If you travel by airplane for work or for pleasure or both you may experience the stress of fatigue during or after a flight. Since there is a demand for my work in helping people reduce their stress my work is again about to take me across several times zones in a plane. I am in the middle of my preparation so I thought today I would write a short blog posting on one habit I always embrace before, during and after flying to help me keep healthy and stress free.

Before and During the Flight

I am not a doctor so you can check this out for yourself but I have read that during a flight due to the air conditioning adults can lose up to 24 oz or 2/3 of a liter of precious body water content. This dehydration can mess up my thinking and perhaps, yours too. So it makes sense that before you (and I) fly to make sure we are well hydrated by sipping water on the day of departure.

Also, it is recommended that during the flight make sure to drink water and be aware that if you drink diuretics like pop, coffee and alcohol during the flight you will need to drink more water to compensate for the dehydration this type of drinks causes. A good rule of thumb I heard is for every cup of a diuretic you drink, drink a cup of water.

Also, if you eat water laden vegetables and fruits during the flight this will also help counter dehydration. It is best in my experience to avoid eating nuts and other dry foods that require your body to take in more water to digest them. So no more in flight mini pretzels! Perhaps, the ‘post flight fatigued feeling’ that you have had in the past was only caused by dehydration. Check it out and see what happens for you.

On Arrival

Are you going to somewhere cold? You may be surprised that you need to drink more water in cold as well as in hot climates. If you are in a cold climate I have read your lungs will work harder to get inside you the precious oxygen you need to survive. This extra work draws the moisture out of your lungs quicker and your lungs must stay moist to function properly. In a hot climate, as you most likely know, you need to drink more water as the heat draws water from your body.

On arrival you need to continue sipping water throughout the day so you will need to get to you baggage as soon as you can and find and fill up your water bottle so you have water availalble to drink. If you don’t have a water bottle to carry with you when you are traveling you will want to check out the Stainless Steel Water Bottle review I posted here. Some bottles are insulated so they stay cool longer. Check out the details.

If you are looking for more information on the importance of water in your body or you are looking for this information to share with a friend. You can read this other posting Ten reasons why water is important for your Success and Wellness.

The best of everything to you always,

David

Hello again,

To reduce stress and increase our success and wellness it is a well known fact that we need to eat healthy. But whose opinion do you trust? I went to the popular search engine ‘Google’ and keyed in the words ‘Healthy Eating Opinions’. The result right now is over ten million opinions! I know this is by no means perfect research on how many opinions are available but go along with me on this for a minute – imagine there are over ten million opinions on what is healthy eating on ‘Google’ alone. In fact, you and I both know there are probably as many opinions of what healthy eating is as there are people on the planet who want to voice their opinion.

Now what is your personal opinion of what makes up healthy eating? Please leave comment after reading this article.

Personally, I have developed my opinion from reading countless numbers of scientific journal articles from sources like The Lancet. I went to journals like The Lancet because I found references in books on dieting and healthy eating and I wanted to check the source.

Indeed, when I have read healthy eating books and books on foods I am always curious as to the accuracy of what is being said. You may have read some of the many books I have read which has included The South Beach Diet, Dr. Atkin’s Diet Revolution, Fit for Life, Beyond the 120 Year Diet, The Food Connection, The Power of Superfoods, Eat Right 4 Your Type… and the list goes on and on. And as you know the list of new books grows each day. Now I don’t necessarily agree with any of the opinions in these books but they all make for interesting reading.

Now to the Two Ps of Healthy Eating as promised in the title of this posting

This is a quick and simple suggestion that I have read about in many, many books and it simply makes sense to follow it to help provide you with healthy eating options at the end of each day.

One

Plan the foods you are going to eat in the week ahead by making a list and use this to make your grocery list – always make sure you make your list before you go to the store

Two

Prepare foods in bulk in advance whenever possible for the week ahead or even the day ahead. For example, a big pot of soup can be made and refrigerated or even frozen to give you easy access to a high amount of nourishing vegetables at each evening meal. Note: another way to have extra food prepared and not have to simply spend time cooking every day is to double cook what you are preparing for a present meal (like for example, rice) and store it in the fridge to save you time the next evening.

Simple ideas, you bet and if you like the idea of simple healthy eating tips you may be interested in an inexpensive eBook I wrote that includes meal planning tips, how to know if you are eating a balanced meal in five seconds or less and how to make shopping for healthy foods fun for all the family. This book is not a diet book but a guide book on how to make it easier for you to apply healthy eating habits. Follow the link to Simplfy Healthy Eating Habits  to learn more.

In closing, I do recommend if you are interested in healthy eating to get a copy of Prescription for Nutritional Healing since it is one of the resources you will find in many health food stores used by the health food store staff. It is one of the books I used after going to nutritional courses to help me remember what minerals and vitamins are in which foods. Its current edition is over 800 pages and still inexpensive.

I also recommend you get a copy of Your Body’s Many Cries for Water. Of course, it is not a book on food but an invaluable book on water that helps you understand the importance of water and how it relates to living a healthy, successful, low stress life.

Your friend on the journey, David

Hi, my life changed when I started to drink water regularly. So I am never surprised that when I visit major medical websites like the world famous  www.MayoClinic.com and search for information on actions I can take to help increase the health in my body and I find the suggestion: drink water. It may seem obvious to you but to many people drinking water daily is not a common practice until a health issue arrives. Consult with your Doctor and take note of the follow TEN things water is used for directly and indirectly in your body.

Number one

Water helps keep your lungs moist so you can breath easier especially on hot or cold days.

Number two

Water helps keep your eyes moist so you can see clearly and experience less eye fatigue.

Number three

Water helps keep your mouth moist so you can create saliva so you can digest easier and speak more comfortably.

Number four

Water helps you regulate your body temperature – extremely important.

Number five

Water helps protect your organs  and tissues.

Number six

Water helps prevent constipation.

Number seven

Water helps dissolves minerals and other nutrients in the body.

Number eight

Water lessens the burden on your kidneys and liver by flushing out waste products.

Number nine

Water helps your body recover from mental and physical fatigue.

Number ten

Water carries nutrients and oxygen to cells in the brain and other parts of the body.

Number ten is extremely important to remember as you go about your day so that you experience less stress and higher levels of mental clarity. Once again, it is water carries nutrients and oxygen to cells in the brain.

IMPORTANT NOTE: A few years ago I read the pioneering book on the life changing impact water has on the human body. The book was called ‘Your Body’s Many Cries for Water’ By Dr. Batmanghelidj. You can visit the Doctors site and read scientific articles he has posted via this link http://www.watercure.com/

How to get the Book: On the Doctor’s site you can buy a copy of the pioneering book or to save approximately thirty percent on your purchase price you can visit Amazon and get the same book less expensively. Here is the amazon link: Your Body’s Many Cries for Water

I recommend you get a copy of  Your Body’s Many Cries for Water for yourself and for anyone you know who will benefit from this information. I cannot emphasis more the importance of understanding what water does in your  body.

I also recommend if you are looking for a healthy solution to carry your water with you check out my Stainless Steel Water bottle review.

Plus you need to read my article Poison in the Tap water – notes on a TV documentary.

The best of everything to you,

David

P.S. To my surprise I still meet many people who are NOT aware of the importance of water to how our body functions. I urge you to do your friends and co-workers a favour by forwarding to them the link to this post with a simply “Read this valuable Info”. The difference you could make could be life changing.