Staying Healthy on the Road
Whether traveling for work or fun, being on the road, away from, for an extended time can take its toll on our bodies, both due to stress from travel and especially to trying to maintain a healthy diet outside of our home comfort zones.
I used to travel a lot as a photographer, staying away from home for months at a time. Trying to keep up with any kind of a regular diet is difficult under such circumstances. Regardless of any kind of romanticizing others may do about living a life on the road out of motel rooms, there ain’t much to desire about it.
Whether I was working for one night in a town, or for a full week, moving from town to town does not lend itself to habitual shopping sources; in other words, you cannot depend on stores carrying the products you want, whether it is food products or vitamins.
If one is going to be on the road for a limited time, such as a week on vacation, going off of one’s regimen for a short time can be a diversion, a guilty pleasure if you will, but for a more extended time period it can be damaging to one’s health.
Let’s play the brand name game.
Shopping anywhere from Roger’s IGA to Walmart to Ma’s Quik Stop leaves something to be desired trying to build a food pyramid from what’s available. Concessions have to be made when choosing food products.
I usually buy some products in the Smart Balance line for the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in them. Now being that I live in a little town, and am surrounded by other little towns which are all subject to a grocery monopoly, fiefdom if you will, selection is limited and grocery prices are inflated due to this. If I want healthier selections, I need to drive 38 miles to the nearest Kroger store.
When living on the road, it is advantageous to develop an attitude of Brand A is Brand B is Brand C; in other words peanut butter is peanut butter. Though I would prefer a Smart Balance brand of peanut butter, having to settle for peanut butter itself is going to have to suffice.
Additionally, settling for an equivalent replacement will have to suffice. I prefer flax seed bread; which is a whole wheat bread which contains flax seed. Now little grocery stores are not going to carry flax seed bread, but they will most likely carry whole wheat bread.
Living on the road with selective options is not going to satisfy one very well, and largely be more expensive, and time consuming, running around trying to find such options. Learning food equivalents and getting the basics of nutritional requirements you want to meet is something to be learned and used.
Keep up the protein.
The basic building blocks of life, and therefore our bodies, are amino acids; amino acids combine to form proteins and anything which contains protein therefore contains amino acids. Anywhere from 60 to 100 grams of protein on a daily basis, and good proteins at that, would be ideal, regardless of what the nutritional literature tells you otherwise.
Out of the 20 (22?) amino acids which the body uses for protein synthesis, there are 8 (10?) essential amino acids which are not produced (synthesized) by the body and must be obtained from the foods we eat. Foods which contain all of the essential amino acids are classified as providing complete proteins necessary for human nutrition.
Protein sources of complete proteins are primarily animal sources; meat, dairy, and eggs for example. Being that humans are animals, by classification, a protein sourced from another animal will provide, for the most part, a complete source of essential amino acids.
Both from the perspective of where there’s a complete protein there is fat and those requiring non-animal protein sources such as vegetarian, as I am a vegetarian myself, there are alternative sources of protein which provide for both scenarios.
Incomplete proteins exist in various plant sources. On their own, they will not provide all of the essential amino acids necessary for human nutrition. Combining various non-animal protein sources will provide a complete protein. In general, combining any whole grain source with a legume, such as peanut butter on whole wheat bread or beans and rice, will complete a protein. As a rule of thumb, basically meaning more often than not, any three non-animal sources of protein (providing they are divergent) will combine to provide a complete protein (e.g. a fruit, a grain source, and greens).
Fiber; a lot more important than you may think.
” Boy…if I could only eat meat all day I would…and be happy for the rest of my life.”
Perhaps for animals with a carnivorous digestive system that might be true, and even they need green sources in their diets, but for humans with herbivorous digestive systems, and I hope you don’t believe that fiction about such things as omnivores, the fiber we get in our diets is what helps to not only remove wastes from our system, but helps in the assimilation of food sources as well.
A carnivorous animal has a short tract digestive system which is highly acidic in order to pass food, meat, through the system, extract the necessary components, and expel the waste; ideally. Humans do not have a carnivorous digestive system.
The human digestive system has a longer tract which can extract nutrients from a variety of sources; this includes meat to some degree. With a longer digestive system, toxins and wastes get into the system and need to be flushed both from the digestive system and the blood. Fiber in our foods is what accomplishes this.
Sources of fiber are grains, legumes, and vegetables. Grains and legumes are available in convenient sources when traveling. A loaf of whole wheat bread and a jar of peanut butter provide a complete source of nutrition; providing both protein and fiber, plus other important nutrients.
Green, red, yellow…look at all the pretty colors.
A well decorated horn of plenty makes for a beautiful display on a dining table. The contents of that horn of plenty also contain some of the most important nutrients we will put into our bodies.
We have covered sources of proteins and fiber, and yes, fruits and vegetable are also sources of both, and the primary source of fiber in the food pyramid, but they are also primary sources of important vitamins, minerals, and other nutrient, as well carbohydrates which, despite the dangerous protein diets, are absolutely necessary for healthy living.
For people who love fruits and vegetables, they are a handy, portable, and generally stable source of nutrition. They are easy to acquire as any grocery store has fresh fruits and vegetables available, as well one can save a lot of money at farmers’ markets, and help to support our farmers while they are at it.
Now if someone is like me and believes that vegetables grow in cans, well, canned vegetables are a good source of nutrition, as well are fruit and vegetable juices. There seems to be an acrimonious feeling from some that canned and processed fruits and vegetables have no nutritional value. Perhaps fresh fruits and vegetables have more nutritional value, but an attitude of all or none when it comes to nutrition is simply wrong and plainly stupid.
Any nutritional value a food has for your body is better than nothing at all. Fruits and vegetables do not lose their fiber content from being canned, as well many nutrients are not lost from processing. Most of what is lost are vitamins, and being that those are often supplanted in the processing anyway, as well separate vitamin supplements are available, the point is rather moot.
Keeping your health is more important than someone else’s attitude.
There are some people who are basically being hurt, intentionally or not, by being influenced in their eating habits by poor advice. All of us have bad dietary habits to some degree, but there is no need to dispose of healthy habits in nutrition because you are constantly being told that unless you are doing it this way or that way you might as well be eating junk food.
The basics of diet and nutrition are simply to eat things which are good for you, balance the foods you eat to get a combined benefit, and avoid excesses.
Living on the road and keeping up one’s nutrition does not change the rule, or negate them, but only adjusts how we are able to meet our nutritional needs. The best way to judge what a food has to offer is to simply read the label; amounts and percentages are included.
There is nothing wrong with going to a fast food restaurant. You can order foods that will benefit each other. Perhaps living out of restaurants will be unhealthy, but not once in a while. Don’t stress yourself about your eating habits; just simply follow some good eating guidelines, avoid unnecessary stress about what you eat, and you can keep your health in check; you know better than anybody else when you feel good or not.
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Tags: amino acids, carbohydrates, fast food, fiber, health, nutrition, processed food, protein, travel