Water remedy for jet-lag

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 19

Water remedy for jet-lag

Many air travellers suffering from the debilitating symptoms of jet-iag overlook, perhaps, the simplest, safest, and cheapest cure —water. Lots of it, drunk before, during, and after the flight. These are the injunctions of Dr Nathan Smith, professor of orthopaedics at the University of Washington, who has written a book. “Food for Sport,” a sensible study which has gained much respect in the United States. “Sitting in a jet-liner is a little like sitting in the Sahara Desert,” he says. “Not only is the air in planes very dry but the rapid circulation of air in

plane ventilation causes a large loss of body water.” Dr Smith noticed the incidence of this water loss when members of the university wrestling team made a three-hour flight and lost on average Ikg, more than three pints of body water. His teams, and indeed many other American teams acting on his advice, now' carry bottles of water on their flights. Smith suggests that on average we need six tumblers every five airborne hours. The problem is made all the more acute, he thinks, because “drinking water is going out of fashion in the west.”