Healthy on the Road

It's important to stay healthy on the road both physically and mentally to enjoy the experiences and get lost in the moments.  The tips to being healthy are to get proper rest, after months of backpacking, the body starts to wear down and needs rest frequently, so take the time to do so and not be obsessed with checking off must see items on the list.  Better yet, before the body gets to this weary stage, remember that the trip is about an experience and not a rush through vacation so slowing down is key.  Eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, they provide vitamins, fiber, and other  key nutrients to fight off colds, flu, and keep from getting dehydrated, which can also bring about colds as the body is more susceptible to infections.  It is common knowledge that you you need to drink lots of water. Like most people, you probably do not get the recommended six to eight daily glasses of water. But you probably didn’t know that fruit contains 80% water. So it would make sense that adding fruit to your diet would increase your overall water intake. No other food on this planet exists that has that much amount of water.  To get a healthy variety, think color. Eating fruits and vegetables of different colors gives your body a wide range of valuable nutrients, like fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamins A and C. Some examples include green spinach, orange sweet potatoes, black beans, yellow corn, purple plums, red watermelon, and white onions. For more variety, try new fruits and vegetables regularly.

For mental health, read and meditate to calm the mind and to take yourself out of the external world.  Meditation can provide psychological, physiological, and spiritual benefits such as builds self-confidence, resolves phobias & fears, ability to see the larger picture in a given situation, react more quickly and more effectively to a stressful event, helps make more accurate judgements.  Others include deeper understanding of yourself and others, helps learn forgiveness, enhances the immune system, reduces anxiety, along with countless other benefits.