Travel is fun, but it can be stressful and not to mention, you're always eating out. How many times have you come back from a vacation needing another vacation or you've returned home feeling like you're coming down with a cold?
I just returned from Europe where it was more "work" than a vacation as I was leading my small women only trips to Milan, Lake Como and Paris, but after 19 days on the go, I was still full of energy and going to the bathroom 3x a day! For a woman on vacation....well, that almost NEVER happens!
Here are my travel essentials that can help you on your next trip....or in your life right now.
A. European Hairdryer
Hotel hairdryers suck. No, really, they do. They never have enough power and if they're attached to the wall, the cord is super short.
A few years ago I decided to buy a European hairdryer while I was in Paris. Best. Purchase. Ever!
You can use your 110V or other items with a converter, but that's really hard on your electronics. (I once plugged my American hairdryer into a converter only to have it smell like burnt toast 30 seconds in - never again!)
Oh yeah, don't discard the attachment nozzle. My hair stylist told me this allows you to get close to the hair which means better styling and a faster drying time. Woot!
B. Wireless Bras
I collaborated with my naturopath, Dr. Jen Stanley, on a video about the benefits of switching to wireless bras (you can watch that video here, which includes brand recommendations) and wow, did they make a difference on this trip!
Actually, I didn't really "notice" anything because there's nothing to feel! What I mean is, wireless bras don't restrict the lymph system like underwire bras and they're also MUCH more comfortable.
After 8+ hours on the plane, several hours waiting in the airport, and sitting in taxis, I didn't feel the need to take off my bra right away when getting to the hotel. Phew! If only I had know about these sooner.
Another added bonus - wireless bras aren't a conductor for all the wifi networks swirling around many of which are now on airplanes.
C. Colon Powder
This is a mixture of several different herbs and supplements that I get from my naturopath. She first gave it to me when I started my detox/journey to optimal health as the colon is usually the first thing people focus on when getting to the root cause of any illness, anxiety, sleeping problems, autoimmune (all disease begins and ends in the gut, right?!).
I took this on the trip (I mix it with juice or water), because it has psyllium husk, which is a soluble fiber. Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol, absorbs toxins and adds bulk, which helps stimulate bowel regularity. The other ingredients (one of them being L-Glutamine) help heal and soothe the intestinal lining (repairing the lining/walls of the gut is so important!)
This video is from one of the top 3 natural health people I like to follow. Wow, does she explain so much from brain fog, fatigue, autoimmune and of course, how these come from a leaky gut and how to heal - without synthetics that have nasty side effects!
I've been using this for several months and I continue to mix this powder into my morning smoothies at home because, well, it's good maintenance!
D. Go Raw Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds
No matter where I'm going, I always have a few healthy snacks with me. Pumpkin seeds are packed with protein, iron, zinc, and are high in magnesium (which is needed by over 300 functions in the body - as soon as I added magnesium oil to my daily routine, all my PMS cramps went away.... magnesium can also help with leg cramps, anxiety, depression, joint pain and more -- you can check out more information here).
I like the Go Raw brand because all of their products (granola, crackers, seed and nut bars) are sprouted. Sprouted or soaked ingredients is an old technique that unfortunately we've gotten away from because of our fast pace, need-it-now culture. Soaking nuts, seeds and grains removes the phytic acid. Phytic acid protects nuts, seeds and grains from being fully absorbed as it moves through your body.
However, once something has been soaked, you've unlocked the nutrient door - unsoaked almonds, seeds....yeah, hardly any nutrients are used because the phytic acid hasn't been removed (and there can be side effects from eating unsoaked ingredients).
E. Digestive Enzymes
Digestive enzymes are always a good idea as they help break down food and improve nutrient absorption, but they are especially important for when I'm traveling because I'm likely to be eating food that isn't soaked/sprouted (sushi rice, risotto, pumpkin seeds on top of a salad, quinoa, sunflower seeds).
This is the same video I linked to up above as Dr. Jess also talks about the importance of digestive enzymes and unsoaked ingredients with relation to healing the gut.
F. Quad Para
This is a mixture of herbs (it's a tincture I got from my naturopath) that I first started taking as a part of the liver cleanse. The main focus with a liver cleanse is to get rid of parasites.**
While parasites are a part of daily life (you can get them from petting a dog, touching a shopping cart handle), taking the Quad Para while on vacation is to avoid picking up parasites that can be on fruits and veggies that haven't been washed correctly or any that might be in the water.
G. Liquid Iodine
Oh boy is this an important one! While traveling, my naturopath told me to take 2ml of liquid iodine, which helps kill any bacteria (she took this and the Quad Para on her trip to Guatemala and was the only one who didn't get sick :).
Outside of traveling, iodine is sooooo important. Iodine is needed by the thyroid, breasts and uterus, however, the thyroid can only hold on to iodine for 24 hours (<---leave it to my fellow Italian, Organic Olivia, to bring my attention to iodine and its importance in women's health -- this is what we should be talking about with fibroids, breast health and the thyroid!)
Unfortunately there are many things in our modern world that "kick" iodine out of our bodies. One of these is chlorine. Personally, I don't swim in chlorine pools. I will swim in a saline pool, which is water and salt - the same thing as the ocean and the same thing as my body. :)
Another helpful item is my $35 shower head filter that removes the chlorine. I can go the whole winter without using any lotion! Goodbye flaky skin!
H. Vigilant Eats Superfood Cereal
This is another food item, but this isn't a snack, it's a meal! EVERY ingredient is organic and all of the flavors are gluten free, vegan and non-GMO project verified.
What makes them so easy for travel is the fact that they come with a spoon folded up on the inside. All you have to do is add water or milk and stir together!
The flavor shown here is coconut maple, but I also love the goji-cacao and the espresso maca mulberry. I buy these at Whole Foods. When you don't want to eat the food on the plane (or woke up too late for breakfast in the hotel :), these are ideal.
I. Organic Lavender Essential Oil
Lavender essential oil is nature's anti-bacterial hand wipes. Not only does this smell amazing when I rub it on my hands, but I don't have to use any alcohol-based anti-bacterial gel. This is safe, non-toxic and comes from Mother Earth and therefore, my body knows what to do with it. :) My kind of jam!
I also rubbed a little on each nostril about every 2 hours while on the plane. The air on planes is recycled so applying a little to where I breath helps eliminate harmful bacteria.
My naturopath also told me to use the lavender essential oil to rubdown the remote control and light switches when I got to the hotel since those rarely get cleaned.
Now I carry this organic lavender essential oil in my purse when I don't have time to wash my hands... smells amazing, too!
J. Organic Coconut Oil
I use coconut oil for everything - I brush my teeth with it (coconut oil is anti-bacterial), I use it for oil pulling in the morning and it's also my lotion. These travel packets I picked up at Whole Foods were the perfect size!
K. Organic Essential Oil Perfume
After learning that the perfume industry can put tons of hidden chemicals into their brands (up to 3,000 unlabeled substances!), I started looking for other options. I turned to essential oils and I found this PlantScent Aromatheraphy Perfume at Whole Foods.
It's a little woody (I like uni-sex, earthy scents) with a mix of several essential oils - juniperberry, sandalwood and frankincense (random fact -- did you know frankincense oil can break the blood-brain barrier to help people with brain cancer, yet chemo can't?**). All organic, easy to apply with the roller ball (and less spillage while traveling), and non-toxic.
A few more things...
I need to be honest with you and tell you that there are a few things not in the picture. I drank a ton of water as I learned from my naturopath that a healthy colon needs 3 things - water, fiber and exercise.
I drank water whenever I could, but if you're really serious, try not to drink water during or right after a meal. Drinking during or right after dilutes your stomach acid, which means it's harder for your body to digest everything (I guzzled down as much as I could before the food arrived and I would pick up a water bottle every day to drink in the morning or evening in my hotel room.)
As for fiber, well some of you know but I changed my diet last year (a year ago November 1st :) and I cut out the 5 foods that have zero fiber and zero antioxidants/cancer fighting benefits.**
This means my meals revolve around veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds and grains so on this trip, by avoiding those 5 foods (meat, chicken, fish, dairy and eggs), I was eating lots of color and lots of fiber! I had no problem going to the bathroom.
I felt light, lean and full of energy. Honestly, I never knew life could be this way! Life has got easier and more enjoyable and I would love the same for you. :)
If you would like to get started on your journey towards wellness, using safe, non-toxic methods, my naturopath, Dr. Jen Stanley and I have put together several programs.
The New You is a program available in the spring (till June 1st). It is an easy introduction to cleansing and getting rid of chemical calories. It's available for men and there is a separate course for women.
In the fall, Dr. Jen and I have developed the Beautiful You and Beautiful You In Person program.
These courses are available online (the cleanses are mailed to you), so they can be done from anywhere in the world! :)
Cleaning out the body can help eliminate anxiety, excess weight, allergies, join pain, digestive issues and more (Dr. Jen made some changes to her diet AND cleaned out her body, which made her fibromyalgia disappear.
I've been working with Dr. Jen to be as healthy as I can and I've never felt lighter, had more energy, mental clarity or peace in my life.
My mom has said goodbye to arthritis and cataract - yes, the body is a self-regulating organism if you give it a chance to heal by cleaning out the toxins.)
** I'm including some other resources as I've learned a lot of information over the past months and people I run into always want to know more.
When I changed my diet, I started out with this amazing cookbook. With Heather's book, I was able to learn about the power of soaking nuts, seeds and grains (and how to do it), and her book helped me incorporate other healthy alternatives like coconut aminos (taste just like soy sauce, but it's made from the sap of coconut trees), how to increase the vitamin D in mushrooms (so important for the winter when us folks in the Northern hemisphere have less exposure to the sun, ie are more vulnerable to illness like the flu), and all the flawless, yummy recipes.
Then, a few months later, this gorgeous cookbook made its way into my life (and I can't wait to get the others!)
I can't thank Organic Olivia enough for talking so much about parasites (and the fact that we all have them as they are a part of every day life). Because of her, I became fascinated by them (and yes, at times, a little freaked out), but I've enjoyed reading her posts on them (and she so boldly and fearless stands by the belief that parasites are behind any illness -- and I agree*), and her fabulous book suggestion of Accidental Cure.
*After these last several months of going through each of the detoxes (colon, kidney, liver & heavy metals), my "maintenance" will be at least 1 liver cleanse a year (probably 2) to get rid of parasites since they are everywhere and I don't want to give them a chance to flourish. I will re-visit the colon, kidney and heavy metals as I feel is needed for my body.
Lastly, Ty Bollinger's 9 part docu series that was shown over the course of nine evenings back in April brought everything full circle for me. I saw the importance of detoxing (and of always doing it in the right order - first colon, then kidney, liver and then heavy metals).
I learned so much (especially about thermography vs. mammograms) and it was inspiring to see people using non-toxic ways to beat cancer, which always had the same thread running through it. Detox (in the right order, which heals the gut, gets rid of parasites and dangerous heavy metals), and then ramp up nutrition with fruits and veggies. Powerful and eye-opening stuff!
