The Heart Health Risk to Frequent Flyers

KLM pilot suffers heart attack during runway taxi at Glasgow Airport

A recent news item highlighted once again, the heart health risk associated with the frequent flying lifestyle.  

While cardiovascular disease is not exclusive to pilots and frequent flyers there are some facts about cardiovascular disease and flying worth  a mention.

Cardiac arrests have the highest percentage of deaths for any ailment on board flights. One study of medical emergencies over a 3 year period looked at data from 5 airlines and 12,000 passengers. Only 0.3 per cent suffered cardiac arrests. Of that percentage which is 38 people, 31 died. 

Risk factors include

• Diabetes
• Being overweight and obesity
• A Poor diet*
• Physical inactivity*
• Excessive alcohol use*

*Note - Risk factors often common to frequent flyers of all walks of life.

As a frequent flyer what can you do about it? 

Awareness is a good starting point. Risk factors from flying need to be addressed by all flyers alongside or in the absence of reactive medical action, i.e. private medical insurance is not enough.

Flyers deserve a mixture of the right type of support from the usual channels of healthcare with a mix of preventative tools, in short flyers must place priority cardiovascular health through their own actions.

Did you know?

• The constant pressurisation and depressurisation of the aircraft cabin can lead to a condition called Vascular Remodelling.
• Vascular remodelling is part of the pathway that can lead to congestive heart failure if not dealt with.
• Supplementation with D-Ribose is one way of addressing heart health.
• Rhodiola is a herb useful for prevention of the deterioration of the endothelium, implicated in cardiovascular health.

Contact us at here to book an appointment, find out more about the healthy flying habit and get started on your road to beating jet lag whenever you travel.

Disclaimer.

Ps - Always work with your primary healthcare practitioner when making important health decisions.

  

How To Series - Staying Hydrated for Frequent Flyers 3

It is always good to have options.
Having sodium bicarbonate on hand can help flyers stay hydrated and help beat jet lag.

You know the drill by now -

Do This

Step 1: Get your preferred non BPA water bottle.
Step 2: Pick up sodium bicarbonate inexpensively at the chemist or drug store.
Step 3: Start with an eighth of a teaspoon and at least 16 oz of water. Use less than an eighth of a teaspoon if you can't hack the salty taste .

Tip - If you use cold water you can mask the saltiness a bit.

Lets Connect the Dots

First a word of caution. Use sodium bicarbonate with diligence and the awareness that it can interact with certain types of drugs. If you are not sure about it's use consult with a doctor or your primary healthcare practitioner.

- Sodium bicarbonate is a base (it has alkaline properties) bases can neutralise acids in the body. As acids can be harmful to the body they are often kept neutralised and out of the way. Sometimes the medium used for this is water, the same water that could be used elsewhere to keep you hydrated.

- Maintaining a good acid/alkaline balance to start with is one way to help maintain hydration, especially onboard an aircraft with its acidifying cabin environment due to the positive ions in the air.

Takeaways

• Use sparingly as there may be drug interactions if you are on medication.
• The Acid/Alkaline balance of your body plays into how hydrated you are.
• Aircraft cabins are acid forming.

How To Series - Staying Hydrated for Frequent Flyers

Following the Inflight Health Briefing Sheet on Hydration on Hydration, the next few posts will concentrate on practical tools for flyers

who want to arrive hydrated every time.

Do This

Step 1: Buy a non-BPA water bottle

Step 2: Order Echo Effervescent Hydrogen tablets online

Step 3: Drop 1 tab in 16 oz of water and sip throughout your flight, repeat as often as needed

Lets connect the dots...

• Hydrogen the number one element of the periodic table is the most abundant element in the universe
• Hydrogen + Oxygen typically produces water = Hydration
• An abundance of hydrogen protects the body against alpha particles of cosmic radiation, ps a hydrogen polymer, is used in the NASA space shuttle for this very reason

Takeaways

1. An alternative theory of jet lag says the over-acidification of the body tissues at altitude sets the conditions for jet lag in motion
2. A lack of hydration equals systemwide acidification
3. Remember lemonade colour urine inflight GOOD (↓dehydration), apple juice colour urine BAD (↑more dehydration)

Disclosure - I have no affiliation with Echo Effervescent, but I do use this kick-ass product. Warning : Use supplements responsibly and under supervision if necessary. 

Inflight Health Briefing - Hydration

You may have heard it all before -

" The plane leaves me so dehydrated" 

"Drink plenty of water"

"My skin is so dry, I went to sleep on the plane and woke up with a dry mouth"

"I went to pee and it was yellow" 

These are all symptoms of various stages of dehydration. Dehydration is almost unavoidable if you travel often. Get the cure to this problem with this insider scoop, the Inflight Health Briefing Sheet on Hydration. These are some of the tools the pro's use.

Pass Me the Meal Tray not the Sickbag; The Truth About Food and Digestion at Altitude

Death warmed up doesn't quite describe the feeling when you've eaten something before takeoff or during the flight that doesn't quite agree with you. Save yourself the pain by understanding what is in play between food digestion and altitude.  No matter how much airlines try to dress food up and make it appealing plane food is meant for one thing, sustenance while getting you from A to B.

Articles like the 10 foods to avoid before flying name foods such as chips, red meat, beans, soft drinks, chilli and other usual suspects (coffee garlic and gum) as foods to avoid but the truth is if you understood the flying environment better you might find that

• Altitude is a hypobaric environment, which means all physiological functions are affected. Digestion becomes less efficient at altitude.
• Any borderline issues you have with food in a normal setting will more than likely be pronounced at altitude.
• The acid or alkaline value of any food eaten at altitude can have an effect on how digestible it is in the oxygen-poor aircraft cabin. 
•  Food serves a little known psychological purpose at altitude. Think about it, you are hurtling through the air in a tube which defies gravity and seems to be moving so slow. This can be quite unnerving. Food and the ability to be certain that you can at least fill your stomach gives you a sense certainty. Food is a distraction.

Altitude is not the place to become a gourmand. If you want the meal tray and not the sickbag it is best to keep all meal choices as simple as possible when flying.

TIP If your enjoyment of the flight is dependent on eating the inflight meal and beverage offering your best bet is to pack some good quality digestive enzymes with you for those times you don’t want to say no.