Medical suggestions
It is very likely that you will experience a bout of sickness over in India . There are many strange bacteria and ameba that your body has never been exposed to and that you do not have anti-bodies for. It will probably be diarrhea or "loose motions" as it is referred to there. There are some things that you can take as preventative measures along the way but once it hits, it is best to go straight for the allopathic medicines like immodium. When on the road you will not really have the time and space to deal with it effectively using natural means. Please see below for recommendations from the Center for Disease Control and a list of what I usually take to India with me.

•  The Centers for Disease Control recommends a shot for Hepatitis A one month prior to going, pill vaccination for Typhoid one week before going. They recommend malaria pills starting one week before going. Hepatitis B is recommended if you predict blood exposure, but we don't. None of these are requirements for going, but I will be taking these measures myself. Talk to your doctor about it. If you want to check out the CDC website, look at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/indianrg.htm

•  Talk to your doctor about bringing a supply (at least six 500-mg pills) of the antibiotic Cipro, or its equivalent, for the treatment of traveler's diarrhea.

•  Insect repellant (DEET 30% is the most effective) for mosquitoes and sunblock are good ideas.

•  Order from your pharmacy or pick up in India some "World Health Organization Oral Re-hydration Salts" for adding to water to make a rehydration solution and ask your doctor for some Compazine which is a suppository or other nausea medication in case of travelers' diarrhea.

•  Some recommend bringing a homeopathic first aid kit, bandages, blister pads, Dramamine, Bacitracin ointment, Tylenol or Advil, decongestants (like Afrin spray and/or Sudafed tablets), Benadryl capsules, Immodium and/or Pepto Bismol.

•  Bring any other medications you require. Keep a list of your medications, so that in the event you lose them, they can be replaced. Allopathic medicines are available in India but often under other names.

Natural Prevention
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound cure". In light of that adage, here is another list:

•  Yogi Bhajan recommends you eat an onion a day for the month before you go. Onions are a natural blood purifier and help your body deal with the cultural bacterial change.

•  Do not eat anything that has not been cooked, peeled or washed properly.
•  Drink only bottled or filtered water - stay away from ice.
•  7-R (herb caps for relaxing - good for sleep)
•  96-R (herb caps - great flu remedy)
•  Acidophilus
•  Anything green, like Chlorella (if you are used to a lot of salad this will help compensate.)
•  Arnica cream.
•  Vitamin B (excellent for stress)
•  Constipation remedy
•  Echinacea and Golden Seal
•  Emergen-C packets
•  Grapefruit seed extract (Biotin - this is a great natural antibiotic)
•  Natural throat lozenges
•  Melantonin (to adjust your internal time clock)

Recommend that you make packets of your daily supplements, so you don't have a lot of bottles and jars to carry.

Jetlag
There is an 13 ½ hour time difference between Delhi and Los Angeles . India is 10 ½ hours ahead of the East Cost. One of the hardest adjustments to make is just getting your body's time clock on schedule. Everyone has their special remedies to combat jetlag. There are homeopathic jetlag pills available. Some people bring a supply of juice and only drink liquids for the entire flight. Some say that if you take something to make you sleep on the plane, it helps to adjust things quicker. Others say that if you immediately adjust your watch to the time of your destination and use sleeping pills and then caffeine to sleep and wake at the appropriate times that it helps. So ask around and find out what you can do to help yourself adjust.

Water
To prevent sickness, do not drink anything other than filtered or bottled water. Do not drink anything with ice in it unless you are in a hotel and they have filtered water. If you are purchasing water, make sure that the seal on the bottle is still good. You will be provided with 2 bottles of water per day. On our trek we must be conscious to cart our empty water bottles out with us.

Food
Street food in India is not subject to any health code; therefore it is best to avoid. Food served in hotels, restaurants and homes is generally safe to eat.
If you have special dietary needs you will be best off bringing them with you. The natural food movement has not yet hit India . A staple in India is "Chai" - black tea. They drink it morning, noon and night. It is a great social instrument and will be offered to you regularly. It is normally impolite to refuse completely but if you cannot handle the sugar, dairy and the caffeine, just explain that for medical reasons your doctor says that you may not drink tea.
All the sweets in India contain sugar. If you need alternatives to sugar, you will need to bring them from home.
There will be 3 group meals provided per day. Breakfast will usually be in the hotels and the other meals will be determined once we are there. If you are unable to make it for a group meal, you will need to provide for yourself.

Air Pollution
The majority of the vehicles in the cities are two stroke engines. This has caused some severe pollution problems. New Delhi once was quite horrendous but they have passed some laws and actually implemented them and now all the 3 wheelers and taxis are run on natural gas and the situation is much improved.

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