Fred's Useful Travel Tips!

The new jet lag technique is as follows: Fast for 16 hours before you arrive to your destination. That way, your body adjusts more rapidly to the circadian rhythms, and you can beat jet lag faster. Studies done recently show on mice show the brain has two internal "clocks". There's the light-activated clock that sets our sleep-wake cycle, and then a SECOND clock that keeps track of meal-times. Traveling across time zones sends the first clock out of wack, causing jet lag. By fasting for 16 hours, you can reset your second "hunger" clock to the new time zone. The idea is to avoid all foods on the plane and then eat when you arrive to your destination. So I didn't eat anything after 2 p.m. in New York City, which is 4 hours before Cceland. I didn't have dinner, and ate nothing during the flight. I also tried to sleep during the plane and block all light to force my body to think that it's already in Icelandic time. Although, in practice I'm not sure how it's going to work since there's going to be daylight until about midnight! So far it's going great though. Veronica is snacking on oranges we brought with us as I'm writing this. The highlights of this trip will include checking out the blue lagoon hot springs, driving around the country, hiking, discovering more of the Icelandic and Viking history. It’s also a good time to visit the country, since their currency crashed by a factor of 100% since 2007! That means things are expensive, instead of outrageously expensive. In New York City, the weather was well in the 90s. Here’s it’s barely 53! It’s also raining and grey, but we’re still excited to discover what Iceland has to offer. What does a raw-foodist do when going to remote places like Iceland? We brought a lot of dried fruit with us. We also brought a stash of apples and oranges that we got in New York, which made our bags very heavy, but it’s worth it since organic fruit is very expensive here. I generally don’t eat dried fruit, but for traveling and emergencies, I make an exception. I carry a thermos container where I sock dried fruit in warm or hot water. To this I might add some real cinnamon. It makes a great breakfast and it’s not cooling like cold fruit. Fruit is available in Iceland, like in any major city of the world. It will be expensive, but always a health bargain compared to other foods. We also carry some seasonings like dulse powder, that we can use in case we need to make a salad on the go. Seaweed is not something I eat all the time, but while traveling it’s handy to get extra minerals that may be lacking in the limited selection of foods we eat (since we’re not eating many greens at the moment). Instead of avocados, I eat three or four Brazil nuts per day as a fat. They’re rich in selenium and other minerals. But don’t overeat them... three Brazil nuts is already 100 calories! Of course, the easiest way to go raw is to do it at home, right now, in the heat of the summer and with an abundance of fruit.