Healthy diet while travelling: how to avoid health crises on the plane?

To take advantage of the special meal option, report your dietary needs to the LOT Contact Center, via Manage My Booking or at LOT sales offices. Remember that you must request the service no later than 24/48 hours before your scheduled departure.

Important information: Special meals are available in all service classes on long-haul flights, in LOT Business Class on short-haul flights, and in LOT Premium Economy and LOT Economy Class on medium-haul flights (Astana, Tashkent, Dubai, and Riyadh). In case of special allergies or health requirements, it is worth confirming the availability of the selected meal with the airline representative before the flight.

Unfortunately, there are no home remedies to relieve allergy symptoms, reports Joanna Zielewska. We can hydrate the body more, a small antihistamine effect is chamomile infusion and nigella oil, but such products are unlikely to be taken on a trip.

You can also take care of preparing healthy meals yourself. Transporting food on long flights, especially if there is doubt about the availability of adequate meals (for example, due to allergies, gluten-free, vegan, lactose-free diets or other special dietary needs), requires adequate preparation.

Vacuum containers can help keep food fresh for a long time by eliminating air access, which prevents spoilage. Vacuum lunch boxes can help you maintain healthy eating habits on the go. They are great for sandwiches for travel, healthy salads or other foods that need to be kept cool.

Another idea is small containers or zip pouches, convenient for storing smaller portions of food, such as nuts, fruits, vegetable chips, oatmeal cookies or other small snacks. It is important to close them tightly to prevent possible spillage.

For products that need to be kept cool, it's a good idea to bring a thermal bag that will help maintain the right temperature for several hours. Such bags are especially useful if you're taking along a meal based on protein or vegetable products that spoil easily.

Such packs can also be useful after you land. You can prepare a healthy meal for a day of sightseeing while still in your suite, take it with you, and not worry that hunger will prevent you from exploring a new place.

It's a good idea to take along products that don't require refrigeration, such as nuts, fresh or dried fruits, mixed nuts, protein bars, crackers, vegetable chips, fresh vegetables and grain products such as oatmeal cookies or cereal wafers.

You can take healthy food from fresh produce in the form of ready-made meals, such as salads (for example, salad with quinoa, vegetables, hummus), sandwiches or wraps, homemade muesli with yogurt, which stand up well to transportation in vacuum packs or airtight containers.

Plenty of water is essential. If you have special needs (for example, a vegetable drink, juice), you can take a beverage in a plastic bottle, but keep in mind that there are limits on the volume of liquids in hand luggage (up to 100 ml per container) when passing through security checks in most countries. You can also purchase beverages on board the plane.

Alternatively, to take care of hydration during a long trip, you can bring a filter bottle with you, which you fill with water at the airport after passing through security.

Many vegetables or healthy sources of protein, in the form of complicated dishes, will probably contain the necessary nutrients, but may turn out to be bulky. When travelling, a form of quick snacks will work much better. Divide healthy snacks into smaller portions that will be easy to store and consume during the flight.

Instead of one large salad, consider preparing several small containers with different ingredients. That way, if something in the food spoils or goes bad, you always have a supply to fill your energy needs.

Before you fly, familiarize yourself with the rules for transporting food on board. Many countries have restrictions on the import of certain foods (for example, fresh fruit, meat, cheese), especially for long distances. It's a good idea to check whether the food you are transporting on your trip is prohibited in your destination country.

Remember that food transported in carry-on luggage must fit in specific containers (for example, up to 100 ml per liquid) and may require additional screening by security services, especially if the food contains liquids or pastes.

You should also remember to take nuts, seeds, or a pack of dried fruits such as dried prunes — they are caloric, but very filling and ensure that you do not travel with an overloaded stomach, as they minimize the risk of constipation and magnesium deficiency, which improves the comfort of travel.

“I advise against fruit juices, sweet drinks. These, thick ones that need to be stored in the refrigerator, can ferment and will only give us trouble. If you have problems with jumping sugar levels — avoid snacks in tubes. Such mousses have a high glycaemic index, and even those without added sugar, the sugar rises,” the nutritionist warns.

A longer trip involves several factors that can adversely affect glycaemia. These include fluid deficit and immobility.

As we mentioned before, to maintain healthy eating habits while travelling, you can't forget about hydration. Water is essential for many processes in the body, plus this bottled, mineral water helps replenish minerals. On an aeroplane, you must scrupulously observe hydration, as water escapes much faster than usual. It can be assumed that you should drink as much more water as the number of hours you are on the trip.

Water should be lukewarm, or even better, warm — such water is best for relaxation, facilitates digestion (supporting pancreatic function and proper insulin secretion), and dilates blood vessels, preventing pressure from rising. Remember that hypertension and diabetes are diseases that depend on each other. When blood pressure rises, stress hormone levels also rise, and this raises sugar.

What's more, regular hydration while travelling will help keep your skin healthy, the condition of which is also sometimes strained, by exposing it to many changes and overload.

By the way, remember that travel is not a fashion revue — clothes are to be loose, even oversized and without straps, and socks are to be squeeze-free. Don't wear tight stiff jeans that put pressure on the abdomen, groin area around the knees when sitting — swelling develops under such conditions. Diabetics are prone to them, as excess sugar causes thickening of the arteries and loss of elasticity. Impaired circulation means fluid retention and edema.

If it's diabetes that requires insulin, the diabetic should carry a certificate that he or she has the disease. Make sure medications don't need to be stored at a specific temperature. This is especially important if you are just learning to control your blood glucose, and if you are travelling alone.

The only risks are those associated with changing time zones and changing insulin administration times. If you're not sure if you can handle it, it's best to ask your doctor for advice before you leave. On the other hand, if you are treating your diabetes with an insulin pump, rapid pressure changes during takeoff and landing can interfere with insulin pumps. This can lead to uncontrolled insulin release or blocked insulin delivery.

The key is to prepare your gut for the different “set” of bacteria found in the drinking water — and, by extension, in the food — where you go. It may be different from what your body is used to. People with more sensitive stomachs react with intestinal complaints even miles from home.

Good gut bacteria are invaluable in preventing and alleviating allergies. They seal the epithelium, and the tighter it is, the less unwanted, allergenic substances it lets through. So if you disrupt their balance by introducing unfamiliar tenants into the intestines, it's not unlikely that allergies will worsen.

Without probiotics, diarrhea — including travel-related diarrhea — is harder to combat. Good bacteria also stimulate intestinal function, so they can crack down on constipation.

When planning a trip, start feeding your microbiota with probiotic preparations 1–2 weeks in advance. Such time allows for adequate colonization of the intestines by beneficial microorganisms, which can help protect against gastrointestinal problems during the trip. Continue the treatment during your stay in the new place and a few days after your return. Strains of probiotic bacteria that can relieve allergy symptoms include several well-studied types:

• Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Bifidobacterium bifidum are some of the best studied strains that promote the treatment of AD and food allergies.
• Lactobacillus casei is also effective in relieving allergic symptoms, especially when the food allergy has skin symptoms (itching, hives).
• Lactobacillus plantarum has immunomodulatory properties and can support allergy treatment by improving immune system function and stabilizing the intestinal barrier.

Preparing provisions for the trip is one thing, but what next? How to continue eating healthy on holiday? Composing a healthy diet when time is short and interesting places are plentiful can be a challenge.

Preparing lunch on the go is not always possible. Moreover, it is not always a priority. After all, cuisine is part of culture — thus, trying local dishes is part of getting to know a new place. However, if you own a sensitive stomach, then don't forget about your limitations and do it with your head.

Occasionally, you may come across healthy regional dishes that are wholesome meals, full of healthy sources of protein, whole grain products and healthy sources of fat. In such a situation, of course, you have nothing to worry about. What, however, when local dishes are not among the snacks that are easy to digest? Unless you are allergic to the ingredients in it, but heavier dishes easily cause discomfort in your stomach, a sure solution is to order one dish to share between you and your travelling companions. This way, you will sample the flavours of a particular place without overloading your digestive system.

How about preparing provisions for your trip? If you're moving around a lot while visiting your destination, again, a lunch box can be helpful. Carry snacks in a lunch box to save money on “eating out,” and to be sure of the nutritional value of the meals you eat.

Don't have the time or inclination to prepare lunch on the go? Fortunately, healthy food options are now increasingly available in the form of ready-made products in stores or gas stations. Healthy ready-made products to look out for on store shelves include: fresh vegetables or porridge with hummus and muesli with yogurt, which are often available in plastic cups, cereal products in the form of whole-grain crackers or sugar-free cookies, and premade sandwiches full of vegetables and healthy sources of protein.

While we discourage eating fast food and sugary sodas, at the same time, in most situations, we do not recommend carrying out weight reduction while on holiday. Holidays should be a time for relaxation and freedom.

In addition, the changes brought about by travel, a new environment, possible stress and sometimes even a change of time zone, are themselves sometimes a great overload on the body. During a trip, it is important to choose products that will help the body recover quickly.

Moreover, trips often involve increased physical activity, and this leads to increased energy requirements. Trying to reduce the amount of food you eat while travelling can lead to more strain than you would assume. In short, it is better to prepare a healthy sandwich full of nutritional value during trips, rather than eating cereal waffles alone and risking a noticeable drop in form.