Jet Lag Diet

Under regular circumstances, circadian rhythms renew at the start of each new day, resetting the body's inner clock to the 24-hour cycle that controls our metabolic, hormonal and neural processes. Crossing more than three time zones on an airplane disrupts these functions, and the result is known as jet lag. Biologist Charles Ehret developed what he called an "anti-jet lag diet" that uses nature's time cues to help your body adjust to a new time zone.

Buying the Diet

• Ehret's diet is a product available for purchase; you pay for a personalized calculation of specified foods, serving amounts and temporary changes in daily habits that reduce or prevent jet lag. The diet's proponents claim it works for anyone traveling east or west across three or more time zones, and its positive effects have been documented in a 2002 volume of "The Medical Journal of Military Medicine." The experiment tested 186 National Guard troops flying across nine time zones and proved that their readjustment took one day for each time zone crossed.

Memorize Daily Schedules

• Ehret's anti-jet lag diet, taken in summary, places great importance in knowing your daily cycle of rest and activity. Note the patterns of your meal times, when you wake up and when you go to bed. Four days ahead of your flight, alternate between feasting days and partial fasting days; partial fasting means you can eat, but you restrict consumption to no more than 700 calories per day.

  On the day you arrive in a new time zone, your body's clock is reset by assuming the same meal and activity schedule as the people who live there, so learn in advance of the trip what time people report to work, eat meals and turn in.

The Diet is a 4-day Process

• Studies show that heading east is worse than heading west. Ehret's anti-jet lag diet is consistent with this, using as its prime example a scenario of traveling east over more than five time zones. Here he sets up a four-day preparation. The anti-jet lag diet begins three days before your departure, concluding with a high carb dinner on the fourth day--the day you arrive in your new time zone.

  In the three days before your flight departs, your meal schedule--if it was done according to anti-jet lag recommendations--should not have changed at all, except for quantity and content. You should have eaten at least three full meals the first day, restricted consumption to no more than 700 calories on the second day, feasted again on the third day, breaking your fast on the day of departure, only when it is breakfast time in your new time zone.

Follow a Menu Heavy on Protein and Carbs

• Feast days should be high in protein at breakfast and lunch and high in carbohydrates at dinner. Steak and eggs make a good breakfast, followed later by more meat and a generous helping of beans at lunchtime. If you are a vegetarian, seek protein in soy products, tofu, nuts, beans and yogurt. Protein-rich foods contain tyrosine, an amino acid that stimulates brain activity and helps your body wake up and get going. Carbohydrates help the body wind down and go to sleep, so eat high carb dinners in the days before your trip and the evening of your arrival; these include foods like baked potatoes, whole wheat pasta, fruits and veggies.

Stay Active and Retire Early

• Check in frequently with stewards on your flight and ask what time it is at your destination. Be sure to eat a high protein breakfast in sync with those who live in your new time zone. Stay active after your high protein morning and afternoon meals; stroll the aisle and talk with other passengers if you can. Arrange for a dinner that is high in carbohydrates. When you arrive and settle yourself in the new time zone, go to bed early.

Caffeine and Alcohol Warnings

• In your four days of preparation for a trip across time zones, consumption of alcohol is highly discouraged. You can drink coffee or other beverages containing caffeine; however, the anti-jet lag diet recommends doing so only between the hours of 3 to 5 p.m. when studies show it has little to no effect on circadian rhythms. If you are taking prescription medications, consult your doctor before going on the anti-jet lag diet.