Traveling biohack tips

Traveling can be incredibly hard on the body, so I’m always extra conscious of taking care of it while on the go.

I know that many of you will be travelling this summer, so I decided to compile my own travel hacks into a BLOG post, so that you can not feel full of energy to enjoy your trip but also feel great when you get back to your routine.

You will learn my traveling hack about:

🥦 Food

💧Water

🏃🏽‍♀️ Movement

😴 Sleep

➕

🌟 2 miscellaneous tips (if you read until the end)

Food

While traveling:

I personally prefer to fast while traveling.

There are two main reasons why:

1) I don’t have to resort to airport food

2) It helps my body detox, instead of clogging up the detox pathways that’s common with travel’s environmental exposures⠀⠀

*Note, this is just what works for me, please be safe! Before making any dietary changes including fasting, always first discuss with your doctor.

I generally break my fast after about 24 hours, or during “dinner time” of wherever I’m traveling to help my body get programmed for that time zone.

Even if this occurs while flying, I’ll take out & eat my home prepped dinner at that time.

If skipping meals or fasting is not right for you, here are some of my top “fast” food suggestions you can often find at the airport

1. Jerky 

2. Nuts/seeds

3. “To go” packs of veggie sticks and hummus

4. Hard boiled eggs

5. Bubble water

6. Fresh fruit

7. At chain fast food places order a burger “Paleo” style wrapped in lettuce

When I arrive:

The first thing I seek out when I land is a grocery store.

There, I pick up a red cabbage, avocado, lime or lemon, and a small container of salt.

(fun fact: I was so excited to hear one day that MS warrior and creator of The Wahl’s Protocol, Dr. Terry Wahl’s also travels with cabbage!)

While this may seem like an odd combo:

🍴Cabbage helps w/detox pathways and contains prebiotic fiber to keep digestion regular

🍴Avocado helps w/healthy fat consumption and assists absorption of the nutrients in the cabbage

🍴The salt & lime helps with electrolyte & pH balance

🍴Lime helps with digestion by creating an acidic environment in the stomach, which can be reduced due to the stress of travel.

I also call ahead to the resort (if this is in our plans) and request dairy free / gluten free meals and verify there will be a mini refrigerator available in the room.⠀⠀

Water

I always bring my own water bottle so I’m never empty handed.

Travel by nature is dehydrating so I always make sure to drink extra water in the days before travel + while traveling.

My go to rule of thumb is drink approximately 1 ounce of water for every pound of body weight when traveling.This is about 2xs what I generally consume when not traveling…⠀⠀

Sleep

Traveling through various time zones can dramatically throw off your circadian rhythm. My number one piece of advice is as soon as you start traveling, start living as if you are already in the time zone you are traveling too.

Ways to do this

💤Eat dinner (or other meals) at the time you would in the new time zone

💤Take melatonin if needed to help fall asleep and adjust to the new time zone. However, I don’t recommend taking it for more than 2 weeks because it can affect how your own body produces melatonin.

💤Try to fall asleep on the plane during the time you would normally go to bed at your destination

💤Get outdoors before 10am and without sunglasses to get some natural sunlight. 

💤Take a stroll or do some exercise immediately upon waking to stimulate the natural cortisol awakening response needed for proper circadian rhythm 

💤BONUS TIP: you can stimulate different pressure points to stimulate different organs to help with the time change. This is based on the Chinese Medicine body clock where different organs are more active at different times of the day. Alternatively there are pressure points that increase Qi (life force) both on the wrists and the lower leg. Next time you wake in a new time zone feeling jet lagged, you may consider trying this:

On your inner forearm, 3 finger-widths above the wrist crease, between the 2 tendons on the inside of the forearm apply steady pressure with your opposing hand’s thumb until you feel soreness. Hold the pressure for 1 minute then repeat on the opposite forearm. 

On the anterior lower leg, 4 finger-widths below the kneecap, apply a moderate pressure using your thumb until you feel soreness. Hold the pressure for 5 minutes, then repeat on the opposite leg. 

Movement

At the airport I’m always the strange one doing a short workout

My routine:

💪Squats

💪Lunges

💪Various stretches

💪Pistol squats

💪Chair dips

💪Pushups

💪Legs up the wall

On the plane, especially if it’s a long flight, I will walk around every 1-2 hours, do various stretches and / or squats and heel raises. Not only does this help break up the flight, but it can help prevent the muscle ache that occurs from sitting for extended periods of time. This occurs thanks to the exercise induced vasodilation, which may also decrease blood pressure for a few hours after exercise, keeping you feeling relaxed during the stressful travel day.  

---

My last 2 tips don’t fall into “neat categories” but I still wanted to share them with you!

Compression hose

I always wear compression hose  on the plane because the cabin is only pressurized to 8,000 feet and I live at sea level. I also have Ehler’s Danlos, a connective tissue disorder that affects skin, joints and blood vessels. 

The higher the elevation the greater the body needs to work to extract oxygen from the air that is breathed.

The compression socks can aid in the delivery of the deoxygenated blood back to the heart and ease the demands on the heart and blood vessels this can mean less hypoxia, less swelling in the lower extremities, and even less fatigue with those long travel days. 

Supplements

As a rule of thumb, I personally don’t typically take any additional supplements. However, for those who are susceptible to colds & flu or if you want an extra immune boost during the cold & flu season, I recommend the following supplements. (NOTE: before starting / stopping any supplements, you should always consult with your doctor first)

📍Adrenal adaptogens to aid in stress management such as rhodiola, ashwaganda,    passionflower, reishi mushroom

📍Antioxidants to aid in natural detox such as NAC, alpha lipoic acid, resveratrol

📍Zinc to support healthy immune function

📍Vitamin C to support healthy immune function and natural detox

📍Vitamin D to support healthy immune function

---

Which tip was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below