Powerful Powders to Prime You for Travel
A strong immune system helps you stay healthy and enjoy your trip without getting sick. Here’s our picks to get in your system before you leave home.
Boosting your immune system before travel is important because travel exposes you to new environments, potential pathogens, and stressors that can weaken your defenses and increase the risk of illness.
Here’s why it’s crucial:
- New pathogens: Travel exposes you to unfamiliar bacteria, viruses, and other microbes that your body may not be accustomed to.
- Environmental changes: Changes in climate, altitude, and even the air quality can put stress on your immune system.
- Disrupted routines: Travel often disrupts sleep, eating habits, and exercise routines, all of which can impact your immune function.
- Stress and fatigue: The stress of travel and the potential for jet lag can further weaken your body’s natural defenses.
- Reduced immunity: Lowered immunity can make you more susceptible to common travel illnesses like traveler’s diarrhea, colds, and flu.
By taking proactive steps to boost your immunity before your trip, you can better equip your body to handle these challenges and minimize the risk of falling ill. A simple step is to consider immune-boosting supplements, depending on your needs. Here are some brands that never fail to get us in great shape before hitting the road, sky, or ocean.
KAL Magnesium Powder
Why magnesium glycinate as a supplement for travel? Magnesium glycinate is a combination of magnesium and the amino acid glycine, which is thought to enhance its calming effects. Beyond sleep, stress and anxiety, it’s also associated with benefits for muscle health, bone density, and blood sugar management. We find that it gives us a calm focus and reduces those pre-travel jitters, as well as relaxing muscles—if you are the type of person that gets leg cramps or have creaky or achy joints.
Our favorite brand is KAL, which has been producing supplements for almost 100 years. Better yet, they have a variety of flavors and functions perfect for the uptight traveler who might ordinarily reach for an energy bar or drink. Do yourself a favor and mix up some KAL Magnesium Powder instead. Start early, though, so that you see results before you leave home. We recommend at least 30 days for full effects, but you might even notice results immediately if you’ve been neglecting your tension.
Visit the KAL store on Amazon.
PURA VIDA Moringa
You’ve heard of green powder as a superfood but do you know about the ultimate form of it? Moringa powder is a fine powder made from the dried leaves of the Moringa oleifera tree, a plant native to parts of Africa and Asia. It is known for its high content of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This nutrient-rich powder is often used as a dietary supplement and can be added to smoothies, juices, or recipes, or taken in capsule form such as that offered by PURA VIDA, a premium, American-made supplement company. Their moringa is 100% pure and organic. Moringa is ridiculously nutritious, to the extent that it gives you a burst of energy that is sustained and supportive, and great for a long day of travel ahead of you—or quick recovery from your journey.
Moringa powder is a good source of vitamins A, C, and E, and contains essential minerals like calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium—plus all nine essential amino acids. It is rich in antioxidants, which help protect the body against damage from free radicals and the fiber and protein can only assist you on your trip.
Visit the PURA VIDA store on Amazon here.
Emergen-C
It’s easy to forget that Vitamin C is a real antioxidant and immune booster because it’s so commonplace and we often relegate it to the cold and flu basket: i.e., we start taking it when we’re already sick. But did you know that it is also essential to collagen production, iron absorption and wound healing? If you’re headed someplace where fresh fruits and veggies are not readily available, or if you’re already feeling a bit run down, take some Emergen-C now and take some with you in their handy sachets.
The brand now offers an entire range of immune support and electrolytes—which reminds us: Hydration+ will replenish your electrolytes and help beat jetlag through quick hydration; and Immune+ Crystals require no water so you can pop them on the plane.
Visit the Emergen-C store on Amazon here.
