Plane food is a contentious topic. Some travellers love it, others hate it. Some travellers fly specific airlines purely based on the food they serve in the air. Some travellers avoid it at all costs because it makes them feel unwell. Whether you love or hate plane food you’re kind of stuck with whatever ends up on your tray table (unless you pack your own food). But one nutritionist is saying that regardless of what you eat – homemade or otherwise – you should avoid food altogether when flying. 

Fitness and nutrition expert Michael Sheedy recently appeared as a guest on Wealthy Way podcast and shared that he would never eat when flying. Sheedy shared that cabin pressure and elevation make it more difficult for the body to digest food as efficiently and effectively as it does when on the ground. 

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“So when you eat on an airplane, your food doesn’t digest as well, and it could cause gastrointestinal inflammation,” Sheedy said. This is because food can’t move as easily to the small intestine due to the pressure of the cabin and motion of the plane, which is often the cause of stomach pain, bloating and gas. 

So if you’ve ever struggled with a sore stomach when flying, this could be why. It’s often referred to as ‘jet belly’, which is ‘used to describe the uncomfortable bloating symptoms and increase intestinal gas that may be experienced during airplane travel,’ Kate Scarlata, MPH, RDN, LDN, New York Times bestselling author and Boston-based GI expert dietitian, told Healio.

Sheedy recommends consuming just water, coffee and electrolytes on the plane and indulging in a meal upon landing. The quality of the food does not matter. You can be sitting at the pointy end of the plane and your body may still struggle to digest the meal. So Sheedy prefers to fast throughout a flight to avoid any uncomfortable symptoms.

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