I do nothing whatsoever to prepare my GI tract, and I’m generally less ill than other travelers. The thought that I’d stop handwashing(!) or start eating spoiled food before a trip strikes me as more than a bit odd.
I’ve never been obsessive about cleanliness at home—I don’t run around spraying everything with bleach or sanitizing chopping blocks and cookware—and this, too, has worked for me.
On the other hand, my hygiene while traveling has benefited from learning the hard way what’s really important and what’s merely performative. I’ve had giardia, dysentery, malaria, inactive TB, and various topical and systemic infections, and I try my best to evade those particular microbes and parasites. I definitely do NOT try to invite them into my life in hopes of building some sort of immunity.
That’s what works for me, but you know the standard disclaimer.
Mark
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