Travel Well, Part 1: How to Prepare Your Body Before and During the Trip

Summer travel is one of life's genuine pleasures. New places, time with people you love, a break from routine -- there is real value in all of it. But if you have ever come home from a trip feeling worse than when you left -- exhausted, inflamed, or headachy -- you already know that travel is its own kind of physical event, not just a change of scenery.

As someone who has navigated complex long-term health challenges for decades, I have learned this the hard way. Travel taxes the body even under the best circumstances. Add disrupted sleep, airport food, time zone shifts, climate changes, and stressful family dynamics, and your nervous system and adrenal glands are working overtime whether you notice it or not.

The good news: a little intentional preparation makes a real difference in how you feel during the trip and how quickly you recover after. This week I am covering what to do before you leave and how to protect yourself in transit. Next week: why so many people crash on day two or three after returning home -- and exactly what to do about it.

Before You Leave: Setting Your Body Up for Success

Hydration Starts Before You Board

Here is something most people miss: you should be hydrating for travel before you ever get to the airport. Airplane cabin humidity typically sits between 10 and 20 percent -- drier than most desert environments -- which means you start losing fluid the moment you board. Even mild dehydration can zap your energy, slow your thinking, and make jet lag significantly worse.

Plain water alone is not always enough, especially on longer trips. When you drink large amounts without electrolyte replenishment, you can actually dilute your body's mineral balance. A balanced sodium-potassium-magnesium formula helps your cells hold onto the fluid you are taking in -- which is the whole point.

Start hydrating 24 to 48 hours before departure. I recommend Thorne Daily Electrolytes Variety Pack -- single-serve stick packs, zero sugar, naturally sweetened, with electrolytes sourced from Himalayan pink salt. A balanced formula that is not sodium-heavy, which matters for those sensitive to high-sodium products. Aim for at least half your body weight in ounces of water daily in the 48 hours before you leave, and limit alcohol and excess caffeine the day before -- both are diuretics that work against you.

Give Your Stress Response a Head Start

Travel -- even travel you are looking forward to -- activates your body's stress response system. The logistics, schedule disruption, and physical demands of being in transit register as increased load, and your body responds by ramping up cortisol and adrenaline. For most people this is manageable. For those dealing with chronic illness, autoimmune conditions, or adrenal fatigue, the system can take significantly longer to recover -- which is why post-travel crashes hit harder than expected.

Giving your stress response some support in the week or two before a big trip can make a real difference. Adaptogenic herbs are one practical tool. Several clients have had good results with Rhodiola rosea and Holy Basil taken in the weeks before travel -- both help the body modulate its stress response without the hormonal sensitivity concerns some people experience with other adaptogens. For Rhodiola, look for a standardized 3% rosavins extract at 200 to 400 mg taken in the morning. For Holy Basil, 300 to 600 mg of a standardized extract daily. Adding magnesium glycinate (200 to 400 mg) the night before travel and throughout the trip rounds out this foundation, supporting sleep quality, nervous system regulation, and stress recovery all at once.

A note on ashwagandha: It is one of the most studied adaptogens for stress and cortisol reduction, but it is not best for everyone. It has immune-stimulating properties that can be problematic for those with autoimmune conditions such as lupus, Hashimoto's, or rheumatoid arthritis. It also stimulates thyroid hormone production, so anyone with hyperthyroidism or thyroid medication should avoid it or use only under practitioner supervision. Some clients have also reported fluid retention with ashwagandha use, likely related to its hormonal effects. If any of this applies to you, Rhodiola and Holy Basil are generally better-tolerated alternatives. Always loop in your practitioner before starting an adaptogen.

Pack a Simple Supplement Foundation

One of the easiest ways to undermine a trip is to leave your supplements at home. Pack them in a weekly pill organizer the night before you leave -- if they are in your bag, you will take them.

Beyond electrolytes and magnesium, a few additions earn their place in your travel kit. Vitamin D3/K2 (2,000 to 5,000 IU D3 with 100 to 200 mcg K2 daily) becomes especially important during indoor or reduced-sunlight travel. A shelf-stable probiotic (10 to 50 billion CFU, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains) supports gut resilience when your diet and routine shift. Digestive enzymes -- a full-spectrum formula with lipase, protease, and amylase -- taken with larger or unfamiliar meals give your digestive system the backup it needs on the road.

Do not underestimate Vitamin C during travel. Your adrenal glands concentrate and deplete vitamin C faster than almost any other tissue under stress, making 1,000 mg twice daily a smart and simple addition. And one supplement that consistently surprises clients: BrocColinate Activated. This is a concentrated sulforaphane supplement derived from broccoli and broccoli sprouts, delivering the sulforaphane equivalent found in many cups of broccoli per capsule. Sulforaphane activates NRF2 pathways that support phase 2 detoxification, antioxidant defense, and cellular resilience -- exactly what your body needs when managing the oxidative stress that travel accumulates.

All of the supplements referenced above are available at a 20% discount by creating a free account with me at my Fullscript store. It takes about a minute to set up and gives you access to professional-grade products and myself as a resource.

Pack Smart, Eat Clean

Airports and highway rest stops are not designed for anti-inflammatory eating. Having a few things with you means you are not making decisions when you are already tired and hungry -- which is when the worst choices happen.

My go-to travel snacks are simple and reliable: raw nuts and seeds for portable protein and healthy fat, hard boiled eggs (most grocery stores and many airports carry them pre-made), low-sugar protein bars with real food ingredients, fresh fruit like grapes or apple slices, and single-serve nut butter packets paired with fruit or a rice cake. None of this requires a health food store or advance preparation beyond tossing things in your bag.

At your destination, locating the nearest natural grocery within the first couple of hours is one of the highest-value things you can do. Whole Foods, Sprouts, Natural Grocers, and local co-ops are your best resources when managing dietary needs away from home. When eating out, default to grilled protein, olive oil-dressed greens, and whatever vegetable side is available. Anti-inflammatory options exist on most menus -- you just have to look for them.

During Travel: Strategies That Actually Help

Keep Drinking

Aim for at least 8 oz of water per hour during flight and add an electrolyte stick to at least one bottle -- plain water alone at altitude can thin out your electrolytes further. On road trips, stop every two hours to walk around and rehydrate. Your lymphatic system has no pump -- it depends entirely on movement to keep circulating, and sitting still for hours is genuinely hard on it.

Eat to Reduce Inflammation

You do not have to eat perfectly on a trip. But repeated inflammatory choices over several days -- fried food, seed oils, processed carbs, sugar, and alcohol -- compound quickly and contribute significantly to that post-travel crash.

Build meals around protein and healthy fat first to stabilize blood sugar and keep cortisol from spiking unnecessarily. Skip the fried options when there is an alternative; most airport and highway food is cooked in high-omega-6 seed oils, which amplify the inflammatory response that travel already triggers. Anti-inflammatory staples are available almost everywhere: salmon, avocado, olive oil, dark leafy greens, berries, walnuts, and green tea. You do not need a health food restaurant -- just make the better choice when there is one.

A Few Minutes for Your Nervous System

Long travel days keep your sympathetic nervous system in fight-or-flight mode for hours. A few small things can bring it back down -- and none of them require an app or extra gear.

Box breathing is two minutes and genuinely works: inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. Repeat several times. It activates your vagus nerve and shifts your body toward calm. Use it before a meal, before a stressful connection, or anytime you feel wound up in transit. Beyond that, put the phone down on travel days -- news, social media, and email keep your nervous system activated when it already has plenty to manage. Pack one sensory anchor as well: a familiar essential oil roll-on, a calming playlist, a snack you love. Something small that signals to your brain that you are safe. It sounds minor, but it works.

You Are Already Doing Something Right

Choosing to prepare intentionally for travel -- rather than just pushing through and hoping for the best -- is itself an act of self-respect. Your body carries you everywhere you go. The small investments you make before and during a trip pay dividends not just in how you feel in the moment, but in how quickly you return to yourself when you get home.

Next week I will walk you through exactly why that return is often harder than expected -- and the complete post-travel recovery protocol I use personally and recommend to clients. The day two or three crash has a physiological explanation, and once you understand it, you can plan for it rather than be blindsided by it.

In the meantime, start with one thing from this list. Hydrate today. Order your electrolytes. Pack your supplements before your next trip. Small steps, taken consistently, are how the body learns it is being cared for.

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Lis Rodriguez is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and integrative and functional medicine practitioner. She founded Professional Nutrition Consulting, PLLC in 2009 and writes about environmental nutrition, public health, and whole-person wellness at LisRodriguez.com.

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