A couple of week’s ago the 9to5 Foodie kindly wrote a guest post for us on how to prepare your body for travel. As the last post was so successful the 9to5 foodie has created a second guide on how to stay healthy whilst travelling. Enjoy!
Obviously you can prepare yourself as much as you want, but if you don’t look after yourself when you’re away things can start to go downhill very quickly. Here are a few tips for when you’re away to help keep yourself healthy so you have more time to enjoy yourself!
HYDRATION
We can survive 3 weeks without food, but less than a third of that time without water.
Our body is on average 75% water, so keeping hydrated really is the most important thing you can do for your overall wellbeing.
Unfortunately keeping hydrated when you are away can prove a little more challenging then when you are at home. Often you can’t drink tap water so you have to rely on bottled water to fuel you. Although it may seem expensive constantly spending money on water, the potential effects of not keeping yourself hydrated are so much worse! The effects of dehydration can range from becoming increasingly tired, dizzy and weak to heart palpitations, vomiting and fainting.
I would recommend always keeping a full large bottle of water on you at all times, stock up with a couple more if you know it is going to be a particularly hot day or you are travelling and may not have access to clean water for a while. Ideally you want to be aiming for at least 1.5 litres a day, but if it’s hot outside this can increase up to 3 litres.
EAT LIKE A LOCAL
As I’ve mentioned above, one of the best elements of travelling is immersing yourself into a new culture, and a key factor of this is through food.
Although your body will undergo a few challenges eating new and possibly slightly less ‘clean’ food, eating like a local is your best way of ensuring you are getting the freshest and highest quality food.
There are regularly ‘western’ options when you go away, but this is really not the best route to go down. Countries have spent centuries cooking their local cuisines that utilise fresh and seasonal produce as well other ingredients readily available. By eating like the locals do you are ensuring you are more likely to be eating fresh produce that it is being eaten by the food vendor themselves.
The western options often consist of a plate of pasta or burger that has been imported in or frozen until a tourist comes along to eat it, so definitely not the same vibrant and fresh meal the local next door to you would be eating!
Although it may be a little shock to the system and your tummy may rebel the first day (hopefully not if you are taking your probiotics) it is definitely worth continuing down that road rather than choosing the beige, defrosted western version.
LET YOURSELF HEAL
Sometimes you can have prepared yourself for all eventualities, but you still get ill.
If this is the case then it’s so important that you give your body a chance to heal. If you keep going and don’t rest you will very quickly get worse and no one wants to be very ill on the other side of the world!
A few things you can do to speed up recovery:
- Drink Up – I know I sound like a broken record but this really is the key to overall health. Add a pinch of salt to your water to help rehydrate you quicker and replace some of the minerals you may have lost.
- Eat Up – Natural wholefoods are packed full of vitamins that can help the body heal. If you have an upset stomach look to include mint, fennel, bananas or plain yogurt into your meals, if it’s a cold then adding ginger, honey, garlic and turmeric will do the trick.
- Rest Up – There is nothing like a little down time to let your body heal. If you continue rushing around you will just make yourself worst and what started as a small cold soon turns into something more serious. If you get ill, take a day or two to relax wherever you are and give you body a chance to focus on fighting the virus.
Despite all of the above, the main thing is to enjoy yourself and make the most of the experiences you get whilst away!
