As we are now fully immersed in the month of December and the “holidays” are upon us, many of you may be entering an airplane in the near future. It’s not uncommon for the number of flights to double between the dates of Thanksgiving and New Years within the US, so I wanted to give you my “TIPS FOR SAFE TRAVEL” because you may not know that flying can put a strain on your health!
- The damage on your body begins quickly–as soon as you get to security to go through the scanner. Even though it’s a low amount of radiation, it’s still radiation.
- Dehydration is a major issue while flying. This is one of the major reasons you feel horrible when you land.
- Sickness and Disease! Because you are in very tight quarters with little circulation, every cough, sneeze and sniffle could affect you. And I say COULD, why? Because if your immune system is strong enough it doesn’t matter who coughs on you or even kisses you. They could take a big swill of ginger ale or tomato juice, backwash into the can, force it on you and you’d still walk away as healthy as a horse. It’s ALWAYS your fault because its always YOUR immune system.
- More Radiation! The scanners are MINIMAL compared to the flying itself. Take a full-body scan and multiply it a few thousand times. The longer the flight — and subsequently the higher and closer you fly near the North Pole — the greater the dose. On a roundtrip flight from Washington, D.C., to Beijing, for example, you easily exceed the 100-microSievert dose you would get from a chest X-ray.
HOW TO STAY HEALTHY WHEN FLYING:
Supplement your body before, during and after each flight. At a minimum, take:
- Vitamin D3: 10,000 IU
- N-acetyl cysteine: 1000 mg
- Vitamin E: 800 IU
- Iodine synergy: 1 capsule (protects from radiation)
- Probiotics: 150 billion
- Curcumin: 2000mg
- Chlorella: 2 capsules
- Vitamin C: 5000mg
While in the airport, drink lots of water and YES, it will unfortunately have to be out of a plastic bottle, putting you at some risk of absorbing some BPA toxicity–because you can’t get glass (or any more than 3 oz. of anything for that matter) through security. But you can look for Fiji because their bottles are less toxic.
On the plane, I drink as much water as I can and also get up and walk around at least once per hour.
What to Eat?
This is difficult because almost all airport food is highly toxic and of low quality. Hopefully you know at the very least to avoid the McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s food court options. I look for salads and vegetables. My favorite is avocado because they are loaded with healthy fats and you can meet your meal requirements by eating 4 or 5 of them in one sitting.
I also bring small 2.5 oz glass bottles with a screw top lid that I fill with olive oil and balsamic vinegar before leaving the house. This allows me to buy a salad and put a healthy dressing on top of it that I can feel secure that I’m in control of it.
Or, if you’re able, just eat a big, hearty, healthy meal before you even get to the airport and see if you can make it the entire trip without succumbing to airport cuisine. That’s the ideal solution.
A funky little tip
The lack of humidity in airplanes causes most people’s eyes to become more dry than normal. This makes them more susceptible to picking up a pathogen (cold or flu virus for example) through their eyes. Bring a little bottle of eyedrops with you on your flight and while you are keeping yourself hydrated, keep your eyes hydrated while you’re at it.
Of course, it’s good to wash your hands more often than usual when traveling long distances with hundreds of other people. If your immune system is up to par, it shouldn’t matter who or what you come in contact with, but that would take months of prior preparation (which I hope you’re doing).
Just in general, however, if you follow these steps, you can focus more on enjoying your trip than the possibility of affecting your health by traveling.
Dr. Aaron Ernst, D.C. is host of News Talk 1110 WBT’s “AskDrErnst” show and clinic director of Maximized Living Charlotte.
He specializes in providing customized nutritional and detoxification total body healing programs, utilizing the 5 Essentials of Maximized Living.