Gear: Keep Your Tract Intact

Product name: Florastor

Made by: Biocodex, Inc.

Web Site: www.florastor.com

There are a wealth of unpleasant reasons—gastrointestinitis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or the cryptically named Leaky Gut—that can make Florastor a daily necessity. But among these afflictions is one that even the healthiest globetrotter can appreciate: Traveler’s Diarrhea.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know about Florastor—billed as the “#1 Probiotic Worldwide”—when I set out recently for a year in Latin America. But two months into my trip, my stomach adjusted and my taste for street food established, I worried what would happen when my girlfriend arrived from the States for a week-long visit to Mexico City. Would she have to miss the taco stands? The chocolate-filled churros? The mayonnaise-smeared and chili-dusted elotes?

Fortunately, she did her homework and the probiotic did the rest. The week passed without a hint of Montezuma’s Revenge. (Abiding the standard rules of street eating also helped: choose clean stalls where locals eat, food that’s freshly prepared and clean your hands before eating.) Granted, the pills carry a disclaimer that the FDA has not evaluated their treatment value. But this is no different from one well-beloved traveler remedy: Airborne.

Whether it’s the tacos and churros of Mexico, the samosas and pani puri of India, or the pad thai and som tum of Thailand, street food can be one of travel's greatest pleasures. And for the weak-stomached, an infirmity-free vacation is pleasure enough. Either way, toss back some Florastor and enjoy.