Whenever anyone goes to a conference, they love talking about the “takeaway.” What was the takeaway? Who had the best takeaway? If you could sum up your your takeaway in three words, what would it be?

Screw conference takeaway. If you ask me about my best takeaway, it would probably be something like “Peking duck with pancakes, spring onions and hoisin sauce from that dump in Notting Hill.”

But I get it. If you’re going to spend money to attend an industry conference, you want to get some kind of return on your investment. Makes sense.

So what was my main takeaway from the Type-A conference?

You no longer have to suffer from travel constipation.

In my opinion, there are two kinds of people in this world: Those who suffer from travel constipation, and those who lie and say they don’t. I am an honest soul. I will freely admit that if my travels go longer than one hour and/or one night, my bowels lock down like Sing Sing during a riot.

But not this trip.

If you don’t know by now, blog conferences are all about the sponsors and swag. Well, not all about. They’re also about education and empowerment and networking and all other kinds of cool stuff. But they’re also about those cool presents and giveaways. And there is nothing wrong with that. The companies who choose to position themselves in front of large groups of people who make decisions about household purchases are genius and forward-thinking, if you ask me. And at Type-A, some of those companies saved my large intestine.

Meet the good guys:

Those WhoNu? cookies? Mommy’s new best friends. Not only are they unbelievably good, but they have an incredibly reasonably amount of calories, and they’re chock full of fiber, vitamins and minerals. I can indulge in them, and I can feed them to my kids, with no guilt. The Zone Perfect bars? Crack. Especially the Cashew Pretzel flavor. If you like a sweet/salty combination, it doesn’t get any better. And they’re packed with fiber and other nutritious stuff. And my friend Valerie gave me those crazy-good RHP vitamins. She gave me some for my kids, too, but those adult chews are the most delicious gummies ever, and I’ll be damned if they aren’t good for me. And don’t get me started on the DHA-orange juice chasers I drank to wash everything down, courtesy of Life’s DHA. Add it all together, and you know what you get?

A bowel movement.

You can stop laughing right now, because you know as well as I do how much a well-timed bowel movement can make or break your trip.

But in all seriousness (and you know how it pains me to be serious), I look at this trend of healthy swag and sponsorships by responsible companies as a good thing. I applaud Kelby, who started Type-A, for being forward-thinking and for looking at the bigger picture. I applaud her for not exposing us to junk and crap. I applaud the companies who are trying to make a difference and do better. I applaud the companies who realize our children matter, and that we parents want to learn about what helps them. And I applaud the women who demand more for themselves and their families, and who refuse to be bought by any old company waving something shiny or free in their faces.

My trip to Type-A was amazing. I finally met some of the most wonderful women I’ve ever had the chance to chat online with. I met some people I’ve never heard of, but who I’m dying to know more about. I danced my butt off. I laughed till I cried. I got a (fake) tattoo from one of the most talented and creative artists I’ve ever met. I learned a lot about myself.

And I pooped like a champion for five days away from home. It doesn’t get any better than that.