Best Supplements for Traveling to Third World Countries

Hi there CS,

I am planning to travel to India later this year as well as some other third world countries. I am really concerned about getting sick while I am there. I've heard so many horror stories about people getting violently ill when traveling to a place like India. Nearly everyone I've talked to who has gone there has got sick either through food, water, bugs, insect bites, lack of hygiene, etc.
I would like to ask you what supplements I should take with me to India to protect me from any forms of food poisoning and/or bugs and viral infections. I really want to protect myself from the risk of getting sick over there by supplying my body with the nutrients that can help fight off any such risk. In other words, I really want to reinforce my immune system so that I don't get sick while traveling through third world countries as well as have the right supplements with me in case I do.
Be great to hear what you say on this CS.

SSKI/iodide for water decontamination, but you won't even need that! Many friends of mine were in india for months, noone got seriously sick. Take some toiletpaper with you and papes also condoms if you need them!

Have fun in india, I'm so jealous!

I think it is a western misconception that people just get sick when they go to "third world" countries. That has never been my experience. of course it varies by country. BTW- I don't think India is a 3rd world country. Costa Rica is though and it is one of the healthiest places to live. You can drink the water straight from the streams. They also have some of the best universal health care. Americans go to Cuba for good/cheap healthcare, as well as Mexico. Thousands of people go on cruises to 3rd world countries and small islands and get sick on the ship, not in the country. One good supplement for some ares of some countries (including USA) is pepper spray

I was going to mention the same thing as pancacke. SSKI, take a few drops in any water you drink (it will kill just about anything), and for added back up, Lypo-Spheric Vitamin C is a potent antiviral.

Thanks CS and Pancacke for your suggestions. I'll definitely be taking SSKI and Lypo-spheric vitamin C along with me.
Paradox - I appreciate your comment but I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone with my inquiry. I have a deep respect and admiration for India and most other developing and (developed) countries. We certainly can learn a few things from them, particularly in regard to health care and alternative medicine. Mexico as you mentioned has saved countless of people's lives from cancer where they would have died if they chose to be treated in their own so-called advanced country. It's just that I have never been there, heard some terrible stories and just wanted to reassure myself by asking what would be the best supplements for protection. In fact, one of the places I got really sick was when I was living in Japan - the second (or third) most richest country on Earth.
Thanks again guys for your input.

Grateful wrote:Thanks CS and Pancacke for your suggestions. I'll definitely be taking SSKI and Lypo-spheric vitamin C along with me.
Paradox - I appreciate your comment but I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone with my inquiry. I have a deep respect and admiration for India and most other developing and (developed) countries. We certainly can learn a few things from them, particularly in regard to health care and alternative medicine. Mexico as you mentioned has saved countless of people's lives from cancer where they would have died if they chose to be treated in their own so-called advanced country. It's just that I have never been there, heard some terrible stories and just wanted to reassure myself by asking what would be the best supplements for protection. In fact, one of the places I got really sick was when I was living in Japan - the second (or third) most richest country on Earth.
Thanks again guys for your input.

Grateful, I agree with you.

There's no problem with being cautious when traveling there. It is dangerous to be overconfident just by one's own beliefs.

While researching about Blastocystis Hominis (complex, tough, hard to deal with), I remember many people mentioning they traveled to other countries like asian ones.

I could recommend emulsified orgeano oil by biotics research... I remember reading about people using it exactly for this purpose.

i´ve been to india for a longer time. i never got sick... just had a very mild diarrhea for 1 day. that is normal in the beginning because their food have different bacterias in it than on you country... but you get used to it very fast.

be careful what you eat, dont eat to much streetfood and drink always filtered bottle water, even use it for tooth brushing. They sell chai everywherre on the streets, maybe you could be careful with drinking that milk.

wear long shirts for the moskitos... thats all i did and i´ve been everywhere in india.


just keep your mind and eyes open.. thats enough in my opinion...

p.s.:

it is a total missconception about the " third world". Actually i think western countries are more third world countries than many of the so called " third world".

Maybe in ecomony issues they are but when it comes to social and spiritual awarness and higher perceptions of life... western countries are very very poor. the white man has a lot to learn from those third world people

Thanks for the extra info guys. Great to belong to a forum like this where we can all help each and pass on ideas and knowledge.

It is flattering to see that members on this forum have travelled to India. It is still a developing country, and to pretend otherwise (especially by Indians!) is to be disingenuous, but I don't want to get into the debate.

To the OP, a lot depends on which part of India you are visiting and when. During certain months diseases and infections run high.

A good rule of thumb is about drinking water- never drink water in cities unless you know where it came from. Always use bottled water when in doubt- Kinley, Aquafina, Bisleri are some of the trusted ones. When in restaurants, ask if the water served is RO treated. If yes, then it is safe to drink, otherwise not. Contaminated water in big cities is the biggest culprit for infections, so taking this one precaution will do you a lot of good.

Someone mentioned tea. It should be okay, since the water, milk are well boiled before serving. Keep your eyes open- if you find the tea stall unhygienic, or other Indians hesitant, don't drink tea there.

A good India travel forum is http://www.indiamike.com/india/ It has a lot of good pointers as well as precautions.

Bring a decent camera along
-9r5-

9rugrats5 - Thanks for that very informative post. Our found it very interesting and especially useful regarding the safer bottled water brands.
I'll be in India for a while - I'm thinking of doing a yoga instructors course. I'm sure it's gonna be quite an adventure.

To be on the safest side:-

Drink only bottled water.
Eat foods with less spice in it. It gives some westerners the runs. Indians normally eat food which is too spicy for westerners.
Do not eat at roadside stalls.
Eat food which is heated to some degree. Salads and sandwiches are ok to eat at decent restaurants.
Mosquito repellent creams are a decent bet.
I have a friend from U.K who eats food in India which even I wouldn't touch. She is doing alrite.

A lot of my buddies that come down to visit me sip peptobismol for a week prior to their trip and it seems to help them from getting the squirts. Now if you're planning on partying in a hot tub with prostitutes and intravenous drug users, that method probably won't help you.

calvicie wrote:A lot of my buddies that come down to visit me sip peptobismol for a week prior to their trip and it seems to help them from getting the squirts. Now if you're planning on partying in a hot tub with prostitutes and intravenous drug users, that method probably won't help you.

Baldness,

The bismuth in it is antibacterial... often people have no idea it has this effect.

Paradox wrote:I think it is a western misconception that people just get sick when they go to "third world" countries. That has never been my experience. of course it varies by country. BTW- I don't think India is a 3rd world country. Costa Rica is though and it is one of the healthiest places to live. You can drink the water straight from the streams. They also have some of the best universal health care. Americans go to Cuba for good/cheap healthcare, as well as Mexico. Thousands of people go on cruises to 3rd world countries and small islands and get sick on the ship, not in the country. One good supplement for some ares of some countries (including USA) is pepper spray

Have you been to India?

I have not, but I work with MANY people who have and a lot of them have gotten violently ill while over there.

Scotty, it is not just India. It is the tropical climate, which in certain seasons simply teems with all kinds of organisms. Contaminated water is another. Many Indians themselves fall sick during summers and monsoons, one cannot expect tourists to remain immune. Such are Indian summers, unfortunately. Example, the maximum temperatures these days in the Indian capital are running about 43 degree centigrade. Next come three months of monsoon which clubs high heat, humidity and all kinds of microorganisms. Not easy to handle for tourists, especially when food can go bad very quickly in the absence of refrigeration.

Since one can't control climate, the next best thing is to have a handle on the water one drinks. Also, as I mentioned earlier, India is not exactly geographically small- so it is always best to mention which part of India one is visiting and when.
Edit- for example, if one is visiting Bangalore or Pune, the climate all year round is good and mild, good for a westerner. If one is visiting Rajasthan (arid, desert) in June, well, think Mars.

hth,
-9r5-