Key points
In short: Travel disrupts the routines your body relies on: recycled cabin air and crowded airports, time zone shifts, a change of climate, unfamiliar food and broken sleep. The practical response is preparation rather than repair. Arriving rested, shifting your sleep schedule by an hour or two in the days beforehand, staying hydrated in the air and getting into daylight on arrival all do more than anything taken afterwards.
- Managing jet lag: adjust your sleep schedule by an hour or two before you travel, stay hydrated on the flight, and get outdoors into daylight once you land, which is what helps the body reset to the new time zone.
- B vitamins and travel fatigue: B vitamins contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
- Immune-relevant nutrients: vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, zinc, copper and selenium all contribute to the normal function of the immune system.
- Skin in a different climate: copper contributes to normal skin pigmentation, biotin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin A and zinc contribute to the maintenance of normal skin, and vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of the skin.
- Activated charcoal for bloating: contributes to reducing excessive flatulence after eating, taken as one gram shortly before and one gram after a meal. The claim depends on that dosing.
- Sleeping in an unfamiliar room: keep it cool and dark, hold to your usual wind-down routine, and go easy on alcohol, which both disrupts rest and dehydrates.
- Magnesium: contributes to normal muscle function, normal psychological function, the normal functioning of the nervous system, and to electrolyte balance.
- Important caveat: the supplements described are not intended to be taken in combination with one another, and anything new is worth discussing with a healthcare practitioner first.
Your summer holiday should be something to look forward to, not something you need to recover from. Yet between the packing, the early flights and the change of routine, it is easy to arrive home feeling as though you need another break.
A little planning helps. In the same way you support your everyday wellbeing with good nutrition, you can prepare your body for some of the situations travel tends to throw at it. As a UK food supplements manufacturer that has designed and made its own formulations in-house for more than 30 years, we have set out five of the most common ways your body can feel below par on holiday, and the food supplements that can help.
Staying well on the plane
It is a familiar story: two weeks in the sun, and you come home with the sniffles rather than a glow. Airports and busy cabins are ideal conditions for germs to spread, and a long flight is not the gentlest environment for your body.
There is no way to guarantee you will avoid a cold, but you can support your immune system through what you eat and through targeted supplements. Metabolics Immunomax brings together vitamins and minerals that contribute to the normal function of the immune system, including vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, zinc, copper and selenium.
Managing jet lag and travel fatigue
There is little worse than reaching your destination and spending the first day too tired to enjoy it. Jet lag is easier to manage with a bit of preparation. Arrive well rested rather than running on empty, shift your sleeping schedule by an hour or two in the days before you travel, and stay hydrated on the flight. Once you land, getting out into daylight helps your body adjust to the new time zone.
Nutrition plays a part too. Metabolics B Complex Liquid and B Complex Capsules are formulated with a full range of B vitamins, which contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism and to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
Looking after your skin in the sun
A change of climate asks a lot of your skin. Drier air, more sun and a different diet can all take their toll, so it is worth making sure you are getting the nutrients your skin relies on.
Metabolics Hair, Skin and Nails is formulated with this in mind. It contains copper, which contributes to normal skin and hair pigmentation, along with biotin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin A and zinc, which contribute to the maintenance of normal skin, and vitamin C, which contributes to normal collagen formation for the
normal function of the skin.
Enjoying new foods without the discomfort
Trying local food is one of the best parts of travelling, but unfamiliar dishes can leave you feeling bloated or uncomfortable, which is the last thing you want on holiday.
Activated charcoal is a natural option here. It contributes to reducing excessive flatulence after eating, taken as one gram shortly before and one gram after a meal. Its surface is highly porous, which is what gives it its adsorbent properties.
It is also worth looking after your gut while you are away. Metabolics Combocillus provides a blend of live Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium cultures, and is an easy addition to your travel bag.
Resting well in an unfamiliar bed
However comfortable the hotel, an unfamiliar room, different sounds and a warmer climate can all make rest harder to come by, and a few broken nights can colour the rest of a trip. The basics tend to help most: keep the room cool and dark where you can, hold roughly to your usual wind-down routine, and go easy on alcohol, which disrupts rest and is dehydrating.
A change of diet and a higher alcohol intake can also affect your mineral levels. Magnesium is an essential mineral involved in a wide range of bodily processes. It contributes to normal muscle function, normal psychological function and the normal functioning of the nervous system, as well as to electrolyte balance. Magnesium Bisglycinate is a gentle, well-absorbed form that is easy on the stomach.
Staying well on holiday
As with any change to your routine, a little attention to nutrition goes a long way. Getting the right vitamins and minerals while you are away can help your body cope with some of the most common travel niggles, so you spend more of your holiday actually enjoying it.
This guide is general information and is not a substitute for tailored advice. Nutritional needs vary from person to person, and the supplements mentioned here are not intended to be taken in combination with one another. Before adding any supplement to your routine, we recommend speaking with your healthcare practitioner.
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