My Travel Essentials

There ain’t no time to feel average whilst you’re gallivanting across the globe, exploring new places or working away. You want to remain feeling energised, happy, free of gut issues, aches and pains, headaches or mood issues. I get it, it is much more of a challenge to continue with any regime when you are out of your home and away from your usual locals you rely on. Plus, when you are excited to be on holidays and just want to eat all the food and drink all the cocktails. Though doing your best to remain on top of your game as much as possible can be so rewarding. 

While travelling we sleep less, eat different foods, drink more alcohol, breath in various toxins, drink different water, and can go through various stressful events. All of these factors can dampen our immune system, increase inflammation, alter your gut flora, throw out our hormones, increase the demand of detoxification and can make you feel oh so average. Of course, everyone is different, so everyone’s needs will be different. This may depend on what stage we are at in our lives, what we are going through, what currently needs treating and so on, though below are some things that I consider when travelling at the moment. Of course, depending on the type of trip I may take out one or a few of those I have listed, and it also depends on what my body is needing at that time.

 
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Foods and supplements I take with me:

  • When flying, prepare food in advance. This is ESSENTIAL. If it is a short flight, take snacks like homemade bliss balls, berries, olives, macadamia nuts, avocado, seed crackers, nut butters, homemade sugarless sweets such as jellies, panna cottas or others in our eBook or on my website. If it is a long flight where you will need a meal, take leftovers from home like meat and veggies in a thermos or cooler bag, or wild caught canned tuna that you can just have in your bag. Sean and I always get excited for our preprepared meals on the plane, because everything is always seriously delicious. 
  • Chlorella tablets: because it’s an easy way of getting a whole lot of nutrients in a few seconds of your day, plus it is insanely detoxifying so will support the elimination of whatever you’re exposed to. I love the brand Sun Potion Chlorella or Synergy Natural Chlorella if you want a local brand in Australia. Your product should contain 100% chlorella only. 
  • A little jar of ghee and Brain Octane Oil: Because I love my Bullet Proof coffee and don’t enjoy coffee without it. Long blacks alone give me a huge high and then an energy crash, which also throws out my hormones. Adding the fat to my coffee slows the release of caffeine into my blood stream, keeps me satiated and contributes to detoxification.
  • Camu Camu: is insanely rich in vitamin C which is essential for your adrenals (the glands that produce cortisol during any form of stress). Vitamin C is used in high amounts when you are stressed, sleep deprived or fighting many different microbial strains, which makes vitamin C pretty essential when travelling. I have 1 teaspoon of camu camu daily when travelling, though at home I mostly get it from organic berries and greens, and have camu camu occasionally in smoothies, water or blended into slices.
  • Zinc: this is a personal requirement and may not be needed by you. I have this as my body requires more genetically, and this is mainly for immune support, balancing my hormones and gut health.
  • Ashwaghanda: provides nourishment to your adrenals, lowers your cortisol levels (stress hormone), helps you respond to stressful situations with much more ease, and supports your ability to calm down and sleep well. I love this brand.  
  • Probiotics/fermented foods: if I am going on a short trip, I will leave my fermented foods from Kultured Wellness at home. If I am going for a longer period of time, I will take a small jar of coconut water kefir, buy coconut water locally at my destination, and continue drinking the kefir daily as a refreshing drink and to maintain my good gut bugs, support nutrient intake, assist in the digestion of my food, ward off parasites or other unwanted bacterial strains. If you decide to grab some culture starters, you can 10% off by entering SHERIDANAUSTIN.  
  • Essential oils like lavender and peppermint: not only is a tiny little dab of peppermint great for a breath freshener (which I have done this for years and years!), it is also great for headaches, stomach aches or bloating, and muscle aches and pains. I also love lavender for cheeky pimples that might be more prevalent when travelling and applied on my neck before going to sleep.
  • Activated coconut charcoal: this is for when you feel you have been exposed to something that doesn’t agree with you. You might feel a headache or digestive issues coming on, so you take a good dose of this and it lowers your chances of a bigger reaction. I love the Bullet Proof brand and get it from HERE in Australia, 
  • Iodine: for me personally this is only for longer trips as it is a master disinfectant. If you get a cut, feel any type of sickness coming on, for energy support, for skin rashes and more. I only get clients to supplement with this if they NEED to through applying it on the inside of their wrist. This way you can see how fast the iodine is absorbed into your skin, and therefore see how much your body needs it. If it absorbs quickly, then your body is desperate for it, if it takes all day to absorb, then you do not need it as much and may just use it sparingly. I used it for a while until my body was fully saturated, and now my body barely absorbs it so I only use it when absolutely required.
  • Liver: particularly essential for pregnant women, and those suffering fatigue, iron or b vitamin deficiency or have autoimmune issues. It is amazing for energy and clarity, though in more traditional places around the world it is often served in restaurants, so it depends on where you are going. I found Europe to serve this regularly which was so exciting to me and therefore did not feel the need to take it with me.
 
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Top tips to stay on track, and foods to take on the plane!

  • Look up healthy places before going out to eat. Searches online I make include ‘Paleo restaurants’, ‘healthy restaurants’ and ‘organic café’. From here, sift through and find what is available, there can be some incredible hidden gems in places you would not expect it. We ate out quite a bit in New Zealand, though every day we went to an organic café, which served what I would serve in my own home.

  • Ordering from menus: stick to your ‘non-negotiables’, which for me are gluten, dairy and sugar free. From here, I may sway from my usual regime and eat some legumes, gluten free grains, normal potato and so on. If you have the 'guts', ask for your meal to be cooked in olive oil, ghee, lard or butter if you tolerate it, so you can avoid highly processed (and actually toxic) vegetable oils.

  • Do movement every day, in whatever way is possible. Go walking, do some yoga or a little home workout or climb a local mountain.
  • Take a water bottle with you EVERYWHERE. Fill it up with filtered water whenever you have the chance, so you can sip on this all day erryday. Particularly when flying can be very, very dehydrating due to the dry air. I take an empty water bottle on the flight and kindly ask the staff to fill it up. 
  • If you can't find real food anywhere: In New Zealand recently, I had 2 hours spare in between finishing work and presenting a seminar, so my darling Mother and I went off to find something nearby and were directed to where all the restaurants were. They were either stupidly expensive or not real food, so we went to the nearest supermarket and gathered 100% nori sheets, hot smoked salmon fillets (salmon and salt are the ingredients), avocado, capers, red onion, rocket, some strawberries and macadamia nuts. Basically, EPIC. We went and had a picnic nearby at the (freezing cold) beach and it was far more beautiful then anything else. Here is just an idea of doing what you can where you can, and not letting anything come in between you and feeling good - particularly when I was about to do a seminar! 

Can you do Gut Health cleanses whilst travelling?

Yep, sure can. It is certainly more challenging, though it is still possible. Simply take your antimicrobial herbs with you and ensure the places you stay at have a kitchen so you can make your own food when you have limited options. If you are planning on cooking a lot more away, then you may also want to take additional foods like salt and organic powdered turmeric, ginger and garlic. 

I hope this helps my lovelies.

Be confident and stay true to what you believe in and what you know works for your body, because it is oh so worth it.

MWA xxx

Sheridan Austin

Sheridan Williamson