Gastro

These are the foods and beverages you should avoid on an airplane, according to flight attendants

Here are some of the foods you shouldn't choose during your next plane trip. Flight attendant's word.

Click here to read the Spanish version.
There are two types of people: those who hate airplane food and those who don’t even leave the crumbs behind. Whether you belong to one team or the other, we have rescued an article from HuffPost in which they echoed the opinion of different flight attendants regarding in-flight food and their advice on which foods and beverages are best avoided. In fact, many of them confessed that they prefer to take food from home with them during their working day.

In the article, one of the flight attendants interviewed advised always drinking bottled water. “Most flight attendants don’t drink tap water, coffee or tea,” she detailed in HuffPost, before explaining that the latter two options also tend to dehydrate, another reason to avoid them during travel. In addition, for this issue, they also suggested avoiding salty snacks such as nuts or crackers.

Meat and alcohol, not recommended

Regarding meat, it is one of the foods to avoid. It can be difficult to digest at high altitudes. In addition, the lack of humidity and air pressure in the aircraft cabin can also negatively affect the way our bodies process food, especially protein. Because of this, many flight attendants opt more for light options, such as salads or fruits, to stay well hydrated and without heaviness. But if you decide to opt for meat, it is best to opt for a lean, well-cooked option, and combine it with plenty of water to aid digestion.

On the other hand, it is true that a glass of wine or a beer can relax you if you feel tense in an airplane. But, as in everything else, if you consume too much alcohol, it will have negative consequences, especially during the flight, as it can increase the effects of hypoxia, a decrease in the supply of oxygen to the body’s tissues.

Be careful also with salt and cheese

A few years ago, a study by the Lufthansa airline detailed that factors such as low pressure can make certain foods taste less tasty. To counteract this, in-flight caterers often salt their food quite heavily.

As one of the flight attendants explained to HuffPost, “Pasta and soups tend to have a lot of sodium. And any kind of deli meat sandwiches probably have a lot of sodium in them. So they advise drinking electrolytes or coconut water to help with hydration, and opting for whole foods such as vegetables and fruits, or lean proteins, as explained above.

Finally, among the foods to avoid, they also cited cheeses, as they usually serve processed cheeses that do not require refrigeration and whose quality leaves much to be desired. However, all food and beverages served on airplanes are obviously subject to exhaustive quality control.