Natural Remedy of the Week: Jet Lag

My natural remedies mystery series is set in Greenport, which is a village on the North Fork of Long Island. I love where I live and am very happy to be able to share tid-bits about the East End in my books. Greenport is a favorite for tourists. In fact, Forbes Magazine named Greenport one of the loveliest villages in the United States. Greenport is 2 hours from NYC and is across the sound from CT and Massachusetts so we get plenty of visitors from those places. They come on the weekends now but when the kids are out of school, and people take up residence in second homes the town will be bustling 7 days a week.

For those of you who are on the move to a tourist destination, by air, I thought a column about how to deal with jet lag would be helpful. Flying for long distances, especially through several time zones, is very stressing to the body. The plane's environment will probably be lower in oxygen than the regular atmosphere and also quite dry, which may cause you to become dehydrated. Drinking alcoholic or caffeinated beverages will worsen the dehydration problem. But you can arrive refreshed, thanks to these natural remedies:

Before taking your trip, load up on extra Vitamin C.  It will reduce jet lag, bolster immunity and help deal with travel stress. Try an anti-stress high-potency B-complex vitamin with 1,000 mg of time-release vitamin C. Take a good daily multivitamin daily as well.

During the flight and afterward be sure to drink plenty of fluids, especially water, to rehydrate your body. Aim for one glass of water for every hour in flight is ideal.  

Use Bach Flower Rescue Remedy to ease the stress of traveling. You can take Rescue Remedy by adding drops to a glass of water or juice and sip at intervals or you can take it under the tongue. It’s also available in pastilles and a spray. Find it in your favorite health food store or at www.vitacost.com.

Take homeopathic No-Jet-Lag. It helps with tension, over-exertion, nausea, anxiety and insomnia and helps you adapt to your new surroundings. You can take No-Jet-Lag with any other medication but it’s most effective when taken separately from food and drink. I used this when I went to London years ago and it really helps. Find it at www.nojetlag.com.

Try Ginseng. It’s a great adaptogen helping the body adapt or acclimate to jet lag, different environments, climate changes, altitudes, and stress. If you’re prone to motion sickness, ginger can be a big help too. Try candied ginger from the health food store.

Use the Chinese patent formula Cerebral Tonic Pills to overcome jet lag. You can find them in a natural foods store or a Chinese grocery store or at www.healingherbsofchina.com.

Get some sunlight to recharge your batteries if you land during the day.  This will help you adjust to the new time zone. Exposure to full spectrum light will help to help set the body’s natural melatonin production. If you need help sleeping choose a natural melatonin supplement. Take 0.03 to 3 milligrams in the evening before retiring.

Get moving. Rest when you arrive but do find ways to exercise when you are traveling, whether it is yoga in the hotel room, a brisk walk along a scenic street, or a run in a park, stay active so you feel your best.

Aromatherapy can be a traveler’s best friend. Bring along a bottle of peppermint essential oil and take deep inhalations or spray it into your room. It will invigorate you. You can also make your own Jet lag blend. This recipe is from my friend Jade Schutes, the director of education at The East-West School for Herbal and Aromatic Education (http://theida.com):

Jet Lag Blend

Just combine 4 drops geranium with 5 drops lavender into a 1 ounce bottle of sunflower or apricot kernel vegetable oil.  Massage on hands, neck, face, and shoulders.  You can also take a bath with this blend by simply adding 4 drops geranium and 4 drops lavender to the bath water once you are in the bath.

Where are you going this summer?