2020 was a painfully insightful year that gave us a few more reasons to prioritize health. We’ve learned to be more mindful about hygiene, avoiding densely populated areas, and how we can best deal with the unpredictability of it all. Expecting last minute closures, cancellations, and guidelines have become the new norm and requires a lot of research to cope. Even if we don't plan to actually leave town, we can use this time to set the foundation for healthy habits that will serve us long after the pandemic ends.
Although we can’t recommend specific products or treatments for a specific individual without consultation, we can provide our personal travel tips and habits for immune and mental resiliency during these unprecedented times.
1. Wellness with Welltory - Free apps like #Welltory track heart rate variability (#HRV) and provide a snapshot of your productivity state, resiliency, energy, and stress levels at any given moment. With this biofeedback, you can better understand how your nervous system deals with any circumstance - jet lag, late night partying, insomnia, various foods and exercises. Learn what personally affects you for better or worse and implement health benefitting techniques, like meditation, deep breathing exercises, supplements, etc. to improve your heart rate variability score. I check my HRV score routinely in the morning, so I can have an objective idea of how to prepare myself for the day. Doing the 4-7-8 breathing technique while focusing on the present, things that I can control - my actions and reactions - have been a great way to immediately increase my HRV. The better we can withstand stressors, the stronger our ability to resist harmful pathogens.
2. Activate the Adrenals - If the thought of taking cold showers makes you cringe, you may opt to support your stress combative adrenal glands with a supplement. Change is a natural biological stressor and usually travel, albeit fun, can be taxing on the adrenal glands which weakens the immune system. My favorite 'multivitamin' to take is Adrenal Complex, which includes vital immune nutrients vitamin A, vitamin C, Zinc and energy supportive B vitamins and glandulars. There are other products out there that may suit you better, so I do suggest nutrient, cortisol and DHEA hormone tests to help determine a ‘Multi’ that fulfills your personal nutrient needs and stress management goals.
3. Fastic - It’s Fastastic! When traveling it's easy to forget the importance of meal timing. Our genes and metabolism are optimized for regular periods of fasting based on our ancestral beginnings. Fasting is anti-aging, boosts metabolism, sharpens memory, and protects against disease, but can be difficult to do when traveling. Fastic app can resolve this challenge by tracking your fasting hours, holding you accountable to achieve your health beneficial goals. If you like to indulge on vacation, by all means indulge! Then consider checking in with Fastic to see how long to wait 'til your next meal to mitigate the negative effects of that large dinner and drinks. Studies suggest at least 16 hours of fasting daily is a good goal to have between the last and first meal of the day, so perhaps just push that brunch reservation to a few hours later.
4. Sunny Vitamin D3- supports our innate immunity - our first responders in defense of our health. Although direct sunlight catalyzes our body’s natural production of vitamin D, I rarely see adequate levels of vitamin D (50ng/ml<) in my patients, especially now during the winter and while quarantining indoors. I use Nutrabiogenesis' Vitamin D3/K2as its a potent liquid formula that I can easily carry-on with me. As a bonus, potassium (K2) in the product aids to prevent bone loss.
5. Habitually Hydrate - Many symptoms like fatigue, headaches, body aches can arise from dehydration and often do during the winter time. Drinking water then tends to be unappealing - it’s cold, we move less and are less thirsty. Carrying a 1 liter water bottle with us is not only sustainable for the environment, but also a great reminder to drink at least half your body weight in ounces. 8 x 8oz glasses of water a day used to be the general rule, but today that could be more or less than your own body's needs. Not all water or water bottle is created equally so depending on where you go, pack a suitable bottle and choose your water sources wisely. I use Astrea One filtered water bottle, a stainless steel bottle without an epoxy liner (which can leach harmful chemicals like BPA) for urban travel. Keep the filter in to purify tap water or take it out from the bottle when reliably filtered water sources are available. For backpacking adventures, I use Grayl Geopress purification bottle that has a reliable filtration system to prevent infection from natural water sources.
6. Thieves Essential Oil - is a fragrant blend of cinnamon, clove, rosemary, eucalyptus, and lemon that I use as an antimicrobial hand sanitizer. The name ‘Thieves’ comes from the legend of four 15th Century thieves who robbed sickly people, yet were able to escape from contracting the plague and disease by wearing this formula of essential oils. Fast forward to the 21st century where popular commercial hand sanitizers are made of immune suppressing chemical fragrances, hazardous antibiotics, and alcohol that worsen our risk of contracting disease. Thieves oil comes without the high health hazard and is versatile in application, e.g. aromatherapy to elevate mood, alleviate sinus congestion, increase alertness, and reduce stress.
7. Maintaining Movement - reduces stress hormones and stimulates endorphins, so make routine time for it indoors or outdoors. Exposure to natural sunlight, fresh air, and green plants will also help regulate circadian rhythm, promote a good night’s rest, and prevent jet lag.
8. Wobenzym Plus - is my anti-inflammatory ‘go-to.’ Stress is inflaming, which compromises the immune system. A joyous bike ride if done too long or strenuously can have a negative impact on the body and cause inflammation. We commonly pack an NSAID like aspirin when we travel in case we have headaches or pains. The problem is these drugs come with a myriad of adverse side effects, including stroke and gastrointestinal bleeding when taken too often. Conversely, Wobenzym's proteolytic enzyme formula safely and effectively resolves inflammation. It’s derived from natural sources like pineapple, and can be taken in preparation for the day, to get you through the day, or to enhance rehabilitation for the next day. Usually, I take 2-4 tablets at a time depending on how I feel and the level of support I need.
9. Meditate on Magnesium Bisglycinate - Another nutrient that I often find deficient in patients is magnesium. This mineral is used by every organ in the body, especially the heart, muscles and kidneys. I particularly love this type of magnesium for its muscle relaxing effect, which is great after a long day of adventure, rigorous exercise, difficulty sleeping, and constipation (TMI?). I typically dose up to bowel tolerance - meaning to take a small dose ~ >200mg and work up to as much magnesium my gut can tolerate, in order to saturate my body before getting loose stools. Figuring out your therapeutic dose is wise to do at home before hitting the road, which can be as little as 400mg up to 5g<! As our bodies change, so do our needs… Nevertheless, the loosening effects are often embraced by travelers who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome with constipation. Complete daily bowel movements are essential for detoxification, and strengthen the body's immune defenses.
10. Clean with Activated Charcoal - A highly absorbable material that when ingested can capture, bind and remove toxins and intestinal gas. Great to have on hand for food poisoning, drinking alcohol, diarrhea, or bloating. It has no affinity, meaning it will bind to anything, so be sure to take it away from medications or supplements. Did TSA confiscate your oversized toothpaste? No problem! Try breaking open a capsule to use the powder on your teeth as a surprisingly whitening alternative.
11. Sleep Hygiene - like personal hygiene is essential for immune resilience. Avoid large meals within 2-3 hours of bedtime. Turn off and unplug electrical devices at least one hour before bed to reduce free radical damaging EMF exposure. Consider reading a book instead. Blue light from laptops and phones suppress melatonin hormone and disrupt sleep. Listening to relaxing music and taking a warm bath are other good ways to decompress from a robust day and prepare you for a good night's rest.
12. Best Friend BWF - The Byron White Formulas, designed for their immune activation against viruses (e.g., A-C, A-CM, A-V, A-XM, A-EB/H6) are the best that I've tried for acute and chronic pathogens. These formulas are a balance between immune-provoking and systemic support. I personally travel with A-C and take it whenever I feel like I'm coming down with something. Feel free to contact me if interested in trying these formulas as they are very potent and have some contraindications.
Not all supplement sites are trustworthy, so feel free to explore Fullscript, my favorite dispensary stocked with brands, resources, and products I trust for wellness.
Like this? Feel free to comment below your own immune-boosting travel favorites!