People who travel should consider taking supplements every day. Travelers are constantly being exposed to new people, new surroundings, new germs, new foods, and many other foreign things that can send their bodies for a loop! Taking the right supplements can make your travels far more enjoyable. They can reduce your chances of getting, tired, or sick, and make adjusting back to normal life far easier! Travelers can benefit from supplements for many different reasons. For one, it’s important to keep your immune system healthy and strong for new surroundings that can expose you to germs, illnesses, diseases, and more. Certain supplements can also help with your digestive health, seeing as you will be eating food that is new to your body, or just eating out a lot more frequently. There are also supplements that can help with motion sickness, jet lag, etc.
If you’re a traveler, you’re going to need this list of our Top 10 Best Supplements for Travelers. You’re welcome!
Adaptogens:
An adaptogen is an all natural herbal medicine taken to help the body adapt to stress. It works by exerting a normalizing effect on the natural body processes. Cortisol is the stress hormone in our bodies. When our cortisol levels are elevated, we can experience chronic stress which affects us both mentally and physically. When traveling, it’s easy for our cortisol levels to rise. Whether it’s because of deadlines, schedules, work, money, etc., it’s not uncommon to need to de-stress.
Adaptogens are an all natural way to lower your cortisol levels to avoid chronic stress. Ginseng is one of the more well known examples of an adaptogen. Holy basil, ashwagandha, licorice root, and rhodiola are some other examples. These can all be consumed in different ways, from teas to capsules. Choose whatever works best for your lifestyle!
Melatonin:
Melatonin is a natural hormone in our brain that lets us know when it is time to unwind and/or go to sleep. Melatonin occurs naturally on a daily basis, but it’s easy for our brain’s internal clock to become thrown off while traveling. Our brains release melatonin as the sun begins to set and our days start to end. However, if you’ve been on a plane all day, in an office, in a meeting, in your car or trailer, etc., it can be quite difficult to fall asleep without any help. Jet lag is no joke!
Taking melatonin supplements an hour before bedtime will help you get some much needed, all natural shut eye after a long day of travel. They’re easy to find and affordable. You can’t take too much, and they’re perfect solution to jet lag.
Probiotics:
All travelers should be taking probiotics every morning! Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are actually good for our health! Probiotics are commonly referred to as “good” bacteria. It’s an interesting concept, and it works! Probiotics are a bacteria that we actually encourage in our bodies! Our bodies are actually full of bacteria. Some are good, some are bad. Probiotics are essential. They help keep our gut healthy!
Probiotics work in various ways. One way they keep us healthy is by replacing good bacteria when our bodies are in need. For example, after taking antibiotics, our bodies lose “good” bacteria. They also work by keeping a proper balance between our “good” and “bad” bacteria. Probiotics are perfect for travelers because they keep your digestive health in check. All sicknesses and diseases start in the gut, so it’s very important to take care of your gut. Who wants a cold or another illness when traveling? Also, when your body is constantly being exposed to new food choices, it’s easy for stomach problems to creep in. Probiotics keep everything moving at the right pace so your metabolism doesn’t have to change just because your food is changing!
Anti-Microbials:
Anti-microbials are natural antibiotics that are commonly used to keep bad bacteria and illnesses out of the body. Anti-microbials are essentially probiotics, meaning that they control the amount of bacteria in your body. As we’ve discussed, it’s easy for travelers to catch colds and other illnesses, which is why it’s so important to be ready to fight off those nasty germs.
However, while antibiotics are meant to positively reduce the amount of bacteria in your gut, this also means that your body isn’t necessarily ready to fight off whatever comes charging at it if you always have anti-microbials in your gut. This means that these natural antibiotics should only be taken as needed, such as when you are sick or feel a sickness coming on. Berberine, wild oregano oil, olive leaf, aloe juice, and raw wildflower honey are just a few examples of highly effective anti-microbials that would be wonderful for travelers.
Vitamin C:
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant with loads of benefits. The main benefit is its ability to help the body form and maintain connective tissue. Vitamin C fights bacteria, viruses, infections, promotes strong and healthy bones, skin, and teeth, boosts the body’s ability to heal wounds and cuts, and so much more. It’s hard to get enough vitamin C through your diet alone, especially when your immune system needs to be at a ridiculously high level. Vitamin C supplements are easy to take and affordable. Travelers absolutely need to keep vitamin C in their suitcases!
Activated Charcoal:
Activated charcoal is another one of the amazing and surprising supplements that will have travelers jumping for joy! Activated charcoal is a natural and potent treatment that is used to trap toxins and chemicals in the body. Trapping them allows them to be flushed out so that the body doesn’t reabsorb them. Activated charcoal is made from many different sources so it’s important to know what you’re looking for. When it comes to natural healing, look for the kind that is made from coconut shells and other natural ingredients.
Activated charcoal has many uses and benefits. Perhaps the most common use comes from the supplement’s ability to provide safe and effective treatment for poisoning and drug overdoses. Emergency trauma centers swear by activated charcoal. It’s even better than stomach pumping in most cases! Aside from emergency toxin removal, it is used as a digestive cleanse. Activated charcoal promotes a healthy digestive tract and as we all know, that’s where all the toxins live and take over! Doing a digestive cleanse will remove toxins that cause allergic reactions, oxidative damage, and weak immune system levels. When these toxins are removed from our body, our energy and mental function levels increase, joint pain is reduced, immune system health sky rockets, and you are ready for travel!
Activated charcoal has other benefits such as teeth whitening, alleviation of gas and bloating, anti-aging effects, and so much more. What will you use it for?!
Indole-3-Carbinol:
Indole-3-carbinol is a substance that can be produced in a laboratory to be taken in supplement form but it can also be found naturally in vegetables such as broccoli, brussel sprouts, collards, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, mustard greens, turnips, and rutabagas. It is frequently used to prevent many different forms of cancer, fibromyalgia, tumors, abnormal cell growth, and more. However, when it comes to travelers, there are three benefits that you don’t want to miss out on. Indole-3-carbinol is used to support the immune system, detoxify the liver, and detoxify the intestines. No viruses for you travelers!
Taking an indole-3-carbinol in the morning will help you be virus free for all of your travels!
Ginger:
Are you one of those travels who gets motion sickness? Airplane, bus, boat, car – it’s pretty hard to avoid motion while traveling. Thankfully, ginger is an all natural and extremely effectively solution to the problem. Ginger root has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for a very long time as a treatment for stomach aches and nausea.
Try drinking ginger tea or taking some powdered ginger capsules before your next trip!
Curcumin or Digestive Enzymes:
Curcumin, commonly referred to as turmeric, is a bright yellow chemical produced by some plants and is the principal curcuminoid of turmeric. Turmeric is part of the ginger family. Curcumin is commonly used as an herbal supplement for a long list of health benefits from working as an anti-depressant, to treating inflammation, cancer, and more.
For travelers, something that is really great about curcumin supplements, is their long list of benefits. Instead of packing all your different pills and supplements into your toiletry bag, curcumin can pretty much do it all! Skip the aspirin, ibuprofen, anti-depressants, painkillers, and more.
Also, curcumin is extremely good for your digestive and liver health! As we’ve discussed, keeping your digestive health in check while traveling is so important. Plus you’ll thank us later if you’re trying new foods all over the world and are prone to indigestion or heartburn.
Zinc Lozenges:
Zinc is an essential trace element and actually a type of metal. Zinc is necessary every day in small amounts to maintain proper health and functions daily. Zinc helps with hormone production, growth and repair, immune system health, and digestive health. It exists within the body’s tissue and creates healthy cell division. It’s an antioxidant inside the body that fights free radical damage, reverses aging, and more.
In addition, zinc is also commonly used to treat colds! So for travelers, aside from taking zinc every day (maybe in your multivitamin) zinc lozenges will be your best friend when you have a cold. The reoccurring dose throughout the day will reduce the severity and duration of your cold symptoms.
