The Frequent Flyer's Guide to Traveling with Vitamins

It’s easy to lose track of a few things when you’re traveling, but the one thing you don’t want to lose track of is your health.

When you’re waking up early for your flight, spending your entire day in the air at 35,000 feet, and sitting in a box full of germs and airborne viruses, your body is subject to a few health impacts.

And that’s just the physical act of traveling! Not to mention what happens to your body when you arrive at your destination. 

It’s important to make sure your body has what it needs no matter where you are. With this guide, we’ll help you understand everything you need to know about traveling with vitamins and supplements. 

The Importance of Traveling with Vitamins 

It might not seem like it sometimes, but packing vitamins is more important than remembering to bring your laptop or portable charger. 

Our bodies need a daily dose of vitamins, minerals and enzymes that help us maintain our overall health and boost our immunity to prevent getting sick. We typically get these vitamins through a balanced, whole-food diet. 

Read More: Research Shows You’re 100x More Likely to Get Sick on a Plane. Here's Why

But when we travel, we don’t always get the chance to take in all the vitamins our bodies need.

Traveling with vitamin supplements is essential for your health because finding healthy food options can be scarce when you travel. It's also one of the many Just because you’re on the go doesn’t mean you should sacrifice your daily routine that keeps your body operating at peak production levels. 

Making sure vitamins are a priority when you travel can give you the energy and strength you need for your next trip and benefit your overall health.

Best Vitamins and Supplements for Traveling

There are 13 different vitamins that your body needs and a ton of other supplements out there that help with your health, but only a few are essential for travel.

When you travel you miss out on things like getting enough sunlight and enough whole-food options plus your immune system is constantly fighting off all the germs that can be on the plane. Some of the best vitamins to bring with you can help you give your body the boost it needs. 

Immunity

#1. Vitamin D

This vitamin is crucial to bring with you during your travels because it supports bone, blood, and immune system health. Vitamin D allows your body to absorb calcium to build strong bones. It also helps maintain phosphorus levels in the blood and helps your immune system fight off disease. 

Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin because you absorb it through exposure to the sun. But during most trips, your only exposure to the sun will be when you’re entering or leaving the airport. Overall, you won’t be absorbing much Vitamin D when you travel. Vitamin D can also be found in foods such as fatty fish and mushrooms, but you won’t usually find many of those options on a menu at the airport or on the plane.

Bringing Vitamin D supplements with you when you fly will help your bones, blood and immune system maintain its healthy functions even when you don’t have time to walk in the sunshine.

#2. Vitamin C

Planes and airports are a hub for all kinds of germs. Even if you bring as much hand sanitizer as the TSA will allow, you need to be sure your immune system is up to the challenge when you fly. 

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that helps your immune system by giving your white blood cells the boost they need to fight off disease. It’s also important for maintaining your blood pressure, which could increase with the stress that comes from traveling.  

Vitamin C supplements come in many forms but the most popular is a powdered drink mix or tablet.  

One pack of Flight Elixir has 110% of your recommended daily Vitamin C intake through its natural ingredients like the Camu Camu berry, goji berries, and coconut water. 

The battle against airborne germs can seem endless, but supplementing with vitamin C (and staying hydrated!) can keep your immune system strong enough to fight off disease.

#3. Melatonin

Abrupt changes to your time zone and sleep schedule are sometimes unavoidable when you travel.

Getting adjusted to a new schedule and getting over the effects of jet lag can sometimes take your body days to catch up on sleep. Instead of suffering, you can take melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain that promotes natural sleep functions. 
 

Melatonin is a natural alternative to other sleep aids that can help you get some sleep when you find yourself tossing and turning away from home. 

One of the most natural ways to get a dose of melatonin is through the tart cherry, which is a key ingredient of the Flight Elixir.

With the added melatonin from the tart cherry, Flight Elixir can help you get some much-needed rest and back on track with your circadian rhythm during an exhausting travel day.  

#4. Magnesium 

Sitting in a middle seat for a long haul flight with no hope of stretching your legs can put a lot of stress on your muscles up until it’s time to land. Magnesium is a great supplement to help when you’re crammed onto a tiny plane and need to help your muscles relieve tension and aid with overall soreness 

Falling asleep on the plane is also tricky sometimes, but magnesium naturally relaxes your body so it can help you avoid issues when you’re trying to fall asleep on the plane. Getting enough sleep and protecting your muscles from any extra strain is crucial to keep you feeling rested and ready for the challenges you might face on your next trip. 

Circulation Support

#5. Vitamin B12 

Take care of your blood flow instead of stressing about traffic flow when you’re traveling by bringing Vitamin B12 with you on your next trip. This vitamin is essential for the health of both your blood and nervous systems so having it with you will help support healthy blood circulation. 

Vitamin B12 can also help you sharpen your focus when you feel like you’re in a fog because it supports healthy brain function. That’s super important when you’re feeling rundown at the terminal but still need to read the signs to find your gate.

As an added bonus, Vitamin B12 can even help improve your mood when the stress of traveling is putting a damper on your travel day. 

Read More: Swelling When Traveling? Here’s Why It Happens + What to Do

#6. Iron Supplements

Iron is a major supporter of red blood cells and helps produce the protein that allows these cells to bring oxygen to other parts of the body. Getting enough iron in your day is crucial for proper blood circulation, which is even more important when you’re out traveling all day. 

While supplements are one way to get enough iron, you can also find iron in many natural foods like leafy greens, quinoa, and goji berries. 

Cosmic Radiation Support

#7. Vitamin E

Antioxidants give our bodies a boost when it comes to fighting off disease and Vitamin E is a great antioxidant for traveling. Not only will Vitamin E support your immune system, but it also helps your body fight off free radicals, which you’re more exposed to when you’re traveling on a plane. 

When we fly, we’re more at risk to the effects of cosmic radiation, so packing Vitamin E along can help you fight off the damage this radiation can cause to your cells. 

#8. Chlorella and Spirulina 

Another way to heal from the effects of cosmic radiation is the natural supplements Chlorella and Spirulina. These two strains of algae bind to radioactive particles remove them from your system entirely. They also help repair DNA damage to already harmed cells from your previous travels.

Flight Elixir contains both Chlorella and Spirulina as a way to fight off the effects of cosmic radiation so you can keep traveling as much as you want without having to worry about the long term effects on your body. 

Digestion & Bloating

#9. Whole Foods Powders

If you’re someone who likes to travel light, you can get a little bit of everything you need with a whole foods powders, which are made from greens, vegetables, seaweed, probiotics, and digestive enzymes. 

With the added bonus of probiotics and digestive enzymes, whole food powders can also help with the symptoms of bloating and aid in digestion when you’ve been traveling all day. 

Read More: Bloating after Flying: What Causes Jet Belly & How to Prevent It

One of the best natural sources of digestive enzymes is papaya (which is why it’s a key ingredient we use!). Papaya is a rich source of the enzymes papain, chymopapain, caricain and glycyl endopeptidase that each aid in healthy digestion. 

TSA Rules for Traveling with Vitamins

The TSA has a lot of rules that can be tough to remember when you’ve already got so many things on your mind. 

You might think that the TSA restricts transporting vitamins and supplements because they could be mistaken for other medications. But in reality, the TSA rules for vitamins are simple.

Vitamins and Supplements in your Carry-On

You can carry the following in your carry-on: 

• An unlimited number of vitamins in pill or tablet form (though you may be stopped at the security checkpoint if you have massive quantities)
• Powdered supplements (such as protein powders, greens powders, and Flight Elixir!) 

If your vitamins are in liquid form, you just have to comply with the TSA’s policy on liquids which restricts containers to 3.4 ounces or less.

As long as you comply with the liquid policy, there’s no need to inform the TSA officer of your vitamins or leave them in their original packaging.

Knowing that the TSA actually allows you to bring your vitamins with limited restrictions can help you be able to take your vitamins before and after you’re through security. 

Vitamins and Supplements in your Checked Bags

Traveling with anything in your checked baggage is much more simple than in a carry-on. 

You can typically get away with more volume without getting stopped at the security checkpoint to be searched, and you can pack full-sized bottles of liquid vitamins and supplements in your checked bags. 

Just be careful to pad any glass bottling properly so nothing gets broken in transit. The last thing you want is to arrive at your destination and find a broken bottle of fish oil ruined your clothes and suitcase! 

Tips for Packing Vitamins for Your Flight

Making sure you have enough vitamins for your trip and that they are easy to access on a flight is crucial to staying healthy when you travel. You’ll want to be sure you have everything you need and can find your vitamins with ease on your next trip. Here are a few tips for packing vitamins for your travels. 

#1. Bring Extra Doses of Your Daily Vitamins

When you’re packing your carry-on make sure that you bring at least two days worth of vitamins, even if it’s a short trip, just in case you can’t get a hold of your checked luggage right away. Having vitamins with you at all times helps you be prepared for the unexpected so you don’t have to sacrifice your health when something goes wrong.

#2. Keep Vitamins Close in your Carry-on 

You might be on the go all day and the only time you have to take your vitamins is while you’re sitting on the plane. In that case, you’ll need your vitamins packed in your carry-on so you can take them while you have the time.

Waiting for checked luggage or for the free time after a day is already done can make you miss out on key nutrients for your travel day so keep your vitamins handy and ready to go in your carry-on luggage. 

#3. Try a Travel Pill Case

The TSA allows for an unlimited number of vitamins in pill form, but packing different pills that all look the same can get confusing. A great way to avoid the hassle of digging through your bag to find the right pills is a travel pill case. You can fill each day accordingly with the vitamin dosage of your choosing.

#4. Bring The Travel Water Bottle 

When you’re rushing through the airport to make it to your gate, you don’t always have time to stop for a bottle of water. Bringing The Travel Water Bottle with you on your flight can help you when you need to have a little water for swallowing vitamins in pill form or having something to pour your powdered vitamins into.

Taking Vitamins on the Plane

The TSA allows you to bring vitamins in pill, liquid and powdered form as long as you comply with the overall liquid standards so you’ll be able to take your vitamins with you on the plane. 

Just like any other medication, here are a few helpful reminders for taking vitamins on the flight:

• Bring water with you so you can take your vitamins even before the flight attendants have started their service
• Keep track of your daily doses if you’re headed to a new time zone and try to stay with the same time as you would if you were at home
• Take sleep-aiding vitamins with care to maximize their help in beating the effects of jet lag

Traveling with Vitamins Made Simple

Taking your vitamins is an important part of everyday life, but it can get lost in the midst of a busy travel day. Knowing what vitamins to bring with you and how to bring them on your flight can help you maintain your health while you’re away from home. 

What vitamins do you bring with you when you travel? Did we forget any vitamins you think are important? Do you have any suggestions for maintaining your health when you travel? Let us know in the comments below. 

Check out: Travel Fatigue Explained: Signs, Symptoms & Causes