Showing posts sorted by date for query food. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query food. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Crunchy Wafers, Clunky Cluttered Coffee Mugs, Tearing Package Tapes - How are Food Noises & Visuals Stimulating Unwarranted Hunger Pangs?

Hunger was once the body’s private signal, an instinctive whisper between the stomach and the mind. Today, it is a performance staged and directed by an orchestra of sounds and visuals designed to provoke appetite before biology even speaks. The snap of a wafer, the crinkle of foil, the hiss of soda, the sight of caramel melting in slow motion — each has been engineered to bypass willpower and activate hunger where none existed. What we call “cravings” are often not cravings at all. They are responses to manufactured stimuli. In a culture where silence is rare, we eat not when we are hungry, but when the world reminds us that we could be.

Make a Dog’s Day “The Rescue Reflex: Why Saving a Dog Feels Like Saving Ourselves”

Somewhere between loneliness and loyalty, between guilt and grace, lies the quiet exchange that happens when a person rescues a dog. It’s marketed as compassion — a simple act of kindness — but emotionally, it’s far more complicated. To save a dog from neglect, abandonment, or euthanasia is to participate in a deeply human ritual: the desire to mend something that mirrors our own brokenness. Every October 22, Make a Dog’s Day returns as both an adoption campaign and a cultural moment of confession — when we collectively try to prove we still know how to care. The campaign’s tone is light, often sponsored by automakers or pet brands, but beneath it lies a psychological truth that is neither cute nor commercial. When we save dogs, we often save fragments of ourselves that have long been waiting for rescue.

Wombat Day “The Animal That Forgot to Rush: Lessons from Australia’s Slowest Philosopher”

Speed has become the measure of modern virtue. We multitask, micro-manage, optimize, and wear exhaustion like a badge of honor. In a world obsessed with acceleration, the wombat stands like a furry contradiction — slow, methodical, subterranean, and utterly indifferent to our collective hurry. Every October 22, Australians celebrate Wombat Day, a festival that began as a quirky homage to this short-legged burrower and has evolved into a national wink at pace itself. The wombat doesn’t tweet, sprint, or strive. It eats, digs, rests, and occasionally looks puzzled — a perfect mammal in an age of overcomplication. To study the wombat is to confront an evolutionary question: what if survival never required haste?

National Boston Cream Pie Day “Calories and Class: Why Boston Cream Pie Was the First Socially Acceptable Luxury”

The Boston Cream Pie is an edible paradox — rich yet respectable, decadent yet decorous. Born in a 19th-century Boston hotel kitchen, it wasn’t technically a pie at all, but a layered sponge cake laced with custard and capped with chocolate. What it truly became, however, was America’s first socially acceptable luxury — a dessert that managed to make indulgence look virtuous. At a time when moral restraint governed everything from women’s laughter to men’s diets, the Boston Cream Pie arrived like a polite rebellion. It was a dessert designed not to shock but to charm, dressed in civility even as it whispered temptation.

Is There Something Called “Nocturnal Tourism”? A Long Read on Noctourism, Vampires, and the Politics of After-Dark Travel

There is a brittle magic to traveling after the sun has gone. Streets that were crowded at noon become private corridors at midnight. Cathedrals glow in a way the day never permits. Markets turn into theatres of scent and heat. Humans, who have spent millennia pulsing with diurnal rhythms, are rewiring their curiosity to the dark hours. Call it noctourism — the growing commercial and cultural practice of deliberately seeking experiences after dusk. In recent years it has graduated from a niche curiosity into a full-blown segment of the travel industry. It brackets a wide range of practices, from responsible dark-sky stargazing in protected reserves to goosebump-generating Dracula tours in Transylvania, from nocturnal wildlife safaris to rooftop dinners under neon. It is practical, aesthetic, and sometimes performative. It is also, for better and worse, a mirror of what we want from travel: difference, intensity, and a sense that we dared ourselves to go where ordinary tourism does not.

7 Reasons Why a Protein Shake-Only Breakfast Is Not Good Enough

There’s something seductive about the hum of a blender at 7:00 a.m. — the smooth promise of efficiency. You scoop, shake, sip, and tell yourself you’ve hacked breakfast. It’s fast, clean, disciplined — the kind of meal Silicon Valley and Instagram approve of. But beneath that illusion of control, the protein-shake-only breakfast has quietly become a modern dietary crutch: more chemical than culinary, more symbolic than satisfying. It represents the dream of optimization — a body that behaves like software. The problem? Bodies don’t code. They metabolize. And metabolism, unlike productivity, cannot be gamified. Here’s why your morning shake isn’t cutting it — and what you’re losing when breakfast becomes a formula.

1. It Trains Your Body to Expect Nothing Real

Liquid breakfasts reduce eating to function — calories in, task out. But food is also mechanical education: chewing stimulates saliva, primes digestion, and activates hormones like ghrelin and leptin that regulate hunger cues. When you skip texture, your gut-brain axis never gets the signal that a real meal occurred. Over time, this can dull your hunger awareness — what psychologists call interoceptive sensitivity. Studies from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2023) found that participants consuming liquid-only breakfasts reported delayed satiety and increased afternoon snacking by 23%. Translation: your “efficient” start is metabolically expensive later.

For the Karwa Chauth Enthusiasts: There Is No Real Karwa Maa/Maata, Right?

When you whisper “Karwa Maa” into the echo chamber of faith, the air doesn’t answer back. There’s only silence — and maybe the faint rattle of a steel sieve on a thali. Because, inconvenient as it sounds, there is no “Karwa Maa” in any known scripture. She never walked out of a Purana, never occupied a temple before recent memory, and never received an official hymn from any rishi. Yet, every year, millions of women across North India fold their hands before an earthen pot, chant her name, and offer water to the moon as though invoking a centuries-old goddess of marital endurance. This paradox — worshipping a deity who doesn’t exist — is not a flaw in the system. It’s how the system was always meant to work.

The Goddess Who Wasn’t There

In classical Hindu texts, every fast has a presiding deity. Ekadashi bows to Vishnu. Shivratri to Shiva. Karwa Chauth, on paper, bows to nothing specific. The word “Karwa” itself simply means a clay vessel — karva, the same pot used to store water or grains. The “Chauth” marks the fourth day after Purnima in the month of Kartik. Combine them, and what you get is a pot and a date — not a goddess. The ritual was originally a symbolic gesture of abundance and community sharing among women — wives of soldiers, they say, who would send these pots filled with food or water to their husbands stationed far away. Over time, a vacuum emerged. Humans dislike ritual without personality. So the imagination supplied one — Karwa Maa, the invisible guardian of faith, fasting, and fragile husbands. She was never canonized, but she didn’t need to be. Devotion gave her birth, and insecurity gave her purpose.

Why is referring to all folks from southern India as ‘Madraasi’ still unacceptable — despite the growing wave of resentment down under

There’s a stubborn economy of labels in India — cheap linguistic shortcuts that promise quick geographic naming but deliver a lifetime of flattening. “Madraasi” (or “Madrasi”) is one of those shortcuts: easy to say, gratifyingly dismissive, and cruelly reductive. To call a person from Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra, Telangana, or Tamil Nadu “Madraasi” is to smudge a living, complicated identity with a single blunt brush. The term’s etymology is not mysterious: it hearkens to the Madras Presidency, the sprawling British administrative unit whose borders conveniently blurred linguistic, caste, and cultural distinctions for colonial governance. But the harm isn’t merely historical or etymological — it’s social, symbolic, and present. The slur functions as a shorthand that links darker skin tones, non-Hindi accents, non-Sanskritic rituals, and perceived provinciality into an umbrella of denigration; it is a small word with wide violence.

How to Look Gastronomically Educated When You Don’t Know How to Use Chopsticks in a Dumpling House

how to look elite when using chopsticks
You’ve agreed to have dim sum with friends. You thought you were in for steamed comfort, not a public coordination test. But now you’re seated in a candlelit dumpling house, surrounded by sleek bamboo décor, and the table is laid out like an exam. No forks in sight. Only chopsticks. Your confidence evaporates faster than the soup inside a xiaolongbao. The others around you—of course—are naturals. They twirl, lift, and gently tap their dumplings into soy sauce with the elegance of a string quartet. You, on the other hand, are performing surgery with broom handles. Every drop of chili oil feels like an audience spotlight. Somewhere, your ancestors sigh into their butter knives. But fear not. You are not alone in this silent humiliation. Millions before you have walked this porcelain-tiled battlefield, fumbling, dropping, and pretending they weren’t hungry anyway. The good news? Looking gastronomically educated is 80% performance, 20% damage control. The trick is to understand the anthropology of the utensil, the psychology of the diner, and the art of surviving with your dignity (and dumplings) intact.

Have You Seen Dog Meat Market Videos – Why Do These Dogs Usually Look So Docile?

Scroll through social media long enough and you may stumble upon one of the most unsettling sights: dogs crammed into cages in an open-air meat market, their eyes vacant, their bodies strangely still. What startles many viewers is not the expected chaos of barking and biting, but the eerie calm—the dogs look docile, even passive, as if resigned to their fate. It is an image that confuses as much as it horrifies. Why, in the face of imminent violence, do these animals not rebel, not snarl, not scratch? The answer lies less in the idea of “docility” and more in psychology—animal and human alike. What looks like calm is often the silence of collapse, the physiology of fear, and the conditioned hopelessness of captivity. Add to this the cultural lens through which different societies interpret dogs—companion in one, livestock in another—and the unsettling picture becomes layered. This is not just about dogs in faraway markets. It is about the biology of fear, the psychology of trauma, the cultural politics of empathy, and the ethical double standards by which we decide which suffering counts and which suffering we ignore.

Are They Helpless or Hustling? The Uncomfortable Truth of Urban Begging in India

 

Air-conditioned air holds differently at a red light. From behind tempered glass, the city appears in slow motion: a child with a box of tissues; a man with a gauze-wrapped stump; a woman carrying a sleeping toddler whose head lolls with a suspicious stillness you don’t want to believe; a knock on the window—polite first, then insistent. You look ahead, counting down the signal, bargaining with your conscience. Maybe this person is gaming you. Maybe there’s a “racket.” Maybe it’s safer to do nothing. Yet the hand on the glass is a mirror; it reflects the unease of a country where modern prosperity idles inches from profound precarity. This essay traces the fault line that runs between the driver’s doubt and the beggar’s plea: the law that criminalised and then partly decriminalised begging; the religious traditions that sanctified alms; the economics of India’s informal city; and the psychology that makes strangers’ suffering feel negotiable. What emerges is neither a defense of every outstretched palm nor a condemnation of every refusal, but an attempt to look squarely at how a society chooses to see—or not see—its poor.

Is Navratri also about Intermittent Fasting & Rebooting Your Metabolism or is it just deep-level religious faith?

Navratri, at its simplest, is a deep call to discipline. Over nine nights and days, devotees observe fasts, prayers, dance, and ritual observance in honor of Goddess Durga. But the fast is not just an act of abstinence — it is a symbolic undoing of excess, a turning away from the habitual, and a realignment with inner resolve. In classical Hindu practice, ritual fasting is a means for tapasya (austerity), purification, and inner discipline. The body becomes a tool of devotion, and the hunger pangs echo longing. For generations, the question was never metabolic reboot, but spiritual re-orientation: subdue the senses, awaken the inward fire, beseech the Goddess’s grace.

Texts of Devotion: How Ancient Literature Framed the Fast

When we look back to older texts — Puranas, medieval devotional works, and Bhakti poetry — fasting is described as a gateway, not merely deprivation. The fast is a vow, a surrender, a sacred contract between mortal and divine. In that framing, Navratri’s fast carries no secular logic. It is devotion incarnate. Yet, devotion doesn’t mean the body and metabolism stand outside its influence. As we will see, these ancient practices often turned out to have physiological consequences — accidental or intentional.

Medical Marijuana and How Might It Affect IBS?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a long-term digestive problem that causes stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation. Many people look for alternatives when regular treatments don’t fully work—this is where medical marijuana comes into the conversation. Your body has a system called the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which helps control things like pain, mood, and digestion. Marijuana (or cannabis) contains compounds—THC and CBD—that interact with this system. Some experts believe that problems in the ECS could play a role in IBS, which is why cannabis might help.

What research says so far:

  • Mixed results: A few studies suggest cannabis or cannabis-based medicines may reduce gut contractions, ease pain, and help with symptoms like nausea or diarrhea. But the evidence is not strong or consistent.
  • CBD vs THC: CBD-rich options may give some relief without making you feel “high,” while THC-heavy strains may cause more side effects.
  • Not officially approved: Most places don’t recognize IBS as a condition eligible for medical marijuana.

Risks to consider:

  • Side effects can include dizziness, confusion, or even heart issues.
  • Long-term use may cause dependency or worsen stomach issues in some cases.
  • Laws vary widely, so access is limited.
  • You might take a liking to the relaxation effects of marijuana, using it for non-IBS reasons

Digging Deeper

Medical marijuana refers to cannabis—or its active components like THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol)—used to manage symptoms of various medical conditions. It interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which consists of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) and endogenous cannabinoids. These are found throughout the nervous, immune, and gastrointestinal systems. In 2003, Ethan B. Russo proposed the concept of clinical endocannabinoid deficiency (CECD)—an idea that low levels of endogenous cannabinoids may contribute to IBS and related disorders such as migraines and fibromyalgia. Animal studies support this by showing regulatory effects of endocannabinoids on gut motility, visceral hypersensitivity, and protective anti-inflammatory actions in the digestive tract.

Summarizing Research:

  • Smoked marijuana: Few controlled studies exist, and its effects on IBS remain largely unexplored. 
  • Synthetic cannabinoids like Marinol (dronabinol): These have been tested more. Some evidence suggests it can reduce large intestine contractions, though results on pain relief are mixed and not definitively positive.
  • CBD-rich, THC-poor strains: These may offer symptom relief without psychoactive effects, yet risks still include serious side effects such as seizures, cardiovascular issues, and hallucinations.
  • Legal limitations: Most jurisdictions do not list IBS as an approved condition for medical marijuana, further complicating access.

Broader Perspectives: Additional Evidence & Expert Views

Several other reputable sources reinforce and expand upon the Verywell Health findings:

  • Symptom management potential: Other reviews note that cannabinoids—particularly THC and CBD—may help with abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, and bloating by modulating motility and inflammation. VerihealWeedmapsBiology Insights.

  • Quality of life improvements without altering disease: Some clinical reviews suggest cannabinoids may improve life quality and reduce medication use among IBS/IBD patients, even if they don’t induce remission or alter disease markers. WeedmapsTIME.

  • Administration methods: Delivery options include smoking, vaporizing, edibles, tinctures, and pharmaceutical preparations. Vaporizing is often preferred over smoking to minimize lung harm; however, any method carries variability in dosing and bioavailability. WikipediaAcibadem Health Point.

  • Risks and side effects: Potential downsides include psychoactive effects, dependency, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, cardiovascular effects, and reduced motility leading to other GI discomforts.

  • Need for clinical trials and regulatory approval: As highlighted in the Verywell Health piece, more data are essential to understand dosing, efficacy, safety, and to foster the development of targeted cannabinoid-based medications. Verywell HealthWikipedia.


Summary Table: Key Insights

AreaInsights
MechanismMarijuana interacts with the ECS in the gut; possible therapeutic target.
Research StatusLimited and mixed: some benefit in motility and sensitivity, but inconclusive.
Clinical UseSynthetic or CBD-rich options may help, though IBS isn’t an approved use.
Safety & RisksIncludes psychoactivity, serious side effects, and legal constraints.
Regulatory ContextMostly forbidden for IBS; approval and guidelines are lacking.
Future DirectionsMore rigorous, targeted research is needed to validate and guide use.

Final Thoughts

Medical marijuana currently remains an unproven, experimental option for IBS relief. While mechanistic rationale and anecdotal reports hint at potential benefits—particularly for symptoms like pain, bloating, and motility irregularities—the lack of robust, IBS-specific clinical trials means it's not medically endorsed as standard care.

If considering this route:

  • Consult your healthcare provider to weigh potential benefits and risks.
  • Ensure legal compliance, as IBS is rarely a qualifying condition for medical cannabis programs.
  • Approach cautiously, starting with low doses and non-smoking routes if using legally.

As research progresses, we may see the emergence of more precise cannabinoid-based medications offering safer and more effective relief for IBS symptoms.


LATEST: SCIENCE SIDE OF IBS

Perceptions of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease

This study evaluates the level of awareness and attitudes among pediatric residents in Saudi Arabia’s western region regarding irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Using a cross-sectional survey methodology, the research examines how prepared these residents feel in diagnosing and managing these conditions, and whether gaps exist in their training or perceptions.

Samosa Triggered Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): How Stress Management, Sleep, and Diet Hacks Got Him Back on Course

A case profile details how a man began experiencing recurring bloating, cramping, and irregular bowel habits after consuming spicy, fried foods such as samosas. This culminated in a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a functional gastrointestinal disorder linked to disturbances in the gut-brain axis. He was found to have a low gut-microbiome diversity score and was subsequently treated with prebiotics, probiotics, and behavioural therapies. Clinicians emphasise that IBS is not a structural disease and thus requires modulation of diet, stress, and sleep rather than standard pharmacotherapy alone. The subject was instructed to reduce screen time, improve sleep hygiene, practice slow breathing, and adopt smaller, more frequent meals. Emerging guidance from research supports the use of gut-directed cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnotherapy as tolerated adjuncts. This account underscores the importance of lifestyle factors—particularly food triggers, stress management, and sleep regularity—in managing IBS symptoms. It illustrates how integrating behavioural techniques with microbiome modulation can offer meaningful improvement even in a condition that remains without a definitive cure.

Gastroenterologist Reveals 3 Triggers Behind Most IBS Cases: Untreated Food Poisoning, Chronic Stress, and Chronic Antibiotic Use

A recent consultation with leading gastroenterologist Dr. Kumkum Patel identifies three under-recognized drivers behind the onset of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)—namely, untreated food poisoning, persistent stress, and long-term antibiotic use. According to Dr. Patel, approximately 80 percent of her patients trace their IBS back to one or more of these root factors rather than simple diet alone. First, episodes of food poisoning can leave a lasting mark by disrupting the gut microbiome and altering intestinal nerve signalling. Second, chronic stress aggravates the gut-brain axis, elevates visceral sensitivity, and triggers persistent gastrointestinal symptoms. Third, prolonged antibiotic exposure undermines microbial diversity and sets the stage for dysbiosis, which contributes to IBS pathways. Dr. Patel argues that conventional diet-centric management overlooks these foundational issues. She recommends a more holistic strategy: evaluate past gastrointestinal infections, address stress with behavioural tools, and rebuild microbiome resilience through targeted therapies. This multifactorial approach aims to shift patients from symptomatic relief to root-cause resolution.


LATEST: MEDICAL MARIJUANA APPLICATIONS 

Snapshot of Medical Marijuana Sales in Florida

[US Medical Marijuana Trends]

Florida’s medical marijuana market sold over 141,000 ounces of smokable cannabis across 734 dispensaries during the week of October 31 to November 6. The leading operator: Trulieve, with nearly 48,800 ounces sold. The next largest sellers were MÜV (15,603), Curaleaf Florida (13,336), Ayr Cannabis Dispensary (9,006), and others. This surge in volume underscores the strength of the flower segment within Florida’s medical-only regime and highlights how certain firms are dominating market share. While patient-growth rates are moderating, the increase in raw units sold suggests that usage intensity and product availability remain high. The data also hint at consolidation among operators and greater concentration of sales among the top players. For stakeholders, the key takeaway is this: despite slower patient-base expansion, real-time demand for flowers is robust and dominant players are reinforcing their leading positions. Investors and policy makers should note that supply-driven market dynamics—rather than patient-growth alone—are now shaping revenue outcomes in the state’s medical-cannabis sector.

Cannabis Dispensary Access Linked to Significant Drop in Opioid Prescriptions

[Is medical marijuana linked to the opioid pandemic in the US?]

New research reveals that legal access to medical and recreational cannabis through dispensaries is associated with a meaningful reduction in opioid prescriptions across multiple U.S. states. In states where medical cannabis became law, opioid prescribing rates fell by an average of 16 percent; in the subset of patients diagnosed with cancer, the presence of dispensaries led to roughly a 24 percent reduction in opioid prescriptions. Key findings include decreases across demographic groups, a reduction in days-supply per prescription, and fewer prescriptions per patient. Interestingly, the opening of dispensaries had a larger effect than legalization alone, indicating that accessibility plays a critical role in substitution. These outcomes suggest that for some pain-management patients, cannabis may serve as a less risky alternative to opioids. The research underscores, however, that cannabis is not a universal substitute for opioids and that clinical guidance remains essential. For policymakers and health systems, the implications are substantial: implementing regulated cannabis access and integrating it into pain-management strategies could form part of a comprehensive response to the opioid crisis.

Is It Time for Medical Marijuana to Be Allowed on Cruise Ships?

[normalizing usage and access to medical marijuana]

Cruise passenger industry commentary explores whether medical cannabis should be permitted aboard cruise ships despite current prohibitions by major operators. The piece highlights that although some jurisdictions within the United States and beyond legalise medical and recreational cannabis, cruise lines continue to enforce bans to comply with federal maritime law and the regulatory frameworks of the flag state. These restrictions mean even documented medical marijuana patients risk confiscation or disembarkation if cannabis is discovered on board. The article argues that the status quo creates a policy inconsistency: patients with legitimate prescriptions may travel without effective access to essential medicine for the duration of their voyage. It suggests that change might arrive through regulatory reform, insurance frameworks or industry-led policy shifts that allow controlled medical use while accommodating international jurisdiction complexity. For stakeholders across healthcare, hospitality, and travel, the debate underscores how evolving cannabis laws intersect with international regulation, patient rights, and service industry liability.

Prozac works but why not try the un-chemical way to feel good?

This discussion is not about whether Prozac helps with anxiety. Yes, medicines like Prozac can help you control your anxiety levels but here, I am discussing some DIY methods that are not equally chemical, and don't make you chase around for a prescriptionI have had issues with restoring my mental energy levels every time they get depleted with a few hectic days. Ever since I turned 25, a pattern emerged where after a couple of days of sustained physical and psychological work, my mind would go into a caffeinated mode, unable to wind down and as a result, my anxiety levels and the associated digestive symptoms would surface. The medicines I tried over the years to control this habit and its root cause helped to some extent but there is a catch to using them. No matter what the pharmaceutical world says, there is a downside to every drug out there, prescription or over-the-counter. Once you get into the habit of using mood boosters, or in my case, mood-sustaining salts, there is a big chance your body and mind stop evolving to help you navigate and manage different phases of your life, and some need you to be alert and calm. My continuous run-ins with these meds also helped me uncover some things that could boost the overall mood and energy levels. These mental health tips are not stolen from the web or blatantly rewritten to engage the search engines. This is from my cup of psychological wellness and I am sharing some of it with you:

The Delhi Choley Bhature Scene is Changing but not for the Good!

The bloggers are rampant and uncontrollable when creating videos about it, supported by the inexplicable appetite of social media content consumers, and it seems that no matter what season of the year it is, there is one equally popular food option during the breakfast, lunch, and dinner timings - Choley Bhature. While every hood in the city has its own favorite, Instagram and YouTube continue to preach the top 5, 7, or 10 places to reach the holy grail of Choley Bhature, and surprisingly, people in Delhi, people from Delhi, those who grew up within the city are as curious and sometimes naive, following every bit of social content to explore a new 'Choley Bhature' destination. While this transformation set in over the last 5 - 7 years, with the post-COVID [WFH] lifestyles also contributing to the cause, the overall Choley Bhature scene in Delhi has changed and not everything about it needs to be romanced with words and not every change should have been welcomed.

The Dream vs Reality of Family Summer Vacations: everything is not OK when holidaying with the family!

family happy vs family fighting on vacation image
Every year as summer rolls around, images of the idyllic family vacation fill our minds. We envision laughing children playing on a beach, happy parents sipping drinks by the pool, and memorable moments being created. The reality, however, is often quite different - and much more stressful than anticipated. I recall my childhood days when family vacations were the norm, and I failed to remember even one trip that was filled with unpleasant memories. For some reason, and shockingly, I did not come across this somewhat taboo subject for most of my early years. However, some grey hair decades later, I realized that this is a genuine and global problem, and whether you are vacationing with your kids, grandparents, in-laws, or the extended family, family trips are often the source of anxiety. The following just might help though I am sure there is no simple cure for the issue...