Healthy flying - my tips for long-haul flight

When you fly long distance you are putting your body through some serious stress - not just the stress of organising the trip, getting to the airport, through check-in and security and then finding that you've forgotten your passport. No, I mean the physical stresses induced on your body by the act of flying. These include:

• Cosmic ionising radiation;
• Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from the onboard avoinics;
• EMR from cell phones that haven't been switched off (or the thump when everyone switches their phones on after touch-down);
• Lower cabin pressure;
• Noise;
• Time-zone changes;
• Unnatural light/dark cycles;
• Sitting for hours on end;
• Airborne coughs and colds;
• Bad food,

Making sure you have a strategy and tools in place can make the difference at the other end. You want to be kicking ass as soon as possible after the flight.

Preparation

You should start to prepare yourself a few days in advance.

• Zinc - supplement for a week or so before the flight. Strengthens the immune system.
• [Edit Sept '15] Vitamins A, C, E. Use anti-oxidants before the trip to prepare the body for the oxidative stress of travel.
• [Edit Sept '15] Of course, eat well. Good quality protein (meat, fish, eggs) and veggies. Moderate carbs. Avoid party foods and too much alcohol.
• Sleep - make sure you are well rested before your trip, although this can be tricky as you tend to be a bit anxious/excited the night before.
• Choose your seat - either an aisle seat or one that is away from the sun. Don't sit over the wing exits, avoiding high EMF caused by electrical currents for the avionics.
• Magnesium - either as supplements, or as an Epsom Salts bath. Makes you calm and soothed.
• Chiropractor - go to see one before you leave. Get well adjusted before the trip. 
• [Edit Sept '15] Trying adaptogenic herbs - a blend of Rhodiola Rosea, Withania (Ashwagandha) and Gotu Kola. These are supposed to be very supportive for the stress effects of travel including jet lag. The first time I tried it I found it made me feel a bit drowsy, probably as the ashwagandha jumped on my cortisol. After that, I have only felt positive. Also/alternatively take a Ginkgo, Ginseng, Brahmi complex plus activate B-vitamins.
• For time-zone changes, start timzone adaptation before leaving. We naturally sleep in 90 minute cycles, so if you're travelling east then try to go to bed 90 minutes earlier, get up 90 minutes earlier. If you're travelling west, bump things the other way. That way you're already starting to adjust to the new timezone before you travel.

Travelling

Now onto the day of travel itself.

• Water - good quality spring water. Drink lots and lots. Then some more.
• Butter - helps to manage blood sugar levels and is a good snack food if the on-board food is crappy.
• Nasal spray - sometimes your sinuses get dry and stuffy.
• Shower - if you're travelling business class and have a stop-over. 

Managing radiation exposure

Radiation exposure is an issue, especially on long-haul flights. All international passengers from Australia are subjected to a full-body scan using millimeter radiation. A nice dose to start you off.
When you're in the air, you'll be receiving a higher-than-normal dose of cosmic radiation because you're high in the atmosphere. Managing radiation exposure is a big part of managing healthy and effective travel.

• Vitamin C - take vitamin C every 2-3 hours of the flight. Anti-oxidant.
• Vitamins A, C, E - every 12 hours. Anti-oxidants.
• Zinc - every 12 hours. Immune support.
• Anti-inflammatories - fish oil (high DHA), curcumin (Tumeric) capsules.
• CoQ10 - again, supports the anti-oxidant cycle.

Electromagnetic radiation

EMF increases your oxidative stress and planes are pretty bad because the metal tubes keeps EMF bouncing around the inside, you've got a lot of people in a small space, and planes have a lot of heavy duty electrical systems.

• Anti-static strap - earth yourself to the aircraft plane using an anti-static strap connected to the metal of your chair. 
• Or touch your bare foot against the metal foot rest.
• Avoid wifi if offered on the plane.
• Water and anti-oxidant support.

Sleep

• Get as much sleep as you can. I don't got for 'timing', I just prefer to rest as much as possible.
• Change your watch as soon as you get on the plane.
• Use ear plugs and eye shades.
• Noise is a major factor in making long-distance travel so tiring. Ear plugs or noise-cancelling headphones are very useful.
• Use a neck support.

Exercise

• Do air-squats when you go to the bathroom.
• Get up and walk around (if you're drinking enough water, you'll need to!)
• Recline your seat to minimise the 'pooling' of blood in your feet. 

Food

• I've tried the gluten-free offerings and they're pretty awful. I now just don't eat any glutened item on the plate. 
• Dark chocolate - a good snack food. 85% dark to minimse sugar. 
• Butter. Take on slab of good quality butter with you, in a zip-lock bag. Eat hunks of it, put it on your dinner etc.
• Meat or fish.
• Vegetables - especially green leafy veggies.
• Booze - yeah, they say to avoid it but I like a glass of wine. Don't go crazy.
• Avoid coffee - you don't need the caffeine buzz and it's probably crap quality anyway.
• Avoid sugar - increases oxidative stress and lethargy.

On arrival

• Continue to drink lots of water.
• Get some sunlight during daylight hours.
• Go for a walk or get some exercise and fresh air.
• Eat a decent evening meal - good meat and/or fish (surf and turf?), veggies, some carbs. Don't overdo it on the booze, maybe just a glass of wine.
• Melatonin spray for the first 2 or 3 nights to help over-come jet-lag.
• Take a good quality multi-vitamin.
• Sleep in a dark, cool room. [Edit Sept '15] Try taping black gaffer tape over standby lights e.g. on the TV in the room. Use ear-plugs.
• If you eat anything dodgy, take some charcoal.
• [Edit Sept '15] Grounding can be very beneficial. Try walking barefoot outdoors.
• [Edit Sept '15] Some beneficial herbal mental support, such as Ginkgo, Ginseng, Brahmi and adaptognic herbs like Ashwagandha, Rhodiola as a systemic tonic to help support the system after the stress of travel and timezone changes. 
• [Edit Sept '15] Neuro-supportive amino acids, such as Choline, L-Thianine, Creatine. I may try some L-Tryptophan at night-time.
• [Edit Sept '15] Acetyl-L-Carnitine is effective in supporting brain energy, so may include this in the mix.

Other reading

Hat-tip to these other writers on health tips for flying:

• Listen to this podcast - Dave Asprey, Jack Kruse.
• Ben Greenfield has a bunch of tips, also here.

The development of Electro-Magnetic Sensitivity (EMS)

Over the past few weeks, I have developed a sensitivity to electromagnetic radiation (EMR), a condition known as Electro-Magnetic Sensitivity (EMS). I have noted the development of minor symptoms before in the post "Examples of self-awareness" but I want to discuss how further symptoms have developed, what I'm currently experiencing and what I'm doing or have done to manage the situation.
This situation is concerning, annoying and inconvenient on a personal level, but also confronting and empowering. My eldest boy is going to high school in 5 months time. The school, like all the other schools in the area, have ipads and wifi deployed and used for every child in every lesson. The level of electromagnetic microwave radiation that he will be exposed to massively exceeds anything that we've witnessed before. That I have become personally aware of how low level exposure to EMR can affect my physical state means that I'm now on a crusade to address this situation before we start.

Development of symptoms

As you know from other posts on this blog, I've developed severe osteoarthritis in both hips. I suffered from Legg-Perthes disease as an adolescent, so my hips have been a problem for all of my adult life. By and large I've been able to manage the pain, discomfort and minor limping. 

March 2014 In March, all that changed as I suddenly found I was unable to walk, drive or get around after a mild session of physical therapy. X-rays and an MRI diagnosed that I had severe osteoarthritis in both hips. 

May 2014 A visit to an osteopath surgeon in May confirmed that I would require two total hip replacements. I've been managing this situation since then.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is usually described as a degenerative disease, caused by wear and tear on the cartilage, however in early August, about one month ago, I found an article by Dr Berard Presser where he describes it differently - "OA is not simply a matter of wear and tear; it's also a failure of the cartilage to repair itself." This cast my situation in a completely different light - the current status of my condition was dependent on how well my body was repairing cartilage damage. If I can identify factors that are interrupting the natural cartilage repair process and reduce them while at the same time enhancing factors that support cartilage repair then perhaps I can reverse some of the degeneration. All of this is detailed in the post "My Osteoarthritis Recovery Protocol".

August 2014 A key turning point was when I posted to the Jack Kruse forum. Dr Jack Kruse has some highly non-conventional opinions on the causes of modern diseases. While we can debate his scientific analysis and philosophy, nonetheless he is one of the only people that I have so far encountered that have any practical suggestions for supporting my recovery. As well as standard 'clean Paleo' dietary and lifestyle advice, the following specific recommendations were given:

• reduce EMF exposure and "ground" myself - EMF is dehydrating to the cartilage, bones and joints;
• drink plenty of non-fluoridated water - fluoride interrupts the structure of intracellular water, causing intracellular dehydration;
• eat plenty of DHA from fish, oysters and fish oil supplements;
• get plenty of sunlight.

The aspect of EMF avoidance and grounding was an area where I could make improvement. Since my diagnosis I have been avoiding carrying my phone in the front pocket of my jeans. I now have it on airplane mode most of the time. I improved my night-time 'grounding' by running a strip of metal tape directly on top of the sheets that is connected to a spike in the garden and sleeping with my skin touching it. I try to go the local park a couple of times a week and take a bare-foot walk on the grass. I made these changes about 3 or 4 weeks ago.

Sleeping grounded took a bit of persistence which I had not expected. I'd previously tried sleeping with a wrist anti-static strap connected to the earth wire in the house wiring but found my hand got unbearably numb and tingly midway through the night. I attributed that to cross-interference with the home power and stopped doing that. I have been sleeping with an earthed strip of metal tape under the sheet for a few months but not noticed much effect. But when I started sleeping with skin contact to the tape I found myself very tingly and numb by mid-way through the night. I had to disconnect the ground connection in order to get back to sleep. This continued for a few nights and then eased. I now sleep very peacefully on my ground strip. Another contributor on the Jack Kruse forum has felt a similar effect. Let's call it 'electro detox'.

Late August 2014 So I started sleeping properly grounded, got over the initial 'electro detox' and started carrying my phone in airplane mode. Then the first symptoms of electro-magnetic sensitivity (EMS) emerged. I could 'feel' the wifi in my hands when I was using my iphone and noted that sensation on August 19.

Then around 23 August, I noticed that I could 'feel' the wifi through my hands when I tried typing on my laptop. The sensation was quite unpleasant and I turned the wifi off and plugged the laptop directly into a router. 

At around that time, I noticed if I held my phone and turned it off airplane mode, I felt slight twitching in my hand and electric shocks in my arms.

On 27 August I flew up to Brisbane and back in one day. I flew both ways with my bare-skin foot touching the metal of the chair in front to ensure I was as 'earthed' as possible during the flight.  

At the end of the return flight we turned off the runway and the announcement came through that we could turn our phones back on. Obviously I did not but I immediately felt headache pressure in my head. The effect was immediate and quite uncomfortable.

Early September 2014 Monday 1 September I decided to disable the wifi on the router in the study after feeling significant skin discomfort after sitting next to it for an hour or so. This makes the study much more comfortable.

During the week I popped round to a colleagues desk. His phone was on the desk. After a few minutes I started to feel 'off' - headache, bad stomach, muddled thoughts. It improved when I walked away. 

I went to the supermarket. Near the tills I could feel pressure in my head which improved when I left the shop.

Over the past year or two, I've enjoyed listening to podcasts as I drive to and from work. I connect my phone to the car stereo via Bluetooth which is much less powerful than either cell phone or wifi, although it's in the same 2.4GHz range. I now notice skin discomfort when the phone connects via wifi, even if the cell and wifi is disabled. I now 'hard wire' the connection into the car. I no longer drive around with my phone switched on.

Last night (5 September) we drove to a friends' house. I carried my wife's bag on my knee. Her phone was in it. I developed a headache across the temples.

Managing the situation

Monitor symptoms and responses. The symptoms have gradually got worse, at first unnoticeable, then the odd thing here or there. Now that I'm confident that I'm experiencing real symptoms I can be more disciplined, however I've been noting my physical symptoms and now this post is a journal of the past few weeks. I'll try to be better disciplined from now on!

Sleep grounded. I think the symptoms are worse at the end of the day when I've been 'ungrounded'. I feel refreshed after sleeping on my earthing strip. I'll try to go for a bare-foot walk as often as I can or go for a lunchtime swim to discharge at work. I'll write a post showing how I've built my earthing system.

At work. I'm fortunate to work in a low density office and I'm at the edge of the office space. I have moved my PC further away from my seat. I do not sit near the wifi hotspot. I have my phone on airplane most of the time. I turn the cell phone on only once or twice a day for a few minutes (to check for voicemail and SMS) and make sure I walk away from it while it's enabled.

At home. Minimise wifi. I have hard-wired all the computers including this laptop, TVs etc. I sleep grounded.
There is still work to be done. We have 2 iPads. Our main phone is cordless although we do have a hard-wired phone. My wife needs her mobile phone to be switch on (she runs her own business and needs to be contactable). We have very poor mobile coverage. On the one hand, that means we're not highly exposed. On the other hand, any mobile phones in the house must transmit at very high power.

Keeping in touch. We got used to being contactable 24x7 by text or call. This is going to need some re-adjustment. We're trying to stop using iMessage, switching to Viber which has a desktop client. I check my mobile once or twice a day for SMS and voicemail (although I hate when I have to call up the voicemail service). This remains work-in-progress.

Major outstanding issues

Kids ipads. At home. You can't 'reverse tether' via bluetooth and no network-to-lightning connector exists. Wifi is the only option. This is a major problem. 

At school next year this is a truly frightening prospect. I have not yet found a single school that doesn't have a 1:1 ipad to child program in year 7 next year. I am arranging a meeting with the deputy principal to discuss my concerns. This will be a crusade!