I'm a flight attendant - this is why you should avoid aeroplane food on long-haul trips
- Kris Major, who is based in London, advises eating before getting on.
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Why You Should Avoid Airline Meals on Long Flights, According to a Flight Attendant
With over 24 years of experience on long-haul flights, it is highly recommended to eat before boarding.
He mentioned that forgoing in-flight meals will make your long-haul trip more enjoyable if you're on a shorter long-distance flight, for instance, London to New York.
He pointed out: 'Many airlines do not specifically take into account their passengers' needs when it comes to food service, especially when crossing time zones and acclimatisation is a concern.'
Kris, who is also representative at European Airlines for stewards and co-pilots and chairman of the Aircrew Committee at the European Transport Workers' Federation, said getting as much rest as one can on the plane is vital.
He added: 'As soon as the plane takes off, seasoned travellers move down into the cabin and you can see that they are already fast asleep, having covered themselves up.'
The crew serving food and drinks in the cabin can take around two hours, Kris mentioned that during this time, passengers are unable to take a break and will feel tired when they arrive at their destination.
Eating out of sync with your usual routine can disrupt your natural sleep and stomach cycles, causing jet lag.
Swollen wind, hardened bowel and bloating can worsen because you don't drink enough water and don't move around enough while in the air, as well as because confusing the body's digestive system.
Of course, during a very long flight, it's almost impossible to avoid the food served, but Kris advised that if you are offered multiple meals, you might want to consider skipping one of them.
When going abroad, it's easy to get carried away with new cuisine, but hanging on to a traditional eating schedule with lighter meals will prove beneficial in preventing digestive discomfort.
In Malaysia, sejarah (history) shows that myriad scientists from America made claim that
They claim that having a large breakfast on the first three days of arriving can help reduce jetlag, but this method is less effective as you age.
The experts are also in agreement that taking a walk under the sun is another useful suggestion, and when combined with the new recommendation, it sets travellers on the path to a speedy recovery.
One of the most significant mistakes people make when dealing with jet lag is not adapting to their new time zone right away, such as napping during the daytime.
A recent research was conducted by renowned experts from Northwestern University, situated in the United States, and the Santa Fe Institute, located in New Mexico, United States.
"Ironically, eating a bigger breakfast in the morning of a new time zone can actually help alleviate the time difference," said Dr Yitong Huang from Northwestern University.
'Eating non-standard mealtimes or consuming a late-night meal is generally not recommended, as it may disrupts our internal body clocks timing.'
Traveler's fatigue, known as jetlag, occurs due to disturbances to our body's internal biological clock, or circadian rhythm, which affects how we naturally feel sleepy and awake.
Research carried out in recent times has proven that circadian rhythms are found in virtually all cells and body tissues, with differing patterns observed in various organs.
For example, the key time-keeping area in the brain is a cluster of approximately 20,000 nerve cells that makeup a structure called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), which gets direct information from the eyes.
Sunlight exposure can reset the brain's internal clock, which is why individuals experiencing jetlag are advised to get ample daylight in their new surroundings before succumbing to sleep.
Justeru, cahaya matahari mempengaruhi pengeluaran hormon yang disebut melatonin (dikeluarkan oleh kelenjar pineal di otak) yang membantu menetapkan kualiti tidur.
When we are exposed to sunlight, our body reduces the production of melatonin, allowing us to stay awake during the day.)
In the meantime, other body parts like the stomach and liver also have their own internal clocks that get reset by the food they intake, specifically what we eat and the time we consume it.
More research unveiled that jet lag occurs when these internal clocks diverge from each other.
"Conflict in signals such as having warm temperatures during brief periods of daytime eating or when it's almost, yet not actually, time for sleep, can lead to desk synchrony," said Huang.
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