Health on the road – The importance of food and drink

It can be one of the hardest things to deal with when you’re away.  Most other things, bad service, problems with the locals, boredom, can all be solved by moving on and leaving the problems behind you.  You’re health is with you wherever you go, so it is important to do some basic things to help keep it and to help you deal with problems as and when they occur.

It’s sounds like a completely stupid thing to say, but the single most important thing that you can do to help ensure that your health stays in a good state is to eat and drink in sufficient quantities.  In hot climates especially it’s all too easy to neglect one or other of these basic everyday things and doing so will make you unhappier and potentially feel like shit.

Dehydration will often leed to headaches and lethargy.  Drinking regularly is the obvious solution to this and suitable quantities of water are the ideal solution.  Sometime though it just isn’t possible to drink as much safe water as you’d like as it is needed, so a few things are worth considering in these times.  Sugary soft drinks or sugar laden tea is excellent for helping you to rehydrate, especially when combined with a plate of slightly salty food.  The rise of the fast food giants of America has pretty much ensured that almost anywhere in the world now you can get a glass of Coke and a plate of salty chips which although not culturally sensitive have the potential to be a godsend.

Sometime this still isn’t enough or just still isn’t a practical solution.  It’s those times when you really need to be carrying rehydration sachets.  Consisting of mostly sugars and potassium salts (and often a little flavouring to help with the saltiness) these help your body re-absorb fluids quickly and efficiently.  Yup these are the electrolytes that sports drink manufacturers will charge you a fortune for gained for a fraction of the cost.

One aspect of food has already been covered.  The other really vital thing to consider with food though is that it is your fuel.  It provides all the material to keep your body working and so is essential to keeping you going (if you’re thinking about dieting don’t do it while travelling, you’ll probably lose weight anyway).  So even if it’s not what would not normally be considered the healthy and balanced meal it is likely to be good for you.  High carb meals especially like those based on noodles or rice are invaluable for this the world over providing.

A final word on food for now – pay attention to your bodies own cravings.  Although I’ve said above that getting food of any kind into you is vital, even just as a fuel source, the cravings that you will feel now and then will perhaps be an indication of some of the dietary elements that have been neglected.  Personally I find these usually take the form of a craving for fruit or slabs of meat, depending on whether my body is crying out for vitamins of some form or protiens respectively.