The Best Supplements for Traveling

Your bags are packed. You’re ready to go. But is your health prepared? Traveling to a new city brings a change in routine, diet, and lifestyle. While hitting the pause button on your regularly scheduled life is necessary every once in a while, it can take a toll on the ill-prepared traveler.

From jet lag to foreign foods (and maybe a little excess fun), abrupt adjustments to routine can leave you tired or feeling sick. Even if traveling for a day’s work, early meetings, bagged lunches, and red eye flights aren’t exactly recipes for performance.

Don’t let a little change keep you in bed while you could be out enjoying life. The best supplements for traveling support immune function, let you try new cuisines, and keep you rested at night. 

#1 - Tackle Jet Lag with a Sleep Supplement

Traveling across time zones screws with your circadian rhythm. No one likes waking up before the sun or falling asleep before dinner if it’s not planned. Rather than crawl through the day exhausted and run on caffeine, take a sleep supplement.

Your natural circadian rhythm is regulated by an internal compound called melatonin. When it’s time to fall asleep, your body starts producing more melatonin to induce drowsiness. In the morning, melatonin fades and you begin to awaken.

Taking 3-5 g of exogenous melatonin around an hour before bed helps you fall asleep. If you’re trying to get ahead of the time change on the plane, take a melatonin supplement to get on schedule. If for some reason you arrive and still can’t sleep before 3 am, having melatonin on hand can fix that.

Tryptophan, an amino acid responsible for drowsiness, can also facilitate sleep. It’s a big part of why eating a Thanksgiving turkey makes for the greatest post-meal nap. Rather than stuff yourself with turkey sandwiches at night, get yourself a sleep supplement that contains both.

Performance Lab Sleep has all the ingredients you need to get on the right track. Melatonin, tryptophan, tart cherry, and magnesium all combine to keep your travel spirits high.

#2 - Keep your Gut Healthy with a Prebiotic

A prebiotic? How does that differ from a probiotic?

Probiotics like yogurt and kimchi introduce new “good” bacteria in to your gut. Prebiotics, on the other hand, keep your already existing good gut bacteria healthy. Rather than adding another novel item while traveling, prebiotics facilitate normalcy to keep creature comforts inside your stomach.

When visiting somewhere new, you might be tempted to try the local cuisine. But what if something doesn’t sit well with you? Prebiotics such as inulin-FOS stimulate bacterium crucial to metabolic and digestive health. Eliminate stomach concerns by adding fiber in your prebiotic supplement. Performance Lab Prebiotic offers a great supplement in pill-form to pack in your carry on.

The target of this specific prebiotic, Bifidobacterium, has been shown to produce lactic acid and lower gut pH. So-called “bad” bacteria doesn’t do well in acidic environments, so this process contributes to broader health. Mineral absorption, on the other hand, thrives in acidic environments. Calcium, magnesium, zinc, b-vitamins and more depend on these conditions to work for you.

There’s a growing amount of research showing probiotics (the product of prebiotics) optimize something known as the microbiome-gut-brain axis. Confusing long name aside, this connection can reduce stress and anxiety to improve general mood over time.

Seriously. Take a prebiotic, decrease travel anxiety, and stop practicing how to say “where’s the nearest restroom” in five different languages.

#3 - Top it Off with a Multivitamin or Greens Supplement

Travel typically means truncated eating practices. Airport food, missed meals while touring, or hors d’oeuvres at the company convention aren’t usually packed with health benefits. Of course you should treat yourself at times when traveling, but a healthy, balanced diet does require some attention.

Rather than consistently opting for a salad to get your nutrients, take a daily multivitamin or greens supplement. Greens supplements are basically powderized vegetables that mix with water or juice. It’s like taking a portable juicer without the mess. You still get the vitamins and minerals from plants at their natural source.

When traveling out of the country, however, it can be tricky getting any raw food derivative through customs. In that case, be sure to at least bring a multivitamin. Try and get as close to real food as possible. That’s why we love Performance Lab - they make all of their products as bioavailable as the food on your plate.

You need the antioxidants from vitamins and minerals to counteract the stress of travel. Even a relaxing vacation can start with delayed flights and include one too many cocktails. Do what your grandmother told you and take your vitamins.

Travel is rife with complications. Whether for business or pleasure, leaving the comfort of your own home throws a wrench into your routine. Stick to a regular sleep schedule with melatonin and calming magnesium to fight jet lag. Even on vacation, your health doesn’t take a day off. Nourish your nutrition with multivitamins and prebiotics for gut health, and you’ll spend much more time enjoying your days.

Supplements are easy to pack, so there’s no excuse that you don’t have room. If you’re headed to the airport soon, you can leave your concern at home. Get these top three supplements for traveling now and have fun!