Jet Lag Relief: Foods that Work Wonders After Flying

Flying can be exciting, but it can also take a toll on your body. After a long flight, you might experience something called jet lag. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), jet lag is the result of a combination of fatigue and various symptoms that occur when traveling quickly across multiple time zones.

As your body gets used to the new time zone, there are things you can do to make jet lag less of a hassle. According to Healthline, one such approach is to adjust to your new time zone upon arrival quickly, get exposure to natural light, and consider melatonin supplements.

Meanwhile, Best Life, a lifestyle website, took a different approach to jet lag remedies. They collaborated with dietitians, nutritionists, and healthcare experts to identify foods that may help alleviate jet lag.

According to one of their experts, dehydration is likely a factor if you're feeling sluggish or experiencing mental fog. Consuming foods with high water content, such as watermelon and cucumbers, can effectively rehydrate after a flight.

Their research also revealed that enjoying a well-balanced breakfast upon arrival to your destination can help reset your body's internal clock and alleviate the most troublesome jet lag symptoms. Also suggested by their findings is that a large meal in the morning of the new time zone can be beneficial for overcoming jet lag.

Interestingly, they found that kiwi fruit might aid in regulating your sleep patterns and improving both the duration and quality of your sleep if you've been affected by jet lag. Furthermore, their nutritionists often recommend incorporating oats and other complex carbohydrates into your diet to provide a steady and long-lasting source of energy. This can be helpful in combating the fatigue and energy fluctuations commonly associated with jet lag.

If you're wondering about other foods that can help beat jet lag, you can find the complete study here.

A new Consumer Reports study has ranked the riskiest foods. They analyzed data from the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Agriculture between 2017 and 2022. Their researchers focused on "widely consumed foods" that had recalls over a specific duration of time.

According to Consumers Reports, the CDC estimates that 48 million people each year fall ill from salmonella, listeria, E. coli, or other bacteria or viruses in food. They said most recover on their own after a few days. But about 130,000 people are hospitalized and 3,000 die from foodborne illnesses yearly.

Some of the foods that are ranked at the top of the list include bagged salads, poultry products, and deli meats. The top five are leafy greens, deli cheese and meat, ground beef, onions, and poultry. Bagged salads and other leafy greens ranked number one on the list. They found 50 different recalls linked to them since 2017. Also, it has the most caused deaths. Last on the list at number ten is flour. Unlike leafy greens, flour has had zero total deaths.

"We aren’t saying people need to avoid these foods entirely," says Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at CR, who led the analysis. "After all, these foods are all usually safe, and many of them are in fact important parts of a healthy diet." Ronholm continued to say in Consumers Report that the list underscores the "importance of following best food safety practices with all of your foods, including knowing how to track, and respond, to food recalls when they happen." Read the entire list, and learn how you can reduce your risk at Consumer Reports.