Up Up and Away!

Posted by Dr. Della Parker     on September 22, 2015

Up Up and Away!

As I board my flight to continue my education for the weekend, I began thinking about my pre-flight routine. I’ve always stayed healthy while traveling, knock on wood! So, as the man next to me hacks up a lung I am compelled to share.

There are germs everywhere on a plane. People coughing, sneezing, and blowing their noses. Those bathrooms are so small, I’m sure half the people can’t even maneuver their bodies to wash their hands after use. I about to be stuck in a sealed chamber of circulating air containing God knows what… Not trying to scare you, we have investigative reports for that, and as you know, I’m no germ-a-phobe! But when trapped in an irradiated capsule with no choice but to inhale everyone else’s lung excretions, I utilize a few preventative measures, cause let’s face it… If you are boarding an airplane, you are probably going somewhere for a purpose other than laying in a hotel bed feeling crappy. So here’s what I do…

Acidify that gut
All those circulating bugs find your acidic juices to be an inhospitable environment. I use hydrochloric acid supplements, (my favorite is Zypan from Standard Process) with all meals the day of and prior to my flight. This gets those gastric juices a flowin’. If a buggy boo enters that acidic gut…dead on contact! Another thing that naturally increases those gastric juices is eating dense protein. So skip the carbs and go for a big fat juicy steak prior to travel.

Drink lots of water
Duh right? Just reminding you that the dry air on an airplane pulls moisture from your skin and makes every cell in your body crave hydration. Half your body weight in ounces, seriously do it! It will help keep organs of elimination open and allow your body to work properly, preventing you from getting sick. Hydrating also means avoiding alcohol. I know, there’s even a catchy tune about getting drunk on a plane… but alcohol not only dehydrates you, but also lowers immune function. Wait to have that cocktail until you land and are not trapped in a capsule of potentially harmful microbes eh?!

Protect yourself from radiation
We are all well aware of the harmful effects of radiation on our bodies, but somehow many of us forget that an airplane is filled with the stuff. On a flight from LA to New York you will be exposed to 2 chest x-rays worth of radiation. So how do you protect your body against these harmful effects? Vitamin C!! Hold on, I’m not talking about ascorbic acid, I’m talking about whole food vitamin C, like Cataplex C from Standard Processs. Ascorbic acid is pretty much worthless. The unbroken vitamin C complex contains a substance called rutin. Rutin is some pretty powerful stuff and one of its many accolades is preventing cellular uptake of radiation.
Baby on board? Talkin’ about the one in your belly not on your lab. For the one on your lap, God help us all, this is where the temptation to drink comes into play! But anyways, so you are expecting a baby… Radiation is bad for a growing embryo right? We know this cause they freak out at the idea you may have missed a birth control pill when getting an x-ray preformed. But go hop on an airplane for an 8 hour flight full of radiation, after you just got irradiated by the metal detector on the way in, that is perfectly safe for baby… sheesh!! Here’s what you do, first let it known that you are pregnant and they will let you bypass the irradiated safety check point. They may do a cavity search instead, but you’re having a baby so you’re used to your orifices being intruded upon! (Joking) Fill a bag with Epsom salts and set it on your lap in flight. Epsom salts absorb radiation. That means, that little bag-o-salt is taking all the punishment and leaving your growing baby alone to thrive! I also recommend taking an Epsom salt bath upon landing if possible. Again it helps to soak up all that radiation and help it leave your body.

What else….
Smile! People like happy people. When you are smiling on the outside your cells are smiling on the inside and doing Kung Fu ninja tricks on all those immune invaders.  HIYAH!!