Jill’s Favorite Functional Flight Foods

Flying is hard on your body for many reasons–it can leave you dehydrated, constipated, exposed to extra germs & radiation, not to mention stressed. Here are a few tricks for protecting yourself:

1. Carry Green, Red or White Tea Bags
   The antioxidants help protect you from the extra radiation at high alititudes and, of course, tea is hydrating. Get some hot water after you pass through security and enjoy your tea before, during or right after your flight.

2. Garlic
   Approximately 20% of travellers catch a cold after flying, so eating this natural germ-killer (ideally raw) is a small price to pay for prevention. Try putting 2 cloves of crushed garlic in some salsa, bruschetta or any other meal right before or after you fly.

3. Walnuts
   The omega-3 fatty acids help keep your stress level down and the usual nut-quantity-problem (so hard to stop at just one serving!) is avoided because you’ll only pack 1 ounce to begin with. Eat nuts in place of starches on a flight because you don’t need the carbs when you are so sedentary.

4. Bran-a-Crisp Crackers
   Eat a couple of these with plenty of water and they will not only fill you up, but also solve any post-flight constipation problems. You can find them at Whole Foods, Gelson’s or my office.

5. Cottage Cheese & Frozen Berries
   This makes a great travel snack because the protein keeps your metabolism up and the frozen berries keep the whole thing cool for hours.

Happy travels!