How to Stay Healthy While Traveling
Traveling whether that is a weekend trip or an international trip means changes to your sleep schedule, your diet, and activity. Which will cause stress to your body and can make you more prone to illness. Meaning when traveling you should be more intentional about how to keep yourself healthy. So let’s get started.
Supplements
I’m in the camp of preventing an illness before it can get started. Adding a few supplements to your diet can help significantly. For us, I packed a greens powder with a probiotic, Vitamin D with K2, Oil of Oregano, Zinc, Vitamin C, and some herbal teas (ie: echinacea). When picking out your supplements, quality is key. Make sure to read your labels and make sure there are no added fillers, such as, soy, gluten, or sugar.
You will probably have to pack your supplements prior to leaving, because unlike over the counter medications they will not be as easy to find in stores. Occasionally I would run across Vitamin C packets in grocery stores, but that was about it.
Exercise
We travelled for over four months, traveling from hot climates to cold climates all with only a carry on bag. Leaving very little room for unnecessary items. I love to exercise and I knew I would have to change my exercise routine to adapt. I ditched my gym membership and weights and found a packable size yoga mat on amazon, a few excise bands, and I was set. There are several apps with exercise routines on them, but I ended up using Fiton the most. Fiton has a variety of workouts to choose from, with professional trainers, and the best part is it’s free! If space and weight is even more tight you could even forgo the yoga mat.
Over the Counter Medications
If you end up needing medication for minor pain or an upset stomach finding a pharmacy should be relatively easy. So don’t feel like you have to pack a full bottle of Tylenol before leaving. A lot of pharmacies, especially in European countries, are identified by a green cross (it is not a place that sells marijuana). Know that medications will have different names, even though they are the same thing. For example, Tylenol goes by the name Paracetamol in a lot of other countries. Same compound and ingredients, just a different name.
I bought this small travel size pill organizer at Walmart a long time ago and filled it with a few medications like Tylenol, Pepto, Anti-nausea medication, and bandaids. I would put it in my day pack so if something did come up suddenly then I would have it handy. It was small, didn’t weigh heavy and I had more than enough for months of traveling.
Getting sick while trying to enjoy your vacation is so miserable. I hope this article helps you stay healthy while exploring. Let me know if you have any healthy hacks you use while traveling, I am always open to new ideas!
Cheers!
