Eat wisely, fly safely

Advice on eating to avoid DVT while Traveling

The sheer immobility of sitting in a plane (or coach, train or car) for more than four hours slows down the blood flow, and flying in a pressurised cabin can cause a further problem because some of the fluid component of your blood moves into surrounding tissues (the process which causes our ankles and feet to swell when we fly).

This makes our blood thicker and more prone to clotting.
If you add a meal rich in saturated fat into the mix, the problem may intensify, because saturated fats raise the levels of blood-fats after eating, which activates a substance called Factor 7 — a central component of the blood-clotting mechanism.

“While no specific clinical research has been done to find out if one-off fatty meals in-flight will push you over the edge and trigger DVT,” says the nutrition scientist Sarah Stanner of the British Nutrition Foundation, “in theory, eating fatty meals could make a difference”.

Many airlines have responded by offering lighter food options — indicated by their Well-Being symbol — which include dishes lower in fat, salt and sugar and higher in fibre (BA does this).
It is also a good idea to contact the airline before you fly and order a special meal. Virgin airlines offer a “low fat/low cholesterol” option, for example, which is well worth looking for.

If this is not possible, and you find yourself confronted with a standard in-flight main meal, then try to cut down on one of the following: the relatively harmless-looking cheese and biscuits, the extra butter that goes with your bread roll, the synthetic puddings and treats like ice cream that many airlines offer between meals.