This vitamin may really change how you feel after a long flight

Self-described “concierge wellness doctor,” Jonathan Leary founded Remedy Place in West Hollywood two years ago. It’s a 5,000-square-foot private members’ club that’s part Soho House, part New Age spa, at which Leary and his team offer everything from infrared sauna suites and cryotherapy to guided ice baths, combining traditional medicine with holistic practices.

Leary, who is not a medical doctor but holds a doctorate in Chiropractic Medicine and Alternative Medicine from the Southern California University of Health Sciences, believes the blend contributes significantly to overall health.

In a typical year before the pandemic, he logged up to 150,000 miles in the air, shuttling regularly between New York and California, as well as making frequent trips to Europe.

Here are his travel and wellness trips, learned from a career of practice and personal experience.

Load up on magnesium

Leary always advises patients to load up on one vitamin before they travel.

"Magnesium is the one nutrient I kind of mandate [to my clients], and here’s why: We lose magnesium very easily, because we lose it through sweat. People in LA that work out every single day? They tend to be low on magnesium. So I tell patients to load up on magnesium glycinate."

When you are in a plane, it disrupts your digestive system, dehydrates you, and leads to your body feeling tight, Leary explains: and when you have low magnesium levels, the muscles will be tighter.

"If all the muscles in your body are relaxed, you’re more likely to sleep and be de-stressed. Remember that your intestines are muscles, too, so magnesium will also get your bowels moving again. It helps calm you down and prepare you for sleep, no matter which time zone you land in."

On the ball

Bring a ball to help release the muscles on a long flight, but don’t expect it to be comfortable.

"Being stagnant on a plane for a long flight only gets harder on the body with age. But you can’t really travel with a foam roller or Hyperices, so I take a lacrosse ball," Leary reveals. "You can go way deeper [into muscle massage] with this than a tennis ball."

"When you’re doing active release therapy, it’s supposed to be really uncomfortable. You should get this shortening of breath where you’re on the right spot, and you’ll be, like, ‘Ohhhhh.’ So the more concentrated and firm a ball is, the bigger the release."

"If you use a firmer ball, you can also cut the time to use it in half, so it’s a win-win. I would much rather get a better release faster. It doesn't matter where I am. It doesn't really look weird to roll out your foot on your flight, or even sit on it while you're on a flight."

Running is good, but hiking is better

Go for a hike, not a run, after touching down in a new locale. Leary believes it’s good for more than just your jet lag.

"We used to think all these hippies were crazy when they’d say, ‘Go outside and ground yourself with the Earth.’ But now we're actually showing these studies that, no, you need to be outside, and you need to be around these plants."

"One of the things I suggest is to go on hikes around different plants at in different parts of the world; not just at ground level in a park, but to different altitudes. Breathing the air around certain plants is one of the best ways to restore the healthy bacteria in your gut."

Start your trip prep one week early

Leary recommends starting trip prep a week before you step into a plane for that long flight ahead.

"I live a really healthy life, but even more so in the week leading up to a big trip. It’s really, really important, because everyone gets a little sloppy with their health regimen when traveling."

"And I always get a vitamin IV before I travel – ideally, the day of, but as close to the travel date as you can. Every three hours in the air, you lose a liter and a half of water, and if you’re dehydrated, not only are your aches and pains going to be worse, your digestion and immune system will be."

"Get [an IV drip] that has the right nutrients for you. If you get an excess of anything, you’re just going to flush it out, so you won’t feel too much different, other than the hydration. Naturopath doctors are going to analyze what you need, instead of just throwing a bag of nutrients at you."

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