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Anti-Jet Lag Diet

Feeling sluggish, hungry and tired or agitated, awake and ill is not the way to start your faraway vacation, holiday break or two-day business trip. Try the U.S. Department of Energy researchers' jet lag prevention plan when you fly to help reset your body and keep you moving smoothly through various time zones and over long distances.

  1. The Argonne Anti-Jet-Lag Diet

    • This four-day program, developed by biologist Charles Ehret at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory research institute, has been used by President Ronald Reagan, World Bank officials, CIA operatives and world-traveling symphonic musicians. Start the diet three days before departure with a day of “feasting” on a high-protein breakfast and lunch, then eating a high-carbohydrate dinner. Drink coffee and other caffeinated beverages, if desired, only between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. On the second day, “fast” with light foods, like watery vegetables, fruit or soup, and limit caffeine consumption to the hours of 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Repeat the “feast” routine on the third day and the “fast” routine on the day on which you are flying. Avoid alcohol during the flight. Proceed to “feast” in the morning when you arrive at your destination, and after that eat at local mealtimes.

    How the Diet Works

    • The science behind the Argonne diet suggests that protein-heavy meals on “feast” days energize your body and tell it to gain momentum because the day is starting. At dinnertime, a meal high in carbohydrates helps to bring on sleep by releasing chemicals that slow your body down. Emphasizing the time of day with the type of food you eat gives your body cues to help it decipher the time. Depleting excess carbohydrates stored in your liver on “fast” days helps to reinforce the regularity of mealtimes on your “feast” days. The final “fast” ends with a protein-heavy meal the first morning at your destination, giving your body the signal to start the day even though it is not yet morning in your departure city.

    Melatonin as a Dietary Supplement

    • Many people use melatonin as a sleep aid while flying to prevent jet lag, but according to the UC Berkeley Wellness Guide, studies of its effectiveness are inconclusive. It is possible that melatonin supplements can help you fall asleep but not help you stay asleep, and using it for jet lag it may produce a “hangover” effect and not allow your body to wake up naturally. Used chronically, melatonin may reduce your body’s own levels of sleep-inducing chemicals.

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