I recently left India with a belly full of paneer after spending a wonderful month in the country. My wife and I made friends, saw elephants, drowned in chai, and ate more biryani than she thought was humanly possible. However, there was one thing that we didn’t do. Somehow, we didn’t get sick. This probably sounds like a dream to someone wanting to see the Taj Mahal and go on a Tiger Safari but who is wondering how to avoid getting sick in India. So, how did we do it?
It’s certainly not that we were picky eaters. We’re big time foodies and traveled from Jaipur to Delhi to Hyderabad to Bangalore to Goa eating in five-star hotels, in food courts, in roadside dhabas, and in people’s homes along the way. In a family’s kitchen in the countryside of Rajasthan, I ate a laddoo out of the dripping hand of a women who had just broken up a dried cow turd for the fire and just briefly rinsed it with village tap water. Somehow, throughout all of this, the dreaded Delhi belly did not strike. Not even a little bit, not even once.
I’ve been known to have a delicate stomach at times and have gotten food poisoning in significantly more developed nations than India (United Kingdom, Portugal, Israel, just to name a few). But throughout our travels in the subcontinent, suffice it to say that I was even more… regular… than I am back home. I’ll spare you the details.
India can be an intimidating place to visit and many potential travelers are likely concerned with how not to get sick in India. So how was I able to keep my gut in shape while traveling through one of the most infamous countries when it comes to stomach problems?
How to avoid getting sick in India
A few weeks before I flew to Mumbai, I was in back home in the United States. Browsing through a Whole Foods, I caught sight of a bright yellow box of Renew Life Adult Probiotics in the supplements section. After a little time spent perusing the box, I found out that these capsules, taken once a day, have 12 different probiotic strains in them and 15 billion live cultures. Importantly, they do not need to be refrigerated, which is a big selling point while you are on the road.
These probiotics were on another level. I took one on an empty stomach every morning and felt invincible. On the box, it says that you can take them any time of day, but I kept my routine steady with a pre-breakfast pill even before I had my coffee. It seemed to me that I was supplying my stomach with all sorts of good bacteria before potentially encountering any troublesome bacteria from the things I ate.
If you are wondering how to avoid getting sick in India, the answer is simple. Take a probiotic. Pick up a box and thank me later.
It’s possible to buy probiotics in India, but to avoid having to hunt for a reputable brand at a pharmacy once you arrive, it’s more useful to have a box ready to go in your suitcase. If you run out, don’t fret. In India, probiotics come in a liquid form, in a hard plastic tube that you take as a shot. A reputable brand is enterogermina, suggested by an Indian friend who is a doctor. I’ve taken other brands of probiotics as well. Blackmore’s, for example, an Australian brand, is pretty good. But after thirty days of testing, I’m ready to crown Renew Life the best probiotics for travel to India.
Do you have tips on how to not get sick in India?
As an Amazon associate, I do earn a commission on sales using my link. However, I bought my first box of Renew Life with my own money and will continue to do so when I travel and even when staying at home. There is evidence showing that probiotics are not only great for your stomach but may help ward off other ailments such as the common cold as well.
Are Renew Life Probiotics available in other countries? The way I was able to not get sick in India was with Renew Life Probiotics, but do they keep you in shape in other countries as well? What’s been your experience with probiotics and traveling in India? Let us know in the comments!