Nov '25 • Recovery 101
✈️ The Real Reason Flying Drains You (and How Antioxidants Help You Bounce Back)
Ever wonder why you feel so wiped out after a flight — even when you slept fine and hydrated?
That heavy, bloated, foggy feeling isn’t just “jet lag.” It’s something deeper happening inside your body called oxidative stress — and if you’re someone who flies for work, trains hard, or just wants to feel human again after a red-eye, it’s worth understanding.
⸻
🚀 What Actually Happens to Your Body When You Fly
Flying at altitude puts your body in a completely different environment than it was built for.
Cabin air is pressurized to around 8,000 feet, meaning lower oxygen levels, extremely dry air, and mild cosmic radiation exposure from being higher in the atmosphere.
Add in disrupted sleep, long periods of sitting, limited movement, and meals that are anything but consistent, and you’ve got a perfect storm for something called oxidative stress — when unstable molecules (free radicals) build up faster than your body can neutralize them.
Those free radicals damage cells and slow recovery. Over time, that can show up as:
• Fatigue even after a rest day
• Muscle soreness that lingers
• Brain fog or irritability
• Dry skin, inflammation, and slower metabolism
• “Jet lag” symptoms that don’t match your flight length
Basically, your body’s internal systems are fighting a mini battle every time you fly — and most of us don’t even realize it.
⸻
🍓 Antioxidants: The Body’s Defense System
Here’s the good news: your body is smart. It’s built with its own cleanup crew — antioxidants — which neutralize free radicals before they do damage.
The trick is making sure you actually have enough of them when you’re flying often or training hard.
Antioxidants come from colorful, real foods — the kind that literally fight back against the oxidative load of travel. Think of them as the nutritional version of recovery boots for your cells.
Here are some of my go-to’s:
🍵 Tea
Green tea, white tea, and even matcha are packed with catechins — powerful antioxidants that support cellular recovery and mental clarity.
I drink green tea almost every flight day — it gives a gentle caffeine lift without the crash and helps offset some of the oxidative stress from altitude.
If you want something caffeine-free before bed, rooibos or hibiscus teas are rich in antioxidants too and can help calm the nervous system after long duty days.
🫐 Berries
Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries — packed with anthocyanins that repair cell damage and protect brain function.
🍊 Citrus + Kiwi
Loaded with vitamin C, which supports collagen, immunity, and tissue recovery (plus it tastes like actual hydration when the plane air is bone-dry).
🥬 Leafy Greens + Herbs
Spinach, kale, arugula, cilantro — full of compounds that help lower inflammation and improve circulation.
🍫 Dark Chocolate
A legitimate antioxidant source (flavonoids) that reduces stress hormones and improves blood flow — especially helpful after long-haul flights.
🍉 Hydrating Fruits
Watermelon, oranges, and papaya are high in water and electrolytes. I’ve actually swapped most of my electrolyte powders for whole fruits lately — they hydrate better, taste real, and come with fiber, minerals, and antioxidants all in one.
⸻
🧠 Why This Matters for Performance
For me, it’s not about “eating clean.”
It’s about fueling for performance and recovery — especially when you train like an athlete and live like a pilot.
When your body’s fighting oxidative stress 24/7 from altitude exposure, poor sleep, and inconsistent nutrition, your training takes the hit. You recover slower. You feel more sore. You lose that crisp focus that makes you efficient — both in the cockpit and in the gym.
That’s why lately I’ve been prioritizing:
• High protein to maintain lean muscle and recovery
• Antioxidant-rich foods to protect my cells
• Natural hydration from fruits instead of powders
• Movement after flights (even just a walk or mobility flow) to reset circulation
This combo has been a game changer. I feel lighter, my running and gymnastics movements are sharper, and my body doesn’t feel like it’s “playing catch-up” after long flight blocks.
⸻
Flying doesn’t have to wreck your energy or your performance.
When you understand what’s actually happening to your body — and give it the nutrients it needs to fight back — you can show up sharper, calmer, and stronger both in the air and on the ground.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s consistency.
A few small changes — like trading processed powders for real food, packing antioxidant snacks, and prioritizing protein — can completely shift how you feel mid-rotation.
Because staying strong on the road isn’t about doing more —
It’s about doing what matters. 💪
2
0 comments
✈️ The Real Reason Flying Drains You (and How Antioxidants Help You Bounce Back)
Suggested communities
Powered by