5 Essential Items for a Healthy Carry-On Bag

by  Anne Roderique-Jones | Jan 7, 2019
Packing
Packing / humonia/iStock

The carry-on bag: It’s oh-so-small but crucial to comfortable air travel.

Make yours count by filling it with goodies that will ensure a happy and healthy flight. Whether it’s a stuffed-to-the-brim roller bag or a lightweight backpack, here are five healthy essentials to pack.

A Fold-Up Water Bottle
Flying = dehydration. Avoid it by bringing your own water bottle and filling up after you’ve passed through security. The Eclipse from Vapur costs about ten bucks and collapses so that you can conveniently fold it up post-flight. If you’re traveling overseas, the company also makes a sleek, chemical-free bottle that offers high-tech water filtration.

(Healthy) Snack Bars
Step away from the Cinnabon. Wellness Expert Keeley Mezzancello MS, RD, CSCS says, “Travel can impede eating consistently, especially when crossing time zones or experiencing unpredictable delays. Preparation is key, and carrying portable, balanced snacks like KIND bars -- whose protein, fat, and carb content helps to curb appetite -- makes it easier to resist unhealthy options lurking in the food court." Try the Roasted Jalapeño flavor, which is packed with a whopping 10 grams of protein. Bonus: These savory snacks won’t melt or crumble in your bag.

A Beauty Kit
There’s no rule against treating those few hours in the sky as your own personal spa experience. The right travel kit can enhance your trip and is essential for the serious dehydration that happens high in the skies. To avoid “flight face,” lather up with skin-quenching essentials in bosicia’s little black book kit, which includes a hydration gel and black mask (slather it on while sleeping for an extra-special treat).

Vitamin C
Vitamin C can help fight in-flight bugs by boosting your immune system. The small, one-use Emergen-C packets are made for traveling and can easily be slipped into those tiny airline water cups.

The Trifecta: Ear Plugs + Eye Mask + Neck Pillow
Why not use your flight to catch up on some Zs? REM sleep is crucial to immune system health and comes easier by avoiding noise and light. A cheapie set of foam earplugs, a light filtering eye mask, and a comfy neck pillow (the Flight 001 blow-up option allows you to deflate post-flight) make flying (almost) comfortable.

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