How to Travel Well: Stay Healthy on the Go
Travel doesn’t have to mean bloating, dehydration, sugar crashes, and three days of “reset” when you get home.
But it often does. Not because of jet lag (we’ve got a whole post on that here), but because modern travel culture is built around convenience — and convenience, 9 times out of 10, means processed food, endocrine disruptors, and a total disregard for the human nervous system.
Let’s fix that.
1. Hydration First, Always
Planes, air-conditioned cars, and airport air all have one thing in common: they dry you out. Combine that with caffeine, salty snacks, and forgotten water bottles and you’ve got a recipe for fatigue, headaches, poor digestion, and blood sugar swings.
Do this instead:
Bring a big water bottle and actually drink from it (add electrolytes if flying)
Use electrolytes or a homemade mix (sea salt + lemon is great) - prep this dry in a bottle and then fill it once through security if travelling by plane!
Skip the alcohol and diuretics on travel days — they’ll only make things worse
Bonus tip: Drink more before you’re thirsty. If you’re flying, double your usual intake ahead of boarding.
2. Duty Free is a Trap. Don’t Go In.
Perfumes, candles, air fresheners, and endless plastic packaging = a cloud of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. That headache and brain fog in terminal 3? It’s not just from the shift in time zone.
Do this instead: Walk briskly past duty free — don’t sniff, don’t browse, don’t linger - just get through and find a good place for your movement snack!
3. Bring Your Own Food (Seriously)
Most airport food and service station food is overpriced, ultra-processed, and built for shelf life — not health.
It’s packed in seed oils, laced with sugar, and guaranteed to leave you bloated, hungry an hour later, or stuck in a terminal with £15 gone and nothing to show for it. Exceptions to the rule include Tebay services on the M6 and Seoul airport have some cracking food options (Seoul even has dark rooms for sleeping, craft activities and free excursions for long layovers... Tebay has ducks).
Easy things to prep and pack:
Boiled eggs, cold sausages, meatballs, or roast chicken thighs
Carrot sticks, cucumber, apple slices, or berries
Homemade gelatine gummies or primal brownies
Cheese, olives, pickles, or a pot of full-fat yoghurt (if cool storage allows)
Pro tip: Pack it all in Elephant Boxes that then all nest back inside each other.
4. Plan for Movement (Even in Transit)
Movement regulates energy, digestion, and mood — and we need it most when we’re sitting for hours.
In airports or service stations:
Walk laps around the terminal or car park
Do squats or lunges in a quiet corner (yup, be that person)
Use carry-on bags for deadlifts and rows — no shame in a cheeky rep or two
On the plane:
Circle ankles, roll shoulders, stretch your back
Stand up regularly if it’s a long haul flight — circulation matters — if you've got snotty air stewards telling you not to wander around, just make frequent toilet trips (see point 1).
5. Support Immunity & Gut Health
Travel = exposure to recycled air, disrupted sleep, and unfamiliar bugs.
Defensive basics:
Zinc, vitamin C, and magnesium the night before + morning of travel
Hand hygiene (not obsessive, just smart)
Plenty or pro and pre-biotics to keep your gut resilience up
Sunlight and nasal breathing to protect your respiratory system
Bonus: Grounding (barefoot on grass/sand) on arrival can regulate your nervous system and drop some inflammation after a long journey.
6. Family Travel? Lower the Bar, Not the Standards
Travelling with kids? The rules are the same — just adapted:
Bring real food they’ll actually eat (cold sausages over oat bars any day!)
Expect mess, spills, and unplanned stops — build in margin
Use travel time for bonding, stories and play — not iPad wars
Keep their hydration up too — grumpiness is often just thirst in disguise
Don’t abandon your own wellbeing completely — you’re travelling too
Remember: Disregulation is contagious… but so is calm. You breathe well... they breathe well!
It’s Not About Perfect, It’s About Prepared
You don’t have to be “that guy” with the full cool bag and biohacker gear (though you can be). But having just a little plan makes travel days feel radically better.
Hydration. Food you trust. Movement. Boundaries.
That’s how you travel well.
