People are always trying to figure out ways to get around jet lag, the discomfort felt after traveling several hours on an aircraft. With symptoms as varied as loss of appetite, nausea, headaches, fatigue, irritability and depression, I suppose they have a reason to study the phenomenon.

Jet lag affects everyone, which is part of the reason that it's so difficult to diagnose and treat. Everyone seems to have their own way to combat it and a variety of holistic, word-of-mouth and downright ridiculous methods are out there to get you through your ordeal.

Take the Anti Jetlag Diet. Invented by Charles Ehret, a scientist at Argonne National Laboratories, just outside of Chicago, the diet claims to relieve the stress of jet lag by preparing your body for the new time zone that you're about to be in. Travelers are recommended to eat in a feast and famine style for several days before departure, gorging oneself one day, then eating trim the next -- all on a adapted schedule that should hopefully integrate with your destination time zone (once you get there).

The thought is that by preparing the body for food cycles properly prior to departure you'll have more ease adapting to the new system.

But will it work? I dunno. I've always felt that jet lag cures were like weight loss pills: it's more in the body and mind than some trick or medication. Lots of sleep, physical activity and a gallon of coffee per day work just fine for me.

I guess what scratches me the wrong way about antijetlagdiet.com is how much they stress their ties with Argonne Labs, who are not generally commercial entities (think Sandia or Los Alamos). It makes me think of all of those weight loss pills that were "developed by doctors" but not approved by the FDA.

But hey, I'm just a kid who writes articles. Someone give the anti jet lag diet a try and let me know how it goes -- especially if it works well.

Filed under: Airlines, Transportation, Airports