With the new opportunities to drop back into travel, there’s even greater attention to our health and wellness. Traveling can be stressful, that is why prioritizing your mental and physical wellbeing (pre, current and post-travel) is crucial when working to ensure that you are getting the most out of your travels, without compromising your health.
Nora Tobin, performance enhancement and executive coach to Fortune 100 companies, nutrition specialist and CEO of Nora’s Naturals coffee, has some go-to strategies for enhancing immunity and energy when traveling in this new Covid-conscious world.
Here are Nora’s top 6 tips to enhance immunity before your next big travel plans:
Tip #1: Increase Vitamin D3
Aim for 10-15 minutes of time in the sunshine per day or take a vitamin D supplement to reach optimal levels of the essential vitamin. You can also add foods rich in vitamin D such as egg yolks, fish and grass-fed beef. Vitamin D not only protects bones, but plays an important role in overall immunity. The cells in the immune system can synthesize and respond to vitamin D.
Tip #2: Eat Protective Foods
Add in three powerhouse foods to your nutritional routine, whether home or away. Walnuts are rich in ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid), which is a potent antioxidant that recycles Vitamin C and Glutathione. Berries are power-packed with protective antioxidants that reduce inflammation, neutralize the oxidative stress that causes damage to our DNA, and help protect against pathogens. Lastly, olive oil is high in Vitamin K, which boosts the brain’s processing speed, and increases cellular turnover.
It could be a work dinner where you are asking for extra olive oil, bringing a small box of berries on the plane, or grabbing a handful of walnuts between meetings- your brain and body will reward you for these anti-inflammatory, antiviral choices.
Tip #3: Try out some sugar swaps
Try swapping some sugary and salty snacks for a healthier alternative. For example, you can swap those salted pretzels for nuts, trade that high-fat salad dressing for olive oil and salt, try eating dark chocolate instead of candy, switch out soda for coffee, and try tequila or vodka with citrus and club soda instead of the traditionally sugary cocktails.
Tip #4: Accelerate energy with plank exercises
Try to boost your energy levels naturally with these simple exercises and tips! Engage in various plank exercises throughout your travels to get the blood flowing and restore energy levels. Try a forearm plank, side plank, straight arm plank, and/or a straight-arm plank with a shoulder touch. Planks engage all the main muscle groups of the core and glutes, taking pressure off the low back and negating the effects of sitting. Any type of plank will boost energy and improve productivity. Perform the following plank series 3-4 times per day, holding each plank for 30-60 seconds.
Tip #5: Enjoy clean caffeine
Some days copious amounts of caffeine may be required to just maintain the pace. After the morning of coffee, it can be very beneficial for energy and eventually deep sleep to switch to matcha. Matcha tea contains three times as many antioxidants as standard green tea, because of the way it is harvested. The process of shading the matcha plant increases the chlorophyll and amino acid content.
Tip #6: Enhance sleep with honey
Try adding 1-2 tablespoons of honey into tea or hot water before bed. This allows the body to naturally repair throughout the night as well as restock the liver selectively without digestive burden or spiking blood sugar.. Honey also contributes to the release of melatonin, which is the hormone required for both the recovery and rebuilding of body tissues during rest. I like to travel with a small jar of raw honey that I can add to tea at night at the hotel or enjoy a spoonful to curb sugar cravings.
