What is the best way to stay healthy while traveling?

by Eric
(Chiang Rai, thailand)

Street food is common in Thailand

Street food is common in Thailand

What is the best way to stay healthy while traveling?

Most travelers do realize that traveling in a foreign land one must be healthy to fend-off diseases and tensions due to culture shock or an alien environment, be able to soak in the beauty of the visiting country and not-to-forget the implication of hefty medical bills outside your insurance coverage.

Healthy food tip:
Unless you are fortunate enough to try the local food available in the home stay host you are visiting, self-make sandwiches can be a healthy protein choice, if you make them with canned tuna, salmon or sardine topped with fresh vegetables.

Most varieties of fresh fruit are easily available in local markets and are concentrated sources vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients are great portable snacks. If you have concerns about fruit negatively affecting your blood sugar level, select those with a lower glycemic index such as apples, pears, oranges, berries, or plums and stay away from all dried fruit.

Nuts and seeds make great snacks and are also a convenient way to include some extra protein in your diet while you are traveling. Sunflower seeds and walnuts also provide rich sources of vitamin E and those rare-to-find omega-3 fatty acids, respectively. Yogurt can also serve as a snack and source of protein if you can tolerate dairy products.

If you like yogurt mixed with fruit, it is best to add your own fresh fruit to plain yogurt rather than purchase already prepared yogurt mixed with fruit as these can be high in added sugars. Other dairy products such as milk and cheese are also good sources of protein but, again, these may not be for everyone, because many people are sensitive to dairy products.

If you are eating at a chain or fast food restaurant, the best practice is to look over the information to find protein and fiber amounts. If either of these nutrients has a value of one gram or less, continue looking! Meals with at least 5-10 grams of fiber and 10-15 grams of protein are the ones you'll want to select in terms of nutrition. When meals contain healthy protein and fiber content, they often contain healthy levels of many vitamins and minerals as well.

Ideal sleep:
Sleep is composed of two stages: REM (Rapid Eye Movement) helps in mental consolidation and non-REM helps in physical repair and rebuilding. During the night, you alternate between REM and non-REM stages 4-5 times.

The initial part of sleep is mostly non-REM. At the same time, your pituitary gland releases growth hormones that repair your body. The latter part of sleep is more and more REM type.

For you to be mentally alert during the day, the REM part of sleep is more important. If you wake up with an alarm clock after 5-6 hours of sleep, you are mentally irritable throughout the day (lack of REM sleep).

And if you have slept for less than 5 hours, your body is in a complete physical mess (lack of non-REM sleep), you are tired throughout the day, moving like a zombie and your immunity is way down.

By maintaining proper stress control, eating nutritiously, exercise well but missed getting proper and adequate sleep (minimum 7 hours) you are not getting enough sleep!! Just one night of sleep loss increases very toxic substances in body.

They increase risks of many medical conditions, including cancer, arthritis and heart disease.

If you find this health information useful, more can be found at
A Thai Village Homestay

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What is the best way to stay healthy while traveling?

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Feb 20, 2011
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star 		What are you Canadian?
by: Anonymous

I know that I backpacked through out Asia for 10 years, I only became ill once in India but I would never consider telling other people how to live. What makes you feel you are qualified?

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