Travel Location

When traveling to most places in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, there's a high likelihood familiar foods will be available. Breakfast cereals, for instance, can be found in virtually every grocery store, and there is bread everywhere you go. The preparation of many of the foods is different, however. If you're accustomed to having a cup of coffee in the morning, you may be surprised (perhaps even shocked!) at the variety of ways different cultures treat the coffee bean.

All this information indicates that athletes should do whatever they can to sustain dietary and sleep habits because it is impossible to know what the outcome will be if there is a sudden change in usual lifestyle practices and procedures. A particularly useful gadget to have with you is an in-cup electric water heater that has the appropriate power adapters for the country. These little heaters allow consumption of familiar soups, and athletes can brew familiar-tasting coffee. For a traveling athlete, this is one of the best inventions ever.

Some countries have reputations for unsafe water or food supplies. If there is any doubt whatsoever about the safety of the food or water supply, call your nearest consular office or your travel agency. Employees should be able to provide you with the information you need. Pick up a good travel book for the location you're heading to. A good book will describe the foods that will be available and will tell you about the water supply.

When traveling abroad, take the following items with you even if you think the food and water supply is safe and familiar (you can adjust the quantities depending on your length of stay):

• Power-cord adapters and converters to fit the power supply of the country you're traveling to
• An in-cup electric heater
• A water-filter pump
• A box of saltine crackers
• Powdered sports beverage packets to make 20 quarts of beverage
• Two quarts of bottled water
• A medium-size box of raisins (or other favored dried fruit)
• Five individually packaged low-fat granola bars
• Two nonfat powdered milk packets
• One small box of your favorite cereal

Dealing With the Water Supply It doesn't matter where the travel destination is, athletes will, for one reason or another, need water. Different water supplies can cause gastrointestinal (GI) difficulties, even if the water supply is perfectly safe. Different levels of bromide or fluoride in the water may, for instance, cause severe gut pain. Of course, drinking bottled water or bottled sports drinks is a good solution if these are available. However, if bottled drinks are not easily available, you need a way to deal with the situation. It is virtually impossible to travel with a significant number of bottled drinks, but athletes should travel with powdered packages of sports beverages and a water filter to purify the water. The best water filters are those capable of removing microscopic parasites and bacteria- check your local camping goods store. These water filters are also at the top of the list of excellent inventions for the traveling athlete. They don't take up much space and work extremely efficiently, giving you the peace of mind you need so you can deal with other more pressing matters.

Eating Locations Travel inevitably keeps athletes from eating when and where they'd like, so plan ahead for what you might select before you enter an eating establishment. Seeing the dizzying array of foods and menu items can easily influence your order if you're not already committed to your selection. Airports are filled with fast-food restaurants that typically offer high-fat and high-sugar foods. These are not easy places to make the right selections. In general, athletes should stick with foods that aren't fried. However, if you don't have a choice, minimize the fried (fatty) food and maximize the carbohydrate. For instance, instead of a double-patty hamburger, it would be better to order two regular hamburgers because you get twice the bread (carbohydrate).

Try to find pasta, baked potatoes, bread, vegetables, and salads in restaurants. It might be necessary to request a substitution (e.g., a baked potato instead of French fries), but don't be afraid to ask. Restaurants in airports or ports may be less likely to want to satisfy your special needs because they know they'll probably never see you (or your business) again. Nevertheless, it's important that athletes always ask for exactly what they want. Even when ordering baked potatoes, ask for everything on the side rather than on the potato.

The key to successful travel is advance planning. Make no assumptions about the availability of foods or drinks that will satisfy your needs. Bring some limited items with you when traveling to be certain you have some key foods and drinks that will keep you happy and nourished. Don't try new foods until after the athletic event, and then only on the recommendation of your local hosts. Experimenting on your own can be dangerous. Find out as much as you can about where you're going by visiting a bookstore or library, or do some research on the Internet. Your travel agent and nearby consular office are also excellent sources of information. Give yourself plenty of time to get acclimatized to the location you're traveling to. It takes about 1 day for each time zone you cross, so for a trip from New York to Paris, you should arrive at least 6 days before the event. If that's not possible, do whatever you can to reduce stress by getting plenty of rest, relaxing with friends, and getting on the local schedule as soon as possible.