03 Feb WHAT TO EAT – AND AVOID EATING AT ALL COSTS – BEFORE A FLIGHT

FUEL-UP RIGHT DURING YOUR EXECUTIVE FLIGHT

The world of the executive is often teeming with long hours, hectic meetings and ultimate exhaustion. When it comes time to travel for your job, you can expect more of the same, only in concentrated doses and in foreign environments. The executive traveler’s life on the road can be fraught with disagreeable airports, uncomfortable hotel rooms or a lack of adequate and punctual transportation. All of these things conspire to create an environment verging on unbearable. Fortunately, the clever executive traveler will have a few tricks up his or her sleeve to make their work travel experience agreeable and comfortable. Among them? Choosing the right foods for flights. Air travel can be one of the most challenging parts of the executive’s work life, and eating the wrong foods before a lengthy flight can spell disaster for comfort and energy levels and productivity. If you’re wondering which foods to eat before a flight, take a glance at our list below.

WATER

This simply has to be the first item on our list, for a variety of reasons. For starters, water is vital to the efficient function of the human body, and for travelers, this fact is even more true. For the majority of business travelers, long hours spent on planes or waiting in terminals can physically and mentally wear them down, and when you add dehydration on top of the exhaustion, productivity during a business trip is essentially impossible.

Water helps maintain cell balance, keep your skin healthy and keep your kidneys functioning normally. The first snack you should enjoy for your next business trip is definitely a bottle of water.

LEAN PROTEIN

Airline food is usually nothing to write home about. This is why being fueled up before you get on a plane is so important.

However, indulging in fatty foods before a long flight is simply not ideal. Fat can make you feel groggy, which is never a good thing when in-flight productivity is important. Lean meats, like chicken breast, boiled egg whites and beef jerky can help you feel full while also giving you energy so if you aren’t feeling that questionable airline dinner, you can pull out your favorite protein-packed snack and keep on trucking throughout your flight.

Trail Mix

This is an easily-packaged, protein rich snack combination that will make your flight worlds better than paying an outrageous fee for an on-flight pudding. Trail mix can have nuts, raisins, chocolate (if you choose), sunflower seeds and a variety of other delicious, energy-stuffed treats that will make your flight go by quickly and won’t upset your stomach. Changes in cabin pressure can give even the iron-stomached among us indigestion or nausea; fight the onset with healthy, energy-rich foods that you can pour into a plastic baggy and be on your way.

WHAT TO AVOID?

Almost as valuable as knowing what to eat is knowing what not to eat before or during a flight. Avoid food that will exacerbate intestinal discomforts; onions, beans, and certain vegetables are the usual suspects. Additionally, avoiding heavy or greasy foods and carbonated beverages before and during your flight can help keep your stomach as calm as possible.

Air travel is rarely a fun experience, especially for those of us who try to eat right and stay optimally healthy. Airline food is usually a disappointment, and the conditions of airplanes often lead to discomfort and even sickness. Luckily, eating the right foods beforehand and during your flight can help relieve your woes and keep you fueled up throughout your flight.

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