Traveling on long uncomfortable flights leads you to the consumption of that microwaved, premium & delicious meal. So would you hold on to that hunger till your get down or go with in-flight meal?
Every second person thinks that in-flight meal is nothing, but little pick-me-up to pass through the flight. Travelers generally overeat in order to pass idle time. They generally consider it as a diversion. However, most of you are unaware of the fact that having a meal in flight negatively impacts your digestive system & leads to jet lag.
At high altitude, your digestive system shuts down completely. It appears as if you have been given anesthesia. When you get off the plane, your digestive system restarts & has to do so much work & hence you feel more tired.
It is important to understand what happens to your body oxygen levels on the flight. Since you sit for hours & your body isn’t moving, blood flow significantly halts. This factor contributes to low oxygen levels. Besides, flight cabins are pressured to imitate 8000 foot altitude so your body cannot absorb much oxygen in such state. The question arises what reduced oxygen levels have to do with the digestive system? Digestive system needs oxygen to breakdown food & move it through the muscular tract. Therefore when your body is not circulating blood as it should have, your body has low oxygen levels & makes it difficult to digest the in-flight meal.
Furthermore, drop in oxygen level can make you feel sleepy. However, skipping meals can do more harm to you & make you feel weak & stiff. Ideally what you should do:
- Have a wholesome meal a couple of hours before boarding the flight. The meal can be rich in protein, fats & fibre. Having a green salad with nuts & avocado is a great meal to keep you full.
- Keep yourself hydrated, so avoid having alcohol during flight.
- Avoid having breads, cakes & cookies.
- Drink lots & lots of water. This will make you feel full.
- Have lot of fibre rich foods such as fruits & greens vegetables. Prefer carrying your own food & snacks while flying.
- Avoid that heavy calorie foods such as mashed potatoes or fried chicken
- Keep a container full of nuts which may act as snacks.
- Avoid legumes & spices & reduce consumption of caffeine since it can disturb your gut.
- Infuse lemon, cucumber & mint to water which will act as an antioxidant.
What do consume before boarding the flight?
Your meal before boarding flight should have minimal sugar so have a lot of protein & fibre rich foods. Grab a fruit which is high in potassium & can help regulate blood pressure and help ease any muscle cramps you face during a flight. Consider oranges too, since they are rich in Vitamin C, which helps to boost immunity. Make a smoothie by blending your favorite fruits like green apple or kiwi with almond milk.
What to consume post flight?
Since you may be in a situation of sleep deprivation & you need your body to bounce back, prefer having energy boosters such as green tea, ginger in warm water, bananas of dark chocolate. Prefer having antioxidants powered fruits to boost your immune system. Also consider almond butter with crackers & nuts with yogurt that keep up your energy level.
