Are You a Healthy Traveler?

Whether you travel by car, plane or train, it's important to think about your health.
Have you ever stopped to think about how travel may be affecting your health?

Dr. Robyn Benson, author of The Healthy Traveler: 8 Ways to Smart and Effortless Travel, shares how travel can affect your health.

She provides easy-to-follow tips on how to prevent getting sick, eat smart and take care of yourself and your loved ones during travel.

Additional Info

  • Segment Number: 3
  • Audio File: wellness_for_life/1518wl5c.mp3
  • Featured Speaker: Robyn Benson, DOM
  • Guest Bio: Robyn SF S2-2C Jennifer Esperanza 1Dr. Robyn Benson is a pioneer of the Self-Care Revolution, which aims to transform lives and healthcare, one person at a time. This mission has been fueled by lessons she’s learned and the wisdom and insights she’s GAINED on her transformational journey as a doctor of Oriental medicine, which includes traveling to more than 70 countries to learn from indigenous people. For the past 23 years, she’s applied her considerable knowledge of acupuncture, herbs, IV therapies and cutting-edge energy medicine to help patients achieve optimal, radiant and sustainable health. In 2005, Dr. Robyn founded Santa Fe Soul, an innovative healthcare center which now has a staff of 25 practitioners. A mother, adventure enthusiast, world traveler, author and speaker, Dr. Robyn brings a decidedly holistic approach to 21st Century healthcare.
  • Transcription: RadioMD PresentsWellness for Life Radio | Original Air Date: May 1, 2015
    Host: Susanne Bennett, DC
    Guest: Robyn Benson, DOM

    It’s time to feel better with help from Dr. Susanne Bennett. Allergies, nutrition, ultimate wellness all discussed right here, right now. It’s Wellness for Life Radio on Radio M.D. Here’s your host, Dr. Susanne.

    DR SUSANNE: We all love to travel, don’t we? Whether by trains, plane and automobiles we are always on the go, but do you ever stop to think about how this impacts your health and well-being? Well, my next guest is here to make you stop in your tracks and think, “Am I a healthy traveler?” Please welcome the author of The Healthy Traveler: 8 Pathways to Smart and Effortless Travel, Dr. Robyn Benson. Oh, Dr. Robin, you have traveled to over seventy countries. Now, how have you done this? Tell us a little bit about that.

    DR. ROBYN: Hi, Susanne. It’s great to be here with all of you. Yes, how have I fit seventy countries into my life with two teenagers? You know, I’ve done it because once I got started, I think my first international trip was to the Caribbean Islands and you know, I grew up in a very small town in central New York state and I have to say, that just set a seed, you know, planted a seed inside me and I just knew I needed to see the rest of the world. So, Susanne, I’ve gone through a third of the world so far. So, I’ve got a long way to go, but I really think to see the countries that I have, even as a practitioner, as a doctor, certainly, I have been exposed to some of the greatest teachers in terms of my schooling and my continuing education that never stops ’til this day, but I attribute so much to what I have learned and what I contributed in my book to what I have learned from my travels.

    DR. SUSANNE: Well, that totally makes sense after having so many incredible experiences. You’ve had over 23 years as an acupuncture doctor. Is that right? Oriental medicine?

    DR. ROBYN: Yes, exactly.

    DR. SUSANNE: So you’ve put that together and written this book which I absolutely love. I mean, this book is close to 300 pages, I believe, because I have it and I’m reading it and it’s so incredible. Tell us a bit about why you wrote this book.

    DR. ROBYN: Oh gosh, I guess a couple years ago I noticed that, you know, I treat a lot of people who travel the world like I do and they’re on my table on a regular basis. They’re sick or they’re like “God, every time I get on an airplane, I don’t feel well. I feel like this traveling life is aging me” and that was a true inspiration, but also just meeting a lot of fellow travelers on the road and going on group travels and just hearing people constantly complain about it. Certainly, in the creation of this book, I have talked to hundreds of flight attendants and pilots and people who travel on a regular basis and they’re like “Gosh, we really need to hear your voice, Dr. Benson, because you travel so much and you treat so many people.” So, that was really kind of the fertile ground for me to say, “You know what? I do need to give a voice” and as you can see, Susanne, as you read this book, it’s not just your, you know, eat your fruits and vegetables, but there’s a whole chapter dedicated to food because it is really one of the important things we need to consider as a healthy traveler, but my first chapter is this question: Are you a frequency traveler? Helping people to understand that when you put your body into artificial containers--planes, trains, buses--that you are being subjected to lots of different frequencies that we are not designed to be around.

    DR. SUSANNE: What does that mean? Frequency? Can you share that?

    DR. ROBYN: Okay, so, for everybody listening to understand, for your body to really work properly, for every organ, for every cell to function properly, we need to have a healthy electrical system around each cell of our body, around our body. So, a healthy electrical system really means it’s best when we’re outside. It’s best when… There’s a field around the earth that is measured, that is actually measurable, and it’s a low frequency and we can’t see it or smell it necessarily, but it’s what all of life depends on. So, let’s say it’s about 7 to 11, in terms of a Schumann resonance or what is measured in hertz, 20 to about 25Hz. Just to understand these measurements, but a cell phone is 900 MHz, wifi is even beyond that and just all of artificial electricity is putting stress on our bodies. So, they’re putting out frequencies that we are not designed for and it’s no wonder when people are in planes and trains that they don’t really feel good. You get headaches and brain fog and you feel puffy in your body and you have bloat in your stomach. So, these are frequencies, again, that are artificially made and we are not designed for so, our body struggles with these frequencies and it’s no wonder that our bodies begin to break down when we’re in these fields on a regular basis. So in Healthy Traveler, what is a big, big message in this book, let’s say you’re on a ten-hour trip around the country or to a foreign land and you get off the plane, one of the most important things you can do, is to be outdoors and just to spend time acclimating yourself, to get into the bright light in terms of jet lag and just getting into those human frequencies to help get your body back into, what I call, self-regulation.

    DR. SUSANNE: That’s great. That’s great. You know, you were talking all about this electro pollution, magnetic radiations, things that we cannot see, but our body, our own energy, picks up and actually can be affected. Right? That’s what you’re talking about.

    DR. ROBYN: That’s right and you know, that many, many scientists--this is being researched so much, there’s so much research on electromagnetic pollution and many are calling it the biggest biological experiment ever. You know, when you think about our young children that are growing up with wifi in our schools and, you know, one woman that I interviewed for my book, but also in my Health Travelers Global Summit, where you were one of the awesome speakers so, thank you, Dr. Susanne, for all that you contributed to our series, but what we’re finding, you know, based on research, is that these frequencies are really affecting us in terms, again, some of what I mentioned, palpitations, people are not sleeping, people are not digesting food and what Dr. Magahavitz and all her research is she’s showing that this is contributing and what she’s termed, Type III Diabetes because our ability to break down sugar is impaired because, again, we need those healthy frequencies around our body and inside our body at any given time, so we can naturally digest, that we can process, that we can break down and that we can that, you know, restorative cycle happening at all times.

    DR. SUSANNE: Wow. Wow, that is phenomenal. I mean, what you’re saying is that traveling can actually trigger Type III diabetes. That’s what you’re saying.

    DR. ROBYN: Absolutely.

    DR. SUSANNE: So, you went really quickly over your global summit. Now, I want everyone to know that you can go to it by going to DrSusanne.com/healthytravel and that’s DrSusanne.com/healthytravel. This global summit, I am so excited to be part of. You know that this summit, you get to learn everything from what you’re doing, what you’re putting into your body…Of course, what I did, I gave all kinds of fun things, but what I want to talk, just the last minute or so, about the stress in travel. We love to travel, but how much stress is applied on our body?

    DR. ROBYN: Oh, the stress is immense to travel. I mean, almost every person that travels on a regular basis talks about how stressful it is and in this book, certainly, what we’re learning from the 35 speakers, that have been part of the Healthy Travelers Global Summit, is that we have to be conscious, that we have to be aware. Part of being a healthy traveler is preparing your body, your vessel, to be in these artificial cages, I could call it. You know, and I love to travel and I love to be on a plane, but what does that look like? That means I’m going to be properly hydrated before I ever got on a plane. Even in a car, people don’t realize, all of you that are commuters and you’re commuting one to two to three hours a day, cars are so toxic and I just want to say, the big why, Dr. Susanne, for this whole summit and for the book, you know, is to understand that it’s the largest industry in the world--the travel industry--and people are really unaware of the health risks because of being in these fields.

    DR. SUSANNE: Well, thanks so much, Dr. Robyn.

    Everyone, learn more about how to be a healthy traveler. You can get her book as well as go to DrSusanne.com/healthytravel. DrSusanne.com/healthytravel. That’s where you’re going to find out more about what can you do with your health, everything that Dr. Robyn’s talking and about, you’ll be able to find. You can also find it on my Wellness for Life radio show page on RadioMD and until then, this is Dr. Susanne sharing my natural strategies for ultimate healthy and wellness right here on RadioMD.

    Until next time, stay well.
  • Length (mins): 10
  • Waiver Received: No
  • Host: Susanne Bennett, DC