Surviving A 1000 Mile Road Trip While Autoimmune (and Gluten Free)...You Can Do It Too!

So my trip to Orlando was free. Well, free of at least, (but not limited to) Gluten, Grains, Sugar, Dairy and Soy! My family and I took a road trip in our mini van to Universal Studios Orlando.

My kids are big Harry Potter Fans and have read most of the books. I too, wanting to connect with my kids, have read the first 3 books. Serena, the pretty girl in red above, who is my wife has also read a couple of the books.

So fearing that time was passing us by, we decided to do what so many people told us not to do...that is, take a road trip to Florida (yeah, in the car for 15 hours + with a 14, 12 and 10 year old). We knew there would be some challenges...here's how we over came them.

1. Like Life, It's Good To Know In Advance It's Not Always Going To Be Easy And Will Not Always Go As Planned.

Our 15 hour trip took 20 hours. Seems that lots of other people had the same idea as we did and the highways were packed with people. Although hungry and tired, our kids were troopers. They fought a little, but for the most part were great.

Before we left we set our expectations low, knowing that trials would occur and that we needed to be extra kind during the trip. That strategy worked very well.

2. Bring Some Of Your Own Supplies.

Olive oil

Coconut oil

85% dark chocolate (a must)

Tons of avocados

Pounds of Applegate Farms or equivalent lunch meat

FCT Remedies

EMF (For Hotel)

Respiratory, GI, Urogenital Infection (Just In Case)

Chlorine Isode (For Swimming Pool)

Your Own Cervical Pillow

Ionic Minerals and pH salts

Vitamix (we left ours home b/c too big) Nutra-bullet (we took this one due to size)

3. Don't Be Afraid To Fast

If you're alive, you'll want to avoid grains, if you're autoimmune, you'll need to avoid grains (and other things).

When I began my journey toward health, I suffered with low blood sugar if I didn't eat. My liver couldn't liberate the needed glucose in a timely fashion.

Now, after lots of work and detoxification, I can fast easily.

If you're on a trip and you have food sensitivities or Autoimmune disease and you don't have blood sugar issues (if you do, call and ask us how to fix it!) you should fast if there's nothing "good" to eat.

The Orlando parks are very good about food sensitivities and you can easily find gluten free places, however, unfortunately, there's lots more than gluten to be afraid of (and I'm not talking about the Dementors at Hogwarts!). Dairy, Soy, artificial this and that, vegetable oil and lots of others.

There is a Whole Foods 1 mile or 2 away from Disney, Universal and Seaworld. We had a full kitchen and used it for most meals.

4. Bring Probiotics and Betaine HCL

Although we know now that a "more is better philosophy" on probiotics is incorrect, we should be prepared to use them if need be. Ideally speaking we should "test" to know what probiotics each individual should use.

If you're going out of the country and want to avoid the dreaded "Montezuma's Revenge", this tip should be first on your list. For this type of trip a broad spectrum, non dairy probiotic would be best, short of testing.

5. Face Your Fears

Like anything else in life, there is uncertainty. Embrace it.

My daughter, Julia, after her first ride at Hogwarts, was scared of the "Dementors" and closed her eyes. I've always taught her that if you do what you fear, the fear goes away. So she wanted to go on again b/c she closed her eyes the first time in fear. We did it again with her eyes open and she grew as a person in that moment.

We all have these "Dementors" in our own lives that are just waiting to be conquered. All we need is to face them and get past the next challenge that is ahead of us.

Life isn't supposed to be easy, but it IS supposed to be fun (in my humble opinion).

Be child like, laugh, love others, don't take yourself (or others) so seriously, embrace your fears and take the time to experience the present moment. That is where life "lives". The past and future are phantoms.