Restricted Diet and Travel

[Jerry1]

I eat a Paleo diet. I could get by eating some dairy, but DW gets ill eating it. I've been watching some travel shows and while the scenery is lovely, one part of travel is obviously trying the local cuisine. For those of you who travel that have a restrictive diet, how do you deal with that as you travel? I'm guessing not to many eat Paleo, but I'm thinking some diabetics may have dealt with this issue. Are some places better than others? Frankly, for DW and I, food is pretty much fruit, vegetable and meat which I assume is not too hard to come by, but I'm thinking the dairy is hard to eliminate as a lot of food is cooked in it. It seems likely at a nice hotel or higher end restaurant, one could special order food, but I'm more likely to end up at a hostel than the Ritz when I travel. Any insight or advice would be appreciated.

 

[audreyh1]

It really tough. I'm gluten free and dairy free in the US but give up when I travel to Europe.

My doctor actually says the wheat is different in Europe, so maybe don't worry about it there - he says patients of his that are gluten sensitive report little difficulty in Europe.

Dairy however - the fats I don't digest so well (eggs are OK). I could tell after a month in Europe that the dairy was getting to my gut.

Sorry - I keep my food restrictions strict at home, but am not willing to do all my own cooking when traveling, because that's just impossible. I do make some attempts to avoid certain foods - well some of the time!

 

[Jerry1]

Dairy however

That's the biggest problem/concern. Too much dairy (and it isn't much) and DW will need to be near a bathroom all day and not be feeling like doing any exploring.

 

[audreyh1]

That's the biggest problem/concern. Too much dairy (and it isn't much) and DW will need to be near a bathroom all day and not be feeling like doing any exploring.

Can she avoid foods made with cream, cheese, milk, etc? They should be easy to figure out ahead of time.

Butter on the other hand.......

 

[gayl]

I'm a vegetarian so I have a hard time with restaurants in Europe. I keep mostly to delis there. But I have no problem in Japan / Korea / Canada

 

[athena53]

Can you rent an Airbnb with a kitchen so you can control what you eat? I tried that for the first time in Iceland- no dietary restrictions but I shopped at the grocery stores (a fun way to get closer to how the locals live) and prepared most of my own meals. Bonus: it was a lot cheaper.

 

[Mango1956]

Can she avoid foods made with cream, cheese, milk, etc? They should be easy to figure out ahead of time.

Butter on the other hand.......

Butter is mostly fat. It’s the milk that gives people who are sensitive to dairy issues.

 

[audreyh1]

Butter is mostly fat. It’s the milk that gives people who are sensitive to dairy issues.

No. Lactose sugar intolerance is only one form of dairy sensitivity. There is also sensitivity to the protein casein, which is present in butter and cheese as well as milk and cultured milk products. There is also sensitivity to short-chain fatty acids which butterfat is high in.

I have difficulties with butterfat and probably casein, not lactose.

 

[Sunset]

That's the biggest problem/concern. Too much dairy (and it isn't much) and DW will need to be near a bathroom all day and not be feeling like doing any exploring.

There are low cost pills called Lactaid (brand name) to replace the enzyme for lactose digestion, so if that is the issue, just bring a couple of bottle of them.

There were some folks on our Viking river cruise that had special meals made for them with their own menu, they seemed very happy about it.

 

[braumeister]

There were some folks on our Viking river cruise that had special meals made for them with their own menu, they seemed very happy about it.

The only time I've seen something like this was some years ago on a Hatch River Expedition in the Grand Canyon. There was one family (five people out of about 40 total) where everyone had celiac disease, and they operators had brought special foods for them. They obviously provide every meal for a week, so it was significant, but no problem.

 

[athena53]

My guess is that UnCruise (also small ships, locally-sourced food when possible, very little processed) would be accommodating, too- I just took my 3rd cruise with them. Great kitchen staff.

 

[Jerry1]

I'm thinking a few of you are on to something. Not likely to just step out and travel, but Airbnb or a cruise where you have a home base that you can control at some level may be the way we have to think about travel. I know my step sister stayed a couple weeks in a small Italian villa and had a local lady cooking for them. Something like that may be more practical to control the food.

FYI - DW is not lactose intolerant. Not sure exactly what it is but I think she's sensitive/allergic to the proteins (casein?). Dr. knows, but it's clear how to handle - no dairy. This is recent so she's doing a little experimentation to see if things like smaller amounts of butter (like cooking eggs in butter), or if it's in cooked foods (like in a cake), bother her less, but it's still unlikely that she'd want to be risky while away from home.

 

[CoolChange]

My mother is full blown Celiac; it almost killed her before getting a good diagnosis.

My plan, at this point (assuming I can ever get her to travel again), is to AirBnB so we have a controlled kitchen. Mom loves cruising but doesn't really trust anyone else's kitchen at the moment.

 

[Chuckanut]

Some European wheat plants are not as hybridized as USA wheat. Some people believe this helps gluten sensitive people (not people with full flown Celiac), but I know of no scientific study that actually supports this claim.

 

[sengsational]

Also, European wheat may not be routinely sprayed with Roundup to increase yield. When I found out the US wheat producers did this, I thought "no wonder people are eliminating wheat from their diet". Not only are wheat eaters subject to a bunch of weird proteins from generations of concocted hybrids, they also are eating glyphosate!

 

[braumeister]

Also, European wheat may not be routinely sprayed with Roundup to increase yield. When I found out the US wheat producers did this, I thought "no wonder people are eliminating wheat from their diet". Not only are wheat eaters subject to a bunch of weird proteins from generations of concocted hybrids, they also are eating glyphosate!

Hardly routine in the US, although sometimes used.

But it's all natural, free range, gluten-free, low fat, no cholesterol, vegan, craft glyphosate, so really not bad for you.

 

[OldShooter]

For unescorted travel the AirBnB suggestion is a good one. Hosts are often very helpful in recommending things like restaurants, too.

For escorted travel, private/custom travel is perfect. You can work with the arranger ahead of time on everything from the specific properties you want to stay at to the types of food and other special needs you may have. Once on the trip, a guide/driver can handle discussions with restaurants, chefs, street vendors, grocery/snack stores, etc. to make sure you get what you need.

 

[audreyh1]

Also, European wheat may not be routinely sprayed with Roundup to increase yield. When I found out the US wheat producers did this, I thought "no wonder people are eliminating wheat from their diet". Not only are wheat eaters subject to a bunch of weird proteins from generations of concocted hybrids, they also are eating glyphosate!

I read somewhere that US wheat had a bunch of extra genes added.

 

[OldShooter]

I read somewhere that US wheat had a bunch of extra genes added.

I read somewhere that UN soldiers in black helicopters are planning to attack and impose a world government on the USA.

 

[CoolChange]

GMO Wheat in USA

I read somewhere that US wheat had a bunch of extra genes added.

I used to be very involved in this area. As of a few years ago, no GMO wheat was being commercially grown in the USA per USDA rules and testing. So, no extra genes added.

I have seen a couple of news stories about people discovering a few GMO plants outside of laboratory settings. But, they were not in commercial production nor have I ever heard of any GMO wheat discoveries in the actual USA food supply.

The wheat industry in the USA is afraid of losing its global customer base if GMO wheat is included in our food supply. (This would give many countries incentive and grounds to embargo wheat from the USA.)

 

[audreyh1]

I used to be very involved in this area. As of a few years ago, no GMO wheat was being commercially grown in the USA per USDA rules and testing. So, no extra genes added.

I have seen a couple of news stories about people discovering a few GMO plants outside of laboratory settings. But, they were not in commercial production nor have I ever heard of any GMO wheat discoveries in the actual USA food supply.

The wheat industry in the USA is afraid of losing its global customer base if GMO wheat is included in our food supply. (This would give many countries incentive and grounds to embargo wheat from the USA.)

I wasn't talking about GMO. I was talking about the hybridization of US grown wheat that has developed over a few decades to make it far more productive. That also changes genes, of course.

 

[Aerides]

Can you afford/desire 5* hotels? Even internationally, places like the Ritz Carlton are going to go out of their way to identify and avoid any food allergies.

We just spent 4 nights in Grand Cayman. Every single time we sat anywhere, even lunch at the pool, our waiters inquired as to things to avoid. The breakfast buffet - every item had a card identifying wheat, dairy, nuts, meats, etc.

You do pay a price, but these higher end places are hyper sensitive to dietary needs.

Alternative of course is to BNB/DIY the whole way, which is also far easier these days.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

Diabetic (10 months in) who has been cruising 4-6 weeks a year, plus enjoys train travel.

I eat mainly salads and meat (mostly fish) both at home and away, pretty easy to find. Fruit generally has too much sugar (10 gm/meal limit for me).

 

[mpeirce]

For those of you who travel that have a restrictive diet, how do you deal with that as you travel?

At home I eat LCHF ("paleo inspired").

When I travel, especially overseas, I eat a lot of the local food. When I'm in Germany I eat as much German food as I can. Likewise in Spain or Morocco or wherever. For me, sampling authentic local food is maybe my biggest pleasure when traveling.

Of course, my diet is by choice not because of a medical condition. So I have that freedom. My DW has celiac disease, so she watches what she eats even when traveling. But it's surprising how much local food she can eat as long as she pays attention.

 

[sengsational]

I read somewhere that US wheat had a bunch of extra genes added.

I wasn't talking about GMO. I was talking about the hybridization of US grown wheat that has developed over a few decades to make it far more productive. That also changes genes, of course.

Right. Each time they hybridize, it adds genes. It turns out to be additive, so the genome is much larger than the grass that wheat came from. Each time they added a feature to make it easier to grow, they probably added a bunch of other stuff that made different protiens that humans could become sensitive to.