can, you make the best decisions that you can, when you can, where you can, and then you just gotta surrender the rest and really, really sink into trusting your body, chewing really well, taking a couple deep breaths and just like letting trusting that your body can do its job and will digest your food and it’s got this, right? Other things that can be really helpful here when when you’re

Eating, bringing things like digestive enzymes, bringing things like digestive bitters, taking these 10 minutes before your meal can be very helpful. I love a good digestive bitters. I will be traveling with it. I’m also gonna bring some enzymes with me just because I’m gonna be I think I’m gonna have a couple situations where I have less than ideal food options. So I’m gonna bring those with me and kind of do what I can and also just like really try to relax around it and just be like, okay.

My body’s got this and it can totally handle a couple days of eating, you know, food that I wouldn’t normally eat at home or I wouldn’t eat it eat it as frequently or whatever, whatever it might be. And also really trying to stop eating when you’re satisfied, not like overly, overly stuffed. Because when we just eat too much, it’s it’s our digestive function, especially if we deal with things like low stomach acid or low enzyme secretion or poor bile flow, you know, it’s just gonna lead to feeling overly full and your gut is gonna have more to digest.

And if it’s already struggling in that area, it just can kind of send you over the edge a little bit. So going back to those couple deep breaths before your meal can be really helpful because it helps you clue into like, I’m I’ve eaten enough now. I’m full enough now. I’m gonna stop now and I’m gonna take the rest home or I’m gonna pause eating or I’ll share the rest with, you know, people at the dinner table or whatever it might be. But really trying to like when you go to the meal, especially when you’re traveling, you’re traveling to experience life. You’re traveling to maybe experience a new culture.

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To spend time with loved ones, to gain new experiences. So try not to get like too wrapped up into gripping to your health practices too too much. Bring the support, bring the enzymes, bring the bitters, take the deep breaths, all of that stuff. Absolutely. Hydrate really well. All of those things are gonna help you. And also like allow yourself to just enjoy because if you are stressed out about what you’re gonna eat before you’re even gonna eat it.

And you’re you’re entering that fight or flight state, that’s going to impair like stomach acid production, bile flow, gut motility, and enzyme output, all of those things. If you can trust your body, eat slowly and enjoy, you are literally going to digest your food better. And that doesn’t matter whether you have like Candida overgrowth or SIBO or a parasite or or whatever, whatever it might look like on like some functional soul test results. It’s always going to help you to trust your body.

to trust that it knows what to do and to just slow it all down and and kind of release and like surrender into the process and enjoy yourself because that’s the whole point, you know? That’s the whole point of traveling is to enjoy yourself. So really letting yourself unwind and supporting your nervous system there. And some things that I’ll do too before I even eat a meal is I’m like, I got this. Like my body’s got this. And I really try to

kind of get my brain and my nervous system into that s into that space where I’m like, Hannah, we’ve eaten this stuff before. We’re good. Like we got this. No problem. And also knowing that if for any reason I don’t feel good, like that’s okay too. I’ll be okay with that as well. And I will survive that too. It just kind of takes like the pressure off of it. If you are someone that’s struggling with chronic digestive issues, ’cause we’ll just get once again, like really hypervigilant around this stuff. So really sinking into that deep, deep, deep body trust.

Bringing the support that you need, chewing really well, choosing as best as you can. And when you can’t, just like give it up to God. I say that and with a chuckle, but I’m like so serious. Just like and give give it up to your body, give it up to your intuition, give it up to the fact that like your body knows what it’s doing and it’s fully capable of healing and it’s always trying to work for you. Sinking, sinking, sinking into that deep trust versus going into a meal being like, my gosh, there’s nothing that I can eat and I don’t want to eat this and I can’t eat this and I can’t eat this. It’s like,

Hannah Aylward (41:15.547)

That energy is not supportive for overall digestion or your anxiety levels and like your little nervous system. So try to loosen the grip and just be kind to yourself throughout this process as well. Cause you can eat the perfect meal. You can make all of the best decisions, all of the things, and control every little thing that you possibly can. But if you’re eating this meal and you’re in a super stressed out state and you’re in that fight or flight state, like your digestion will struggle in this state. So

Really sinking into that trust and taking a big old deep breath or six before your meal can be very, very supportive. A couple other things that I wanted to mention to just maybe travel with, and I’ve spoken to some of these things in a previous podcast episode, so we can link that one below for you guys as well. I talk about like my go-to travel hacks. A couple things that I’ll I’ll I’ll bring with me. I do bring supplements with me. I’m gonna bring digestive enzymes, I’m gonna bring digestive bitters, I’m going to bring electrolytes for sure.

Or like an adrenal cocktail, mineral cocktail situation. I usually try to bring some herbal teas as well. They kind of just like sometimes at the end of a long day or after a heavier meal, like a nice cup of warm herbal tea just feels really soothing to my nervous system. Things that can be really good for like gas and bloating can also be peppermint or ginger or dandelion root tea. So sometimes I’ll travel with these and I won’t even end up using them at all. But sometimes I do use them, especially if I’m just feeling like

Yeah, just so I kind of like wired, you know, or wound up. Or if I notice that I’m feeling a bit more full after a meal when I get back to the hotel or Airbnb or whatever, sipping on a little herbal tea can be really helpful there. So once again, ginger, peppermint, those things are really great. Marshmallow slippery elm is really great for like reflux or any burning, indigestion. ginger and peppermint are really good for like gas. Peppermint does not work if you have reflux though. So just, you know, to always consider these things.

Dandelion root tea is really great for liver support, bioflow, that kind of thing. So usually I’ll bring a f a couple packs of like tea bags with me just to have them. Other things that can be helpful that I usually bring, I mentioned like certain snacks that I bring, a reusable water bottle. My priority once I land somewhere, I am getting water. I am like, I don’t under I don’t understand how people travel and they don’t like stack up on water. Fortunately, my partner is very much on the same page as me here. So we’ll get like so much water as soon as we land.

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Go to a grocery store. We’ve already got it planned. We’re we’re landing, we’re picking up the car, and we’re going straight to a grocery store and we’re gonna get some like healthy snacks, tons and tons of water and little things like that because it just kind of makes makes you feel a little better. But dehydration, I think, is such a big issue when we are traveling. So, really, really loading up on water or getting a reusable water bottle, whatever works best for you there. I always bring my sleep mask. I’m always I’m always bringing like comfortable shoes that I can walk in, because I usually find myself walking a ton.

Other things, I think I said magnesium. Did I say magnesium already? I’m gonna bring magnesium glycinate, because that’s something I take take every single day. I’m gonna bring a binder, something like GI detox by BioSide and Botanicals. You can get that in my full script if you would like to. You can get it at a discount through my full script account. That’s something it has different binders in it. So it like pectin and zeolite and activated charcoal and

I believe it’s aloe in there as well. So a binder can be great if you’re experiencing more like gas and bloating. It can be great if you think you ate something that was kind of like w whack. If you feel like you might get food poisoning, a binder can be really helpful in those instances. So I always travel with something like that as well. And then you can even travel with something like a cast oil pack too, if that feels if that feels supportive for you as well. And then sometimes I’ll bring like a

Healthy sweetener. So I’ll bring like a monk fruit for my morning coffee, because I do like a little a little sweetness in my coffee. And most places don’t have things like that. So I’ll bring like a little baggie of monk fruit. And then of course, like I mentioned before, my electrolytes. So that’s kind of how I approach traveling and eating out at restaurants the best that I can, right? The one other note on alcohol. I feel like I’ve spoken to it already, but I have it in my notes. You know, space it out as much as you can.

Try not to drink on an empty stomach because that’s going to impact your blood sugar much worse than if you pair it with food. You’re much, much, much better off doing, you know, having dinner and eating like a little appetizer, getting some good protein and fiber, and also having a glass of wine with that versus like drinking a glass of wine on an empty stomach. It’s going to impact your blood sugar dramatically differently. So try to pair it with food.

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If you are gonna drink alcohol, make sure to hydrate. You can even have electrolytes in the evening when you get back from the restaurant or whatever it is. Just make sure they don’t have any B vitamins in them because it might might keep you awake. Try to have a glass of water for every drink that you have is like a good rule of thumb, too. And then skip, skip it whenever you want to or you feel like it, or whenever you can, skip it. Because giving your body a little break and spacing it out, not

Not drinking alcohol every single day can be really helpful. Alcohol is not good for us, right? It’s a big gut trigger. It impacts your motility, your gut lining, your sleep, your blood sugar, your the amount of toxins that your liver are is exposed to. It can trigger reflux. Like it’s not good for our gut. I just like to be honest and like real with you guys. Some of some of you may not drink at all. Fantastic. And some of you might drink, and you’re like, well, I want to have a couple of glasses of wine on my

on my trip, you know, how can I do this the best that I can? And I drink a little bit of alcohol, so I just like being honest with you guys. That these are some simple kind of tips that you can use to to support yourself, right? And general rule of thumb is sticking to clear liquors over dark liquors. They’re gonna be lower in sugar. sticking to more simple drinks. So like a dirty martini could be a good option. I’ll ask for like a margarita that doesn’t have triple sec or

like sour mix or a bunch of sweetener in it. Basically like tequila, soda water, lime, a little splash of a little splash of juice is fine in there, a little bit of salt is fine with there. You do a vodka soda kind of similar way. Vodka soda splash of grapefruit is great. If you’re gonna drink wine, general rule of thumb is like choose a wine that’s not from the US because most of the time the wines in the US have more pesticides sprayed on them. So choosing a wine from like Italy or Spain or

France are is is typically just gonna contain less pesticides. That’s not foolproof, I will say, but that’s kind of something that I I look for myself. I’m gonna lean towards more European wines than I am, like a wine from California, unless it’s, you know, certified organic and biodynamic and that kind of thing. Choosing organic whenever you can is awesome, but you know, pretty unlikely at many restaurants. So clear liquors, things like that, wines from different areas than the US, generally speaking.

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can be helpful and then making sure to stay really well hydrated there too. And yeah, listening to your body, listening to your body as best as you can there. So those are some of my biggest tips for travel. I hope this was helpful for you. Keep in mind, you know, it doesn’t have to be perfect. No one does it perfectly. Everyone indulges during travel. So if you feel like I want to just like do my thing and I’m going to come back and I’m going to get right back into my routine, then do it.

If you’re like, I want to travel and I’m just want to support myself as best as I can because I want to feel as good as I can when I’m traveling, then I hope that this episode really landed with you and you got some tangible tips and things to take with you during your summer travels. I hope you’re taking an epic trip. I hope you’re going somewhere. I hope you’re going somewhere to enjoy yourself. And come back to this episode whenever, whenever you need it. And I will see you in next week’s episode. And thanks so much for being here with me. Okay. Bye.

Hannah Aylward (48:59.079)

Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Nutrient Dense podcast. If you found this episode valuable, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, share with a friend, and come back next week for a new episode. See you then.