December 14, 2025 • 28 mins
Jet lag isn’t just about time zones—it’s an inflammation problem you can solve. We sit down with Andrew Herr, founder and CEO of FlyKitt and former human performance strategist at the Pentagon, to unpack why flights drain you and how to land clear-headed, calm, and ready to sleep on night one. Andrew connects dots most travelers miss: rapid cabin pressure shifts mimic an 8,000-foot ascent, low-oxygen air boosts oxidative stress, and sleep debt compounds immune activation. The fix starts with managing inflammation, then using light, timing, and targeted supplements to shift your circadian rhythm on command.
We go deep on what actually makes you feel lousy in the air—swollen legs, brain fog, gut issues—and how to counter it with simple, scalable steps. Andrew reveals how FlyKitt’s app personalizes a plan from six questions, no lab work needed, and why fasting can help but isn’t required when you address the root causes. We unpack diet basics that move the needle for most travelers (more protein, more vegetables, less sugar and ultra-processed foods), common deficiencies like omega-3s and B12, and the surprising link between inflammation and anxiety many noticed after COVID. You’ll also hear how elite performers—from special operations to pro sports teams—use these strategies, including a pro team’s world tour that saw a 94% reduction in jet lag symptoms.
If red eyes usually wreck your next day, you’ll get a blueprint to make them productive. If domestic hops leave you foggy, you’ll learn a short protocol that protects your energy and digestion. Along the way, Andrew shares field stories—from Iceland’s Spartan Ultra to time with Kazakh eagle hunters—that highlight how resilience is built with smart stress, timing, and recovery. Ready to trade groggy landings for focused mornings and solid sleep? Press play, take notes, and try the protocol on your next trip.
Enjoyed the conversation? Follow the show, rate us in your app, and leave a quick review so more travelers can find it. Share this episode with a friend who dreads jet lag and tag us on Instagram at Where Next Podcast.
Flykitt - The All-In-One Solution for Healthy Travel
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:14):
Hi, welcome to our podcast, Where Next?
Travel with Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen.
And I am Carol.
And we're two long-term friendswith a passion for travel and
adventure.
SPEAKER_03 (00:27):
Each episode, we interview people around the
globe to help us decide where togo next.
Today I want to introduce AndrewHerr, who's the founder and CEO
of Flight Kit, and he is anentrepreneur that's transforming
the way travelers safeguardtheir health.
And I'll let Andrew get all intothat.
But besides running thiscompany, Andrew is also an
(00:47):
adventure seeker with remarkablereal-world stories from
competing in the Spartan UltraWorld Championships in Iceland
to living with Kazakh nomads whotrain eagles to hunt.
So welcome, Andrew.
I don't know what Kazakh is orthe Spartan Ultra World
Championship.
So great.
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
Thanks, Carol.
Thanks, Kristen.
Yeah, I think uh what to tell.
I spent the first seven years ofmy career working in and out of
the Pentagon, helping themilitary think about and then
implement optimizing humanperformance.
How do we make our soldiers,sailors, airmen, marines perform
as best as they could?
I got to work with truly eliteperformers in special
(01:27):
operations, fighter pilots, andpeople like that.
And since then, I've built acouple of companies uh focused
on optimizing health andperformance for executives,
entrepreneurs, and now reallyeverybody focused on travel.
The people who live in thewestern part of Mongolia are
ethnically Kazakh, and theytrain big golden eagles to hunt
(01:49):
um wolves and fox and everythinglike that.
And it's pretty uh it's prettywild out there in more than one
sense of the word.
And then um, yes, I've gotten todo some some fun kind of
adventure races in the middle ofwinter when it's not very light
for most of the day.
SPEAKER_03 (02:05):
Okay, so Mongolia.
So we've done a couple episodeson Mongolia where there's
nomads.
SPEAKER_00 (02:10):
I've been to Mongolia twice, but that but in
that one, in that case, I wasjust there for a week with those
nomads.
Um beautiful country.
I have really very little butgreat things to say about
Mongolia.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
Yeah, awesome.
So I'm curious also about likethe beginning.
You've said a lot so far, and Icouldn't find you.
Or I what was your life growingup?
Like, how did you get intofitness, the Pentagon?
Did you make, you know, as a kidwant to do that?
Did you go to college for it?
SPEAKER_00 (02:39):
Or say if I lived my life 10 times, I would have been
a doctor, five of them.
My dad's a doctor, I grew uparound that.
And then my mom started thefamily, kind of like military,
military, military.
And so we had both elements ofthat growing up, and then found
a program where I could dotechnology and national security
in university.
Then the government offered topay for me to go to grad school,
(02:59):
and I that sounded like a gooddeal for me because I only had
to work for them for a summer topay it back.
Ended up getting master'sdegrees in health physics, in
immunology, and in nationalsecurity policy.
And somebody walked into thecareer center and said, we need
someone who does biology andnational security and can write.
And they're like, Well, we knowthis guy, Andrew.
And so I got hired by thePentagon, basically by the think
(03:21):
tank that looks out in thefuture directly for the
Secretary of Defense to run aprogram on the future of human
performance and biotech and howthose things might change
warfare and change the world.
You know, working with umhelping research development
strategy, and then I was workingwith individuals, trying to
figure out how to optimizeperformance on a specific types
(03:41):
of long-duration dive missions.
And I learned in that processthat the pressure changes in
diving can cause inflammation inyour body.
That's actually why people feelso tired after the scuba dive.
Um, and then based on some otherwork I was doing, figured out
that that's why you feel so badwhen you fly, because you have
these pressure changes when youfly, not as big as diving, but
(04:03):
enough to cause inflammation inthe body.
And then the low oxygenenvironment, when you're in a
plane, there's 26% less oxygen,give or take, when you're at
altitude.
And that puts you in a situationwhere brain fog, gut issues,
swelling in your legs.
Suddenly, jet lag isn't justabout the time zones.
(04:24):
You realize it's really aboutthe inflammation, and then how
the inflammation makes it hardto shift to shakadian rhythm.
I can tell the story, butbasically that led to me
inventing this full solution ofjet lag.
SPEAKER_01 (04:36):
Does that also throw in menopause?
SPEAKER_00 (04:40):
So most menopausal women are in a zone where
they're going to have moreinflammation.
It's an age-related thing.
The hormone hormone fluctuationscan also cause inflation.
A little known fact, but a lotof PMS is actually an
inflammatory event.
And so, because of hormonefluctuations, now you're in a
very different type of hormonefluctuation.
(05:01):
Yeah.
But you're right in the zone,and we've and we do absolutely
find that solving inflammatoryissues makes menopause less
challenging.
So we're really, you know, mybackground in immunology
obviously has a lot to do withinflammation.
And so, yeah, so long storyshort, we've figured out how to
solve why you feel bad on, youknow, for jet lag, because once
(05:21):
we solve the inflammation, wecan flip your circadian rhythm
overnight, as we now do for morethan 90% of people.
And then even on short flights,when you get off and you just
don't feel great, kind of justin a fog the rest of the day,
your gut might be off,constipation, other things.
We haven't we solved that too.
And so we have two productsFlykit International for jet
lag, fly kit domestic forshorter flights that are really
(05:41):
transformative.
I mean, I used I stopped wantingto travel at some point because
I felt so bad every time I flew.
And now the work we've done haschanged my life and has changed
the lives of many, manytravelers.
SPEAKER_01 (05:55):
It's funny.
When I get on a flight, I justhad a long flight from Florida
to California and back, um,except for I just didn't get
enough sleep on the way back.
That one was a little tougher.
So I was a little exhausted.
But on the way there, which Ilost, you know, I left at 9:45
a.m.
and got there at 9 p.m.
because I had a layover,unfortunately.
You know, I just feel like I gotto sleep and then I'm good and
(06:17):
then I have no problem.
But on the plane, I love itbecause I'm forced to be there
and I can't do anything like Inormally am working out, doing
this, doing that.
And so then I'm like, I guessI'll watch a movie.
I guess I'll take a nap.
I guess I'll eat my food.
Just kind of like it's sort offorced, but that's just me.
SPEAKER_03 (06:36):
So I have a question about the inflammation, like on
the plane.
Because yeah, a lot of timeslike you know, take your shoes
off, you feel your sh feet startto swell just a tiny bit.
Like what causes that?
Just the less oxygen you'resaying.
SPEAKER_00 (06:49):
So it's two things.
The pressure change, it's likeclimbing an 8,000-foot mountain
in 15 minutes when you take off.
And that does a number on yourbody.
Um, you've it's not exactly thesame, but it has things similar
to altitude and decompressionsickness.
And then the lower oxygenenvironment causes oxidative
stress that can, which is umbasically kind of free radicals
(07:10):
start damaging parts of yourcells, and that can lead to an
inflammatory response too, ifyou don't protect your body.
Um, but what we've done atFlyKit is figured out how to
protect your body in a way thatmeans the stuff you don't get
the negative effects um and youcan feel much better.
And we even get a lot of reportsabout people used to get sick
every time they fly that don'tanymore.
SPEAKER_03 (07:29):
Oh, wow.
Okay.
Does some of that include moreoxygen?
Because I know, like in becauseI've been in Colorado and we
they actually like sell oxygenat the airport for you know
newcomers.
SPEAKER_00 (07:38):
Couldn't do that.
I mean, that would be one thing,but um, it's not, you're not
allowed to bring those bottleson a plane, restaurants.
Oh, right.
Okay.
There's plenty of oxygen on theplane, they just don't let you
have it.
Um, unless it's emergency, youdon't really want it, to be
honest, because the emergency.
But yeah, the we're not givingyou oxygen, we're using
supplements to block the effectsof that pressure change in the
(07:59):
low oxygen environment.
Things can spread the oxidativestress and damage to your cells
and the activation of yourimmune system.
Keep it low, keep it healthy andlow.
By doing that, then you can feelgreat, you know, from the moment
you arrive.
SPEAKER_01 (08:12):
So they're not like, is this a known thing and
shouldn't they just pump itthrough the plane while the
patients are or patients, haha,the the passengers are going.
Because what I also know is umwhen I did a couple long
flights, and even this one too,they have that blue light, you
know, that also is supposed tohelp with, you know, air
sickness or just like the, youknow, the flight.
SPEAKER_00 (08:34):
It's not that there's less oxygen in the air.
It's the same percentage of theair as you get down on your sea
level.
It's just there's less airpressure because they only
pressurize the cabin to 8,000feet on most commercial
airliners.
So that's why you're getting somuch less oxygen.
Why don't they pressurize it allthe way?
It costs more money.
And it costs more money becausethat pressurization would um
(08:55):
basically cause more fatigue onthe plane body.
And so um, as a result, it'scheaper in the long run for them
to have less pressure insidebecause the pressure outside is
is even lower.
And so basically the newestplanes, the 350, 8350, and the
787, are better because theypressurize to um about 5,000
(09:15):
feet relative because they'receramic.
But even at that, um, it'sbetter, but still not enough to
protect your body fully.
Interesting.
SPEAKER_03 (09:25):
I have a couple questions.
So then we could go into morelike exactly like what the fly
kit does.
But the generally I've alsoheard like not eating on a plane
is actually better for jet legbecause your body then is not
working on the food, it's justworking on maybe balancing
everything else out.
And what about um, you know,intake of water?
Like any thoughts on those twoitems?
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
Fasting can help because fasting helps prevent
inflammation.
And so but we figure out a wayto give that to you without
having to fast.
And then when you fast, but youalso you know prevent your brain
from having the nutrients andsupport, and that can cause
stress-hormone response.
And so basically, fasting isgood for stopping inflammation,
but the best thing is to usethese other protocols that can
(10:11):
stop the inflammation, but alsoyou can eat so your brain and
body have the fuel they need tonot have to stress.
So, yeah, that's why fasting canbe useful, but um, we've
developed a protocol that kindof makes it obsolete.
Well, you do lose more water.
The lower pressure air basicallymakes water evaporate faster
from your mouth and breathingand so even your skin.
(10:32):
So you do want to drink a lot ofwater.
Everyone knows they feel moredehydrated.
Part of the reason though is theinflammation can pull fluid into
tissues like swelling.
And so you're actually losingwater kind of from circulation
in two ways.
So you want to drink plenty ofwater when you travel for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (10:50):
Interesting.
What are the products?
So you said there's twoproducts, one for short flights,
one for long flights.
And is it like a liquid, a pill?
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
So to truly eliminate jet lag.
And by truly eliminate, I meanwe ran a study with uh Pro
Sports team in Miami where Messiplays if you're a soccer fan.
And they did an around the worldtrip, five stops, five games,
four cities truly around theworld, 24 time zones.
Um, and they saw nine, thepeople players who use flight
saw 94% less symptoms than thosewho didn't.
(11:19):
And so you get truly incrediblebenefits.
And the way we do it is we giveyou five different supplements,
and we have an app thatcalculates a custom program for
your body and your trip and yoursleep schedule for when to eat,
sleep, and use these differentsupplements and the blue-eye
blocking glasses in your kit.
So the kit has everything youneed, and the app gives you a
custom program and makes itsimple.
(11:39):
It just gives you a notificationanytime you need to do
something.
Okay, got it.
SPEAKER_01 (11:43):
Wow.
How do you do that?
Is it like lead work, salivawork, anything?
It's kind of like here's yourweight.
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
We've been able to we figured out how to make it
simple by asking you sixquestions that tell us about
your physiology.
Things you might not realize aretelling us what we need to know,
but if you get less than sixhours of sleep for one night,
how much does it affect you?
That tells me both about sleepsensitivity, but also about your
propensity to inflammation.
What kind of diet we ask you, doyou eat a vegan or a ketogenic
(12:11):
diet?
We we have some differentquestions.
And so, um, but it's simple.
You only have to answer sixquestions and give us your
flights and your sleep schedule.
Um, and it provides a totallycustom plan via our AI
algorithms.
SPEAKER_01 (12:23):
Curious about the different food, like you said,
vegan, keto diet, you know,American diet, whatever it is.
Is there difference?
Like it is just in general, isone diet better than another for
most of the people?
SPEAKER_00 (12:38):
For jet lag or for jet in general?
Both.
Okay.
Well, I mean, I spent a lot ofmy career working on general
performance outside of travel.
Most food is very unhealthy inAmerica.
The processed foods containthings that are extremely bad
for you.
The typical first ways theydysregulate you are via your
metabolism and the cause healthproblems downstream, type 2
(13:00):
diabetes, but also inflammation.
The simplest heuristics you cantake away from that are eat less
carbs and sugar and eat moreprotein and eat more vegetables.
I might sound like your mother,but like if you want the very
answer, the simple answer is todo that.
Now, I used to just see bloodwork from elite performers, see,
(13:23):
you know, from athletes and youknow, CEOs, others.
More recently, I've been seeingblood work from people who are
more closer to averageAmericans.
And I will tell you, they don'teat a lot of fish.
How do I know?
I've been seeing omega-3 fattyacid levels in their blood lower
than I've ever imagined.
So most people could do well byeating more fish or taking an
(13:44):
omega-3 supplement.
Um, and also a lot of peoplehave low vitamin B12 levels, and
that probably has to do withboth absorption and or what they
eat.
So the answer is there's no bestdiet for anyone because our
physiologies are quitedifferent.
But run an experiment for amonth, try a diet for a month.
(14:04):
Do you feel better?
Does your body composition getbetter?
I don't say lose weight becauseI want you to gain muscle and
lose fat or keep muscle and losefat.
So is your body compositionbetter?
Do you feel better?
Because anything you do for twoweeks every day in a row and you
feel better is probably good foryou long term.
There's a couple things thataren't that aren't, but like 99%
(14:24):
of things, if you feel worsedoing it, it's probably like
it's probably not going to begreat for you long term.
Unless you just like with it.
So that's kind of where I would,that's kind of where I'd be.
Um work out more and some otherthings too.
But um, from there, thecustomization is cool.
Like, is it better to cutcalories or to just do fasts one
day a week or do intermittentfasting?
And the answer is in studies,cutting calories the same by the
(14:48):
same amount as you get by doingintermittent fasting, same
results.
SPEAKER_03 (14:52):
That's what I was wondering.
Is this does it work?
Because since you're fasting foreight hours or you know, 16
hours, you just don't have asmuch time to eat.
So if you're not having thatlate night snack, it's all about
the same.
SPEAKER_00 (15:05):
Like you don't eat one day a week and you eat six
days a week versus cutting 15%of your calories, which is about
the same amount, you lose aboutthe same amount of weight.
Now there are different, butsome people will do better with
one than the other.
That's just on average, right?
Maybe Kristen, you do way betternot eating one day a week, and
Carol, you do way better bycutting 50% of calories every
day.
(15:25):
That's one thing that there iscurrently no way to predict on
tests, and anyone who tells youthey can test for is lying to
you.
SPEAKER_01 (15:31):
Or just how and the best is how you feel, like you
were saying.
That's uh usually what or theresults, right?
SPEAKER_00 (15:36):
Like obviously losing weight, eating less might
not make you feel like great,but if you are losing the
inflammation and stuff, you aregonna feel better.
One thing people don'tappreciate is that inflammation
causes anxiety also, andobviously anxiety are two of the
great American maladies.
SPEAKER_03 (15:53):
Oh my gosh, I didn't know that.
I mean, those are my two issuesof inflammation and anxiety.
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
I was I was curious if you noticed a big change and
difference.
I'm assuming, yes, but I'll askthe question um after COVID.
SPEAKER_00 (16:06):
COVID seemed to, and for some people to vaccine, seem
to put people in apro-inflammatory state.
Um so yes, COVID the virus,COVID the vaccine, and COVID the
lifestyle change, more at home,more ordering stuff.
All three are pro-inflammatory,as far as I'm concerned.
(16:27):
Yeah, right.
Curious how much more.
Depends on the person again.
SPEAKER_01 (16:32):
Well, just like as a as a community or like all of
people, you know, 20%, 90%.
I kind of thought it was a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (16:41):
Yeah, I mean, the trick is like inflammation is a
misunderstood concept.
You know, you go to a doctor'soffice, they test your maybe
maybe if they're good, they testyour high sensitivity C reactive
protein, which is a measure ofinflammation from your blood.
But that can be normal and youcan have tons of inflammation.
And so that's the tricky thingis inflammation is a broad term
(17:02):
for activation of the immunesystem.
There are many differentpathways in the immune system,
though.
And not all of them show up in alike total systemic-wide
fashion.
So that's the tricky thing, isyou have to be smart about what
you're testing.
And even testing can't give youeverything.
Some things are just how youfeel.
You know if your gut is off andif you feel swollen, things like
(17:24):
that.
That's inflammation, might notshow up on your lab test though.
So, for example, foodsensitivities are actually
allergies, but they're onlyhappening in the lining of your
gut and not happeningperipherally.
So when you take a blood testfor them, it can't show it
because it's only in the liningof your gut.
So, everyone, by the way, whosays they have a stool or a
blood test for foodsensitivities, not food
(17:44):
allergies, is lying to you also.
But if you run an eliminationdiet and you see take a bunch of
stuff out and then add thingswork one at a time, and you feel
worse when you add things back,that's a great sign that you
shouldn't eat that thing becauseyou might be sensitive to it.
And let me tell you, if you caneliminate all the foods you're
sensitive to, they can give youtwice as much energy every day.
SPEAKER_01 (18:05):
Have you heard of so um there's a guy, he's a
chiropractor, but turned, Imean, he's been chiropractor
nutritionist is kind of retired,but on the side as his practice,
it was um removing allergiesdigitally.
Um, so it's a uh Australian umtechnology.
Um, it's called allergy reliefcenters.
And I've gone to him for, Idon't know, 14 years now.
(18:27):
Um, but he can tell youspecifically what it is that's
bothering you and even alsojust, and it's it's worked.
I know my daughter, she was asynchronized swimmer for 10
years.
Uh, she's coached for three, butwhen she was seven when she
started, she was allergic tochlorine and then, or
sensitivity to it, and then itremoved it.
And then my son, he was five atthe time and had sounded like a
(18:47):
90-year-old snoring, did thatprocedure, and it's just, you
know, there's no shots, but it'salmost like the allergy test,
right?
Where they do the little needlesand stuff.
Um, but it was curious.
I don't know if you've everheard that, or and it's it's
worked.
SPEAKER_00 (19:00):
I need to know more about it.
I yeah, I haven't seen, youknow, I don't know what
particular technology it is.
So could but look, there's oneof the things that's very
interesting is medicine wants totell you that they know so much
about the human body.
And at once they also are oftenlike, well, there's nothing
going on here, and you knowyou're not feeling well, you
know something's wrong.
So the truth is we know verylittle about the human body.
(19:24):
What we do know is like theelectrical conductivity and
movement of electrons matters alot, for example.
We know that things that we usedto think were kind of quacky,
like sunlight is not good foryou just because of vitamin D.
There are other components ofthe sun.
(19:44):
There's red and infrared lightsin there.
There, you know, the UV lighthitting your skin, causing a
little damage, might actuallycause your body to build back
and respond and have your skinbe more resilient, actually.
And so, just as you know, withwhen you work out and you lift
weights, your muscles get biggerand stronger.
(20:05):
Well, part of that is anadaptive response called
hormesis.
And you can have hormesis,hermetic stressors in your skin
too.
And so all these things um thatget really reduced to like sun
is good for vitamin D.
No, you can't just take vitaminD and replace the sun.
You're missing a huge componentof what's going on there.
So we need to both broaden andaccept that we need to go
(20:29):
narrower because each person isdifferent.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (20:33):
And then where where do you um back to this
inflammation?
Where how do you think sleep orlack of sleep, does that affect
inflammation?
And um how do you prepare for aflight?
Like, did you get more sleep thenight before or take a nap?
SPEAKER_00 (20:47):
So sleep restriction is one of the surest ways to
cause inflammation in the body.
Sleep restriction.
However, the trick we figuredout with Fly Kid with our jet
lag product is you have to getless sleep at some point to get
on a new time zone, bydefinition, right?
If you're going to Tokyo andit's eight hours ahead and you
(21:08):
sleep eight hours, you're gonnawake up at 4 p.m.
I in Tokyo and you're nevergonna use bed that night.
So I need you to sleep threehours on the plane, not eight,
not six, three, maybe four and ahalf, depends on your itinerary.
But then I need to make sure youdon't have a bunch of the
negative effects of that.
And so I can turn off theinflammation using supplements
at the right time and the rightdose and the right content,
(21:31):
temporarily, long enough to getyou to bed that night.
I can't turn off inflammationfrom not getting sleep
permanently.
That would be great, but that'sjust how it works.
Knock it down for that one dayto get you there feeling good
enough to have to get there andget to bed at 10, 11 p.m.
in Tokyo and sleep well thatfirst night.
And so we, yes, inflammation isa problem.
(21:53):
And if you have the flightinflammation from the pressure
and inflammation from notsleeping well, a double hit to
the immune system is much morethan 2x.
It's exponential.
And so that's why what we'redoing, our algorithm is really
in a sophisticated way, kind oforchestrating a concert for you
of these different tools, lightand supplements and other
things, to help with theinflammation, to shift your
(22:15):
circadian rhythm, to boost this,to push forward, to pull back,
to land you feeling good, butthen able to go to sleep that
night.
And so um, that is really a corepart of the fly kit protocol.
And then for the domesticproduct, fly kit domestic, um,
we're managing the inflammationfrom flying, even though there's
not as much of a sleep circadingcomponent.
SPEAKER_03 (22:33):
And did you take the right, like right, like pre
during, and right after, or likefor the couple days sometimes?
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
The protocol, so for jet lag, it starts the morning
you leave.
That's one of the cool thingsabout it.
You have to do days before,which no one's gonna do.
And then um it ends really uhthe first full day you're there
in destination, and then the umflight domestic protocol is
shorter and simpler, and it'sreally four doses around your
travel death.
SPEAKER_03 (23:01):
Okay.
So if someone buys a kit, likeis it for one trip, or this is
like a kit and should last youfor like 10 trips or something?
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
So the fly kit core pack, the core bundle is good
for a round trip anywhere in theworld, and you can just buy
refills of the supplements, butyou keep your glasses and things
like that.
So yeah, it's good for a roundtrip anywhere in the world.
And you know, you could have 10,12, 14 days of jet lag if you
include there and back.
So it's really like$7 a day,$8 aday to stop jet lag totally from
(23:33):
all those days you would havefelt bad and missed parts of
your trip.
And um, it's really incrediblein that.
SPEAKER_03 (23:39):
I think all the money could save start flying
red eyes again.
Like at some point, I'm like,I'm never doing a red eye again.
It destroyed my whole next day.
So, like, how would you handle ared eye?
Because you are gonna losesleep.
SPEAKER_00 (23:50):
You just like force yourself to sleep or turns out a
red eye is just like a flight toEurope, more give or take.
Use our fly kit internationalproduct to do red eyes, and we
see business travelers who tellus they feel just as good,
basically, for that day in NewYork if they're coming from LA
or things like that.
So it's very effective for redeyes.
Um, we recommend the Fly KitInternational product for that.
(24:12):
You can use Fly Kit Domestic forred eyes, but it's probably not
gonna be quite as effective.
SPEAKER_01 (24:17):
It's funny with the red eye because it may be a red
eye for us, but it's already theday for the where you're going.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
And that's why you have to shift your circadian
rhythm.
You've got to manage the sleepdebt, you've got to manage the
poor sleep on a plane, all thosethings fly kit helps you do.
SPEAKER_01 (24:33):
Too bad this isn't at the airport in a kiosk, you
know, or whatever a coin.
It seems like uh that that wouldbe the goal.
That yeah, I I could see thatthat, you know, people would be
plugging it in right there thenand there at the airport to help
with that.
Are you working with anyairlines or anyone else in terms
of uh your partner?
SPEAKER_00 (24:54):
We are building a partnership with Delta.
Um, at the beginning of thisyear, they announced that uh at
CES that they were gonna bebuilding a partnership with us
this year.
SPEAKER_01 (25:03):
Oh, that's great.
Wow, that's huge.
My brother's a pilot for United.
And uh my stepmom worked forAmerican Airlines for many, many
years.
So um they do both of thoseflights all the time.
But um, I will definitely bementioning this to my brother.
He flies ball long distanceflights.
That's it.
That's all he does.
So I for me, I don't fly veryoften.
(25:23):
So again, it's like a trip hereand there, great.
I would like to be flying more.
My goal is for two years to flyall over the world in a couple
of years, but um, my brother ison planes all the time, so I
will definitely be mentioningthis to him.
Absolutely.
So a couple questions on youtoo.
I uh so the Spartan race, didyou do the Spartan um Iceland
recently?
SPEAKER_00 (25:44):
Uh that was it was a few years back now already, more
than a few years back.
Um but I did two years in a row,did the Spartan race.
It's an obstacle course race ofyou know, distance plus carry
heavy rock, climb, climb bigthing, that kind of stuff.
And uh that was really, reallygreat.
SPEAKER_03 (26:02):
How far is it?
SPEAKER_00 (26:04):
So the world championship is a third was a
then was a 30-mile race umthrough kind of through and like
sleet sleeting on you inIceland.
It was it was great though.
SPEAKER_03 (26:16):
You liked it?
Okay, you were like, What am Idoing?
SPEAKER_00 (26:19):
The Northern Lights came out the first year.
It was just gorgeous.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
Oh, that's that's pretty epic.
How long does the race?
I know I have a friend who Iwake surf with, and he he does
it um certain races, but I Ijust know about it, but I don't
know how long is it that ittakes?
SPEAKER_00 (26:35):
The you know, it really depends.
This race was a 24-hour race, soyou could keep going and do as
many laps as you could, but youhad to do 30 miles to finish.
But the the winners were did,you know, I forget 60, 70, 80
miles um in that time.
SPEAKER_01 (26:49):
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
So you wake up and start at like4 a.m.
and then hopefully end at that.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Yeah, it was it was an early start, but there's only
a few hours of daylight anyway,so it didn't really matter.
SPEAKER_01 (27:00):
Oh, yeah, that's fine.
Well, you got the northernlight, so that's beautiful.
So, what's your goal with FlightKit?
SPEAKER_00 (27:08):
We want to make healthy travel easy for people.
Um, and close to bringing thisout to as many people as we can.
We've already, you know, hadtens of thousands of people use
it and have phenomenalexperiences.
We have you know, dozens of proand Olympic teams use it, the
military.
So the elite performers arealready onto it.
Um, we're already working withthree NFL teams this season to
(27:29):
do their travel.
So nice.
We're really excited to be ableto help the elite performers and
really then bring what wedeveloped to everyday people.
And so um, everyday people areour bread and butter audience,
and um, we love supporting themand making that whether it's
they travel every year, whetherthey travel 10 times a year, or
it's that one trip every 10years, we want to make it feel
(27:51):
great and let people have asgood a time as they can.
SPEAKER_03 (27:54):
Okay, and what's your website?
Is it uh fly kit with two teas?
SPEAKER_00 (27:58):
F-L-Y-K-I-T-T, like what's on my shirt.
Okay, fly kit.
Flykit.com, and you can find allabout us there.
SPEAKER_03 (28:04):
Okay, great.
Well, thank you so much, Andrew.
SPEAKER_00 (28:07):
Awesome.
Thanks, Karen.
SPEAKER_03 (28:08):
All right, perfect.
Thank you.
Bye bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app.
And if you have a minute, wewould really appreciate a
review.
Following and rating is the bestway to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
(28:29):
We're at Where Next Podcast.
Thanks again.
Hi, welcome to our podcast, Where Next?
Travel with Kristen and Carol.
I am Kristen.
And I am Carol.
And we're two long-term friendswith a passion for travel and
adventure.
SPEAKER_03 (00:27):
Each episode, we interview people around the
globe to help us decide where togo next.
Today I want to introduce AndrewHerr, who's the founder and CEO
of Flight Kit, and he is anentrepreneur that's transforming
the way travelers safeguardtheir health.
And I'll let Andrew get all intothat.
But besides running thiscompany, Andrew is also an
(00:47):
adventure seeker with remarkablereal-world stories from
competing in the Spartan UltraWorld Championships in Iceland
to living with Kazakh nomads whotrain eagles to hunt.
So welcome, Andrew.
I don't know what Kazakh is orthe Spartan Ultra World
Championship.
So great.
SPEAKER_00 (01:07):
Thanks, Carol.
Thanks, Kristen.
Yeah, I think uh what to tell.
I spent the first seven years ofmy career working in and out of
the Pentagon, helping themilitary think about and then
implement optimizing humanperformance.
How do we make our soldiers,sailors, airmen, marines perform
as best as they could?
I got to work with truly eliteperformers in special
(01:27):
operations, fighter pilots, andpeople like that.
And since then, I've built acouple of companies uh focused
on optimizing health andperformance for executives,
entrepreneurs, and now reallyeverybody focused on travel.
The people who live in thewestern part of Mongolia are
ethnically Kazakh, and theytrain big golden eagles to hunt
(01:49):
um wolves and fox and everythinglike that.
And it's pretty uh it's prettywild out there in more than one
sense of the word.
And then um, yes, I've gotten todo some some fun kind of
adventure races in the middle ofwinter when it's not very light
for most of the day.
SPEAKER_03 (02:05):
Okay, so Mongolia.
So we've done a couple episodeson Mongolia where there's
nomads.
SPEAKER_00 (02:10):
I've been to Mongolia twice, but that but in
that one, in that case, I wasjust there for a week with those
nomads.
Um beautiful country.
I have really very little butgreat things to say about
Mongolia.
SPEAKER_01 (02:22):
Yeah, awesome.
So I'm curious also about likethe beginning.
You've said a lot so far, and Icouldn't find you.
Or I what was your life growingup?
Like, how did you get intofitness, the Pentagon?
Did you make, you know, as a kidwant to do that?
Did you go to college for it?
SPEAKER_00 (02:39):
Or say if I lived my life 10 times, I would have been
a doctor, five of them.
My dad's a doctor, I grew uparound that.
And then my mom started thefamily, kind of like military,
military, military.
And so we had both elements ofthat growing up, and then found
a program where I could dotechnology and national security
in university.
Then the government offered topay for me to go to grad school,
(02:59):
and I that sounded like a gooddeal for me because I only had
to work for them for a summer topay it back.
Ended up getting master'sdegrees in health physics, in
immunology, and in nationalsecurity policy.
And somebody walked into thecareer center and said, we need
someone who does biology andnational security and can write.
And they're like, Well, we knowthis guy, Andrew.
And so I got hired by thePentagon, basically by the think
(03:21):
tank that looks out in thefuture directly for the
Secretary of Defense to run aprogram on the future of human
performance and biotech and howthose things might change
warfare and change the world.
You know, working with umhelping research development
strategy, and then I was workingwith individuals, trying to
figure out how to optimizeperformance on a specific types
(03:41):
of long-duration dive missions.
And I learned in that processthat the pressure changes in
diving can cause inflammation inyour body.
That's actually why people feelso tired after the scuba dive.
Um, and then based on some otherwork I was doing, figured out
that that's why you feel so badwhen you fly, because you have
these pressure changes when youfly, not as big as diving, but
(04:03):
enough to cause inflammation inthe body.
And then the low oxygenenvironment, when you're in a
plane, there's 26% less oxygen,give or take, when you're at
altitude.
And that puts you in a situationwhere brain fog, gut issues,
swelling in your legs.
Suddenly, jet lag isn't justabout the time zones.
(04:24):
You realize it's really aboutthe inflammation, and then how
the inflammation makes it hardto shift to shakadian rhythm.
I can tell the story, butbasically that led to me
inventing this full solution ofjet lag.
SPEAKER_01 (04:36):
Does that also throw in menopause?
SPEAKER_00 (04:40):
So most menopausal women are in a zone where
they're going to have moreinflammation.
It's an age-related thing.
The hormone hormone fluctuationscan also cause inflation.
A little known fact, but a lotof PMS is actually an
inflammatory event.
And so, because of hormonefluctuations, now you're in a
very different type of hormonefluctuation.
(05:01):
Yeah.
But you're right in the zone,and we've and we do absolutely
find that solving inflammatoryissues makes menopause less
challenging.
So we're really, you know, mybackground in immunology
obviously has a lot to do withinflammation.
And so, yeah, so long storyshort, we've figured out how to
solve why you feel bad on, youknow, for jet lag, because once
(05:21):
we solve the inflammation, wecan flip your circadian rhythm
overnight, as we now do for morethan 90% of people.
And then even on short flights,when you get off and you just
don't feel great, kind of justin a fog the rest of the day,
your gut might be off,constipation, other things.
We haven't we solved that too.
And so we have two productsFlykit International for jet
lag, fly kit domestic forshorter flights that are really
(05:41):
transformative.
I mean, I used I stopped wantingto travel at some point because
I felt so bad every time I flew.
And now the work we've done haschanged my life and has changed
the lives of many, manytravelers.
SPEAKER_01 (05:55):
It's funny.
When I get on a flight, I justhad a long flight from Florida
to California and back, um,except for I just didn't get
enough sleep on the way back.
That one was a little tougher.
So I was a little exhausted.
But on the way there, which Ilost, you know, I left at 9:45
a.m.
and got there at 9 p.m.
because I had a layover,unfortunately.
You know, I just feel like I gotto sleep and then I'm good and
(06:17):
then I have no problem.
But on the plane, I love itbecause I'm forced to be there
and I can't do anything like Inormally am working out, doing
this, doing that.
And so then I'm like, I guessI'll watch a movie.
I guess I'll take a nap.
I guess I'll eat my food.
Just kind of like it's sort offorced, but that's just me.
SPEAKER_03 (06:36):
So I have a question about the inflammation, like on
the plane.
Because yeah, a lot of timeslike you know, take your shoes
off, you feel your sh feet startto swell just a tiny bit.
Like what causes that?
Just the less oxygen you'resaying.
SPEAKER_00 (06:49):
So it's two things.
The pressure change, it's likeclimbing an 8,000-foot mountain
in 15 minutes when you take off.
And that does a number on yourbody.
Um, you've it's not exactly thesame, but it has things similar
to altitude and decompressionsickness.
And then the lower oxygenenvironment causes oxidative
stress that can, which is umbasically kind of free radicals
(07:10):
start damaging parts of yourcells, and that can lead to an
inflammatory response too, ifyou don't protect your body.
Um, but what we've done atFlyKit is figured out how to
protect your body in a way thatmeans the stuff you don't get
the negative effects um and youcan feel much better.
And we even get a lot of reportsabout people used to get sick
every time they fly that don'tanymore.
SPEAKER_03 (07:29):
Oh, wow.
Okay.
Does some of that include moreoxygen?
Because I know, like in becauseI've been in Colorado and we
they actually like sell oxygenat the airport for you know
newcomers.
SPEAKER_00 (07:38):
Couldn't do that.
I mean, that would be one thing,but um, it's not, you're not
allowed to bring those bottleson a plane, restaurants.
Oh, right.
Okay.
There's plenty of oxygen on theplane, they just don't let you
have it.
Um, unless it's emergency, youdon't really want it, to be
honest, because the emergency.
But yeah, the we're not givingyou oxygen, we're using
supplements to block the effectsof that pressure change in the
(07:59):
low oxygen environment.
Things can spread the oxidativestress and damage to your cells
and the activation of yourimmune system.
Keep it low, keep it healthy andlow.
By doing that, then you can feelgreat, you know, from the moment
you arrive.
SPEAKER_01 (08:12):
So they're not like, is this a known thing and
shouldn't they just pump itthrough the plane while the
patients are or patients, haha,the the passengers are going.
Because what I also know is umwhen I did a couple long
flights, and even this one too,they have that blue light, you
know, that also is supposed tohelp with, you know, air
sickness or just like the, youknow, the flight.
SPEAKER_00 (08:34):
It's not that there's less oxygen in the air.
It's the same percentage of theair as you get down on your sea
level.
It's just there's less airpressure because they only
pressurize the cabin to 8,000feet on most commercial
airliners.
So that's why you're getting somuch less oxygen.
Why don't they pressurize it allthe way?
It costs more money.
And it costs more money becausethat pressurization would um
(08:55):
basically cause more fatigue onthe plane body.
And so um, as a result, it'scheaper in the long run for them
to have less pressure insidebecause the pressure outside is
is even lower.
And so basically the newestplanes, the 350, 8350, and the
787, are better because theypressurize to um about 5,000
(09:15):
feet relative because they'receramic.
But even at that, um, it'sbetter, but still not enough to
protect your body fully.
Interesting.
SPEAKER_03 (09:25):
I have a couple questions.
So then we could go into morelike exactly like what the fly
kit does.
But the generally I've alsoheard like not eating on a plane
is actually better for jet legbecause your body then is not
working on the food, it's justworking on maybe balancing
everything else out.
And what about um, you know,intake of water?
Like any thoughts on those twoitems?
SPEAKER_00 (09:48):
Fasting can help because fasting helps prevent
inflammation.
And so but we figure out a wayto give that to you without
having to fast.
And then when you fast, but youalso you know prevent your brain
from having the nutrients andsupport, and that can cause
stress-hormone response.
And so basically, fasting isgood for stopping inflammation,
but the best thing is to usethese other protocols that can
(10:11):
stop the inflammation, but alsoyou can eat so your brain and
body have the fuel they need tonot have to stress.
So, yeah, that's why fasting canbe useful, but um, we've
developed a protocol that kindof makes it obsolete.
Well, you do lose more water.
The lower pressure air basicallymakes water evaporate faster
from your mouth and breathingand so even your skin.
(10:32):
So you do want to drink a lot ofwater.
Everyone knows they feel moredehydrated.
Part of the reason though is theinflammation can pull fluid into
tissues like swelling.
And so you're actually losingwater kind of from circulation
in two ways.
So you want to drink plenty ofwater when you travel for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (10:50):
Interesting.
What are the products?
So you said there's twoproducts, one for short flights,
one for long flights.
And is it like a liquid, a pill?
SPEAKER_00 (10:58):
So to truly eliminate jet lag.
And by truly eliminate, I meanwe ran a study with uh Pro
Sports team in Miami where Messiplays if you're a soccer fan.
And they did an around the worldtrip, five stops, five games,
four cities truly around theworld, 24 time zones.
Um, and they saw nine, thepeople players who use flight
saw 94% less symptoms than thosewho didn't.
(11:19):
And so you get truly incrediblebenefits.
And the way we do it is we giveyou five different supplements,
and we have an app thatcalculates a custom program for
your body and your trip and yoursleep schedule for when to eat,
sleep, and use these differentsupplements and the blue-eye
blocking glasses in your kit.
So the kit has everything youneed, and the app gives you a
custom program and makes itsimple.
(11:39):
It just gives you a notificationanytime you need to do
something.
Okay, got it.
SPEAKER_01 (11:43):
Wow.
How do you do that?
Is it like lead work, salivawork, anything?
It's kind of like here's yourweight.
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
We've been able to we figured out how to make it
simple by asking you sixquestions that tell us about
your physiology.
Things you might not realize aretelling us what we need to know,
but if you get less than sixhours of sleep for one night,
how much does it affect you?
That tells me both about sleepsensitivity, but also about your
propensity to inflammation.
What kind of diet we ask you, doyou eat a vegan or a ketogenic
(12:11):
diet?
We we have some differentquestions.
And so, um, but it's simple.
You only have to answer sixquestions and give us your
flights and your sleep schedule.
Um, and it provides a totallycustom plan via our AI
algorithms.
SPEAKER_01 (12:23):
Curious about the different food, like you said,
vegan, keto diet, you know,American diet, whatever it is.
Is there difference?
Like it is just in general, isone diet better than another for
most of the people?
SPEAKER_00 (12:38):
For jet lag or for jet in general?
Both.
Okay.
Well, I mean, I spent a lot ofmy career working on general
performance outside of travel.
Most food is very unhealthy inAmerica.
The processed foods containthings that are extremely bad
for you.
The typical first ways theydysregulate you are via your
metabolism and the cause healthproblems downstream, type 2
(13:00):
diabetes, but also inflammation.
The simplest heuristics you cantake away from that are eat less
carbs and sugar and eat moreprotein and eat more vegetables.
I might sound like your mother,but like if you want the very
answer, the simple answer is todo that.
Now, I used to just see bloodwork from elite performers, see,
(13:23):
you know, from athletes and youknow, CEOs, others.
More recently, I've been seeingblood work from people who are
more closer to averageAmericans.
And I will tell you, they don'teat a lot of fish.
How do I know?
I've been seeing omega-3 fattyacid levels in their blood lower
than I've ever imagined.
So most people could do well byeating more fish or taking an
(13:44):
omega-3 supplement.
Um, and also a lot of peoplehave low vitamin B12 levels, and
that probably has to do withboth absorption and or what they
eat.
So the answer is there's no bestdiet for anyone because our
physiologies are quitedifferent.
But run an experiment for amonth, try a diet for a month.
(14:04):
Do you feel better?
Does your body composition getbetter?
I don't say lose weight becauseI want you to gain muscle and
lose fat or keep muscle and losefat.
So is your body compositionbetter?
Do you feel better?
Because anything you do for twoweeks every day in a row and you
feel better is probably good foryou long term.
There's a couple things thataren't that aren't, but like 99%
(14:24):
of things, if you feel worsedoing it, it's probably like
it's probably not going to begreat for you long term.
Unless you just like with it.
So that's kind of where I would,that's kind of where I'd be.
Um work out more and some otherthings too.
But um, from there, thecustomization is cool.
Like, is it better to cutcalories or to just do fasts one
day a week or do intermittentfasting?
And the answer is in studies,cutting calories the same by the
(14:48):
same amount as you get by doingintermittent fasting, same
results.
SPEAKER_03 (14:52):
That's what I was wondering.
Is this does it work?
Because since you're fasting foreight hours or you know, 16
hours, you just don't have asmuch time to eat.
So if you're not having thatlate night snack, it's all about
the same.
SPEAKER_00 (15:05):
Like you don't eat one day a week and you eat six
days a week versus cutting 15%of your calories, which is about
the same amount, you lose aboutthe same amount of weight.
Now there are different, butsome people will do better with
one than the other.
That's just on average, right?
Maybe Kristen, you do way betternot eating one day a week, and
Carol, you do way better bycutting 50% of calories every
day.
(15:25):
That's one thing that there iscurrently no way to predict on
tests, and anyone who tells youthey can test for is lying to
you.
SPEAKER_01 (15:31):
Or just how and the best is how you feel, like you
were saying.
That's uh usually what or theresults, right?
SPEAKER_00 (15:36):
Like obviously losing weight, eating less might
not make you feel like great,but if you are losing the
inflammation and stuff, you aregonna feel better.
One thing people don'tappreciate is that inflammation
causes anxiety also, andobviously anxiety are two of the
great American maladies.
SPEAKER_03 (15:53):
Oh my gosh, I didn't know that.
I mean, those are my two issuesof inflammation and anxiety.
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
I was I was curious if you noticed a big change and
difference.
I'm assuming, yes, but I'll askthe question um after COVID.
SPEAKER_00 (16:06):
COVID seemed to, and for some people to vaccine, seem
to put people in apro-inflammatory state.
Um so yes, COVID the virus,COVID the vaccine, and COVID the
lifestyle change, more at home,more ordering stuff.
All three are pro-inflammatory,as far as I'm concerned.
(16:27):
Yeah, right.
Curious how much more.
Depends on the person again.
SPEAKER_01 (16:32):
Well, just like as a as a community or like all of
people, you know, 20%, 90%.
I kind of thought it was a lot.
SPEAKER_00 (16:41):
Yeah, I mean, the trick is like inflammation is a
misunderstood concept.
You know, you go to a doctor'soffice, they test your maybe
maybe if they're good, they testyour high sensitivity C reactive
protein, which is a measure ofinflammation from your blood.
But that can be normal and youcan have tons of inflammation.
And so that's the tricky thingis inflammation is a broad term
(17:02):
for activation of the immunesystem.
There are many differentpathways in the immune system,
though.
And not all of them show up in alike total systemic-wide
fashion.
So that's the tricky thing, isyou have to be smart about what
you're testing.
And even testing can't give youeverything.
Some things are just how youfeel.
You know if your gut is off andif you feel swollen, things like
(17:24):
that.
That's inflammation, might notshow up on your lab test though.
So, for example, foodsensitivities are actually
allergies, but they're onlyhappening in the lining of your
gut and not happeningperipherally.
So when you take a blood testfor them, it can't show it
because it's only in the liningof your gut.
So, everyone, by the way, whosays they have a stool or a
blood test for foodsensitivities, not food
(17:44):
allergies, is lying to you also.
But if you run an eliminationdiet and you see take a bunch of
stuff out and then add thingswork one at a time, and you feel
worse when you add things back,that's a great sign that you
shouldn't eat that thing becauseyou might be sensitive to it.
And let me tell you, if you caneliminate all the foods you're
sensitive to, they can give youtwice as much energy every day.
SPEAKER_01 (18:05):
Have you heard of so um there's a guy, he's a
chiropractor, but turned, Imean, he's been chiropractor
nutritionist is kind of retired,but on the side as his practice,
it was um removing allergiesdigitally.
Um, so it's a uh Australian umtechnology.
Um, it's called allergy reliefcenters.
And I've gone to him for, Idon't know, 14 years now.
(18:27):
Um, but he can tell youspecifically what it is that's
bothering you and even alsojust, and it's it's worked.
I know my daughter, she was asynchronized swimmer for 10
years.
Uh, she's coached for three, butwhen she was seven when she
started, she was allergic tochlorine and then, or
sensitivity to it, and then itremoved it.
And then my son, he was five atthe time and had sounded like a
(18:47):
90-year-old snoring, did thatprocedure, and it's just, you
know, there's no shots, but it'salmost like the allergy test,
right?
Where they do the little needlesand stuff.
Um, but it was curious.
I don't know if you've everheard that, or and it's it's
worked.
SPEAKER_00 (19:00):
I need to know more about it.
I yeah, I haven't seen, youknow, I don't know what
particular technology it is.
So could but look, there's oneof the things that's very
interesting is medicine wants totell you that they know so much
about the human body.
And at once they also are oftenlike, well, there's nothing
going on here, and you knowyou're not feeling well, you
know something's wrong.
So the truth is we know verylittle about the human body.
(19:24):
What we do know is like theelectrical conductivity and
movement of electrons matters alot, for example.
We know that things that we usedto think were kind of quacky,
like sunlight is not good foryou just because of vitamin D.
There are other components ofthe sun.
(19:44):
There's red and infrared lightsin there.
There, you know, the UV lighthitting your skin, causing a
little damage, might actuallycause your body to build back
and respond and have your skinbe more resilient, actually.
And so, just as you know, withwhen you work out and you lift
weights, your muscles get biggerand stronger.
(20:05):
Well, part of that is anadaptive response called
hormesis.
And you can have hormesis,hermetic stressors in your skin
too.
And so all these things um thatget really reduced to like sun
is good for vitamin D.
No, you can't just take vitaminD and replace the sun.
You're missing a huge componentof what's going on there.
So we need to both broaden andaccept that we need to go
(20:29):
narrower because each person isdifferent.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (20:33):
And then where where do you um back to this
inflammation?
Where how do you think sleep orlack of sleep, does that affect
inflammation?
And um how do you prepare for aflight?
Like, did you get more sleep thenight before or take a nap?
SPEAKER_00 (20:47):
So sleep restriction is one of the surest ways to
cause inflammation in the body.
Sleep restriction.
However, the trick we figuredout with Fly Kid with our jet
lag product is you have to getless sleep at some point to get
on a new time zone, bydefinition, right?
If you're going to Tokyo andit's eight hours ahead and you
(21:08):
sleep eight hours, you're gonnawake up at 4 p.m.
I in Tokyo and you're nevergonna use bed that night.
So I need you to sleep threehours on the plane, not eight,
not six, three, maybe four and ahalf, depends on your itinerary.
But then I need to make sure youdon't have a bunch of the
negative effects of that.
And so I can turn off theinflammation using supplements
at the right time and the rightdose and the right content,
(21:31):
temporarily, long enough to getyou to bed that night.
I can't turn off inflammationfrom not getting sleep
permanently.
That would be great, but that'sjust how it works.
Knock it down for that one dayto get you there feeling good
enough to have to get there andget to bed at 10, 11 p.m.
in Tokyo and sleep well thatfirst night.
And so we, yes, inflammation isa problem.
(21:53):
And if you have the flightinflammation from the pressure
and inflammation from notsleeping well, a double hit to
the immune system is much morethan 2x.
It's exponential.
And so that's why what we'redoing, our algorithm is really
in a sophisticated way, kind oforchestrating a concert for you
of these different tools, lightand supplements and other
things, to help with theinflammation, to shift your
(22:15):
circadian rhythm, to boost this,to push forward, to pull back,
to land you feeling good, butthen able to go to sleep that
night.
And so um, that is really a corepart of the fly kit protocol.
And then for the domesticproduct, fly kit domestic, um,
we're managing the inflammationfrom flying, even though there's
not as much of a sleep circadingcomponent.
SPEAKER_03 (22:33):
And did you take the right, like right, like pre
during, and right after, or likefor the couple days sometimes?
SPEAKER_00 (22:40):
The protocol, so for jet lag, it starts the morning
you leave.
That's one of the cool thingsabout it.
You have to do days before,which no one's gonna do.
And then um it ends really uhthe first full day you're there
in destination, and then the umflight domestic protocol is
shorter and simpler, and it'sreally four doses around your
travel death.
SPEAKER_03 (23:01):
Okay.
So if someone buys a kit, likeis it for one trip, or this is
like a kit and should last youfor like 10 trips or something?
SPEAKER_00 (23:09):
So the fly kit core pack, the core bundle is good
for a round trip anywhere in theworld, and you can just buy
refills of the supplements, butyou keep your glasses and things
like that.
So yeah, it's good for a roundtrip anywhere in the world.
And you know, you could have 10,12, 14 days of jet lag if you
include there and back.
So it's really like$7 a day,$8 aday to stop jet lag totally from
(23:33):
all those days you would havefelt bad and missed parts of
your trip.
And um, it's really incrediblein that.
SPEAKER_03 (23:39):
I think all the money could save start flying
red eyes again.
Like at some point, I'm like,I'm never doing a red eye again.
It destroyed my whole next day.
So, like, how would you handle ared eye?
Because you are gonna losesleep.
SPEAKER_00 (23:50):
You just like force yourself to sleep or turns out a
red eye is just like a flight toEurope, more give or take.
Use our fly kit internationalproduct to do red eyes, and we
see business travelers who tellus they feel just as good,
basically, for that day in NewYork if they're coming from LA
or things like that.
So it's very effective for redeyes.
Um, we recommend the Fly KitInternational product for that.
(24:12):
You can use Fly Kit Domestic forred eyes, but it's probably not
gonna be quite as effective.
SPEAKER_01 (24:17):
It's funny with the red eye because it may be a red
eye for us, but it's already theday for the where you're going.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
And that's why you have to shift your circadian
rhythm.
You've got to manage the sleepdebt, you've got to manage the
poor sleep on a plane, all thosethings fly kit helps you do.
SPEAKER_01 (24:33):
Too bad this isn't at the airport in a kiosk, you
know, or whatever a coin.
It seems like uh that that wouldbe the goal.
That yeah, I I could see thatthat, you know, people would be
plugging it in right there thenand there at the airport to help
with that.
Are you working with anyairlines or anyone else in terms
of uh your partner?
SPEAKER_00 (24:54):
We are building a partnership with Delta.
Um, at the beginning of thisyear, they announced that uh at
CES that they were gonna bebuilding a partnership with us
this year.
SPEAKER_01 (25:03):
Oh, that's great.
Wow, that's huge.
My brother's a pilot for United.
And uh my stepmom worked forAmerican Airlines for many, many
years.
So um they do both of thoseflights all the time.
But um, I will definitely bementioning this to my brother.
He flies ball long distanceflights.
That's it.
That's all he does.
So I for me, I don't fly veryoften.
(25:23):
So again, it's like a trip hereand there, great.
I would like to be flying more.
My goal is for two years to flyall over the world in a couple
of years, but um, my brother ison planes all the time, so I
will definitely be mentioningthis to him.
Absolutely.
So a couple questions on youtoo.
I uh so the Spartan race, didyou do the Spartan um Iceland
recently?
SPEAKER_00 (25:44):
Uh that was it was a few years back now already, more
than a few years back.
Um but I did two years in a row,did the Spartan race.
It's an obstacle course race ofyou know, distance plus carry
heavy rock, climb, climb bigthing, that kind of stuff.
And uh that was really, reallygreat.
SPEAKER_03 (26:02):
How far is it?
SPEAKER_00 (26:04):
So the world championship is a third was a
then was a 30-mile race umthrough kind of through and like
sleet sleeting on you inIceland.
It was it was great though.
SPEAKER_03 (26:16):
You liked it?
Okay, you were like, What am Idoing?
SPEAKER_00 (26:19):
The Northern Lights came out the first year.
It was just gorgeous.
SPEAKER_01 (26:23):
Oh, that's that's pretty epic.
How long does the race?
I know I have a friend who Iwake surf with, and he he does
it um certain races, but I Ijust know about it, but I don't
know how long is it that ittakes?
SPEAKER_00 (26:35):
The you know, it really depends.
This race was a 24-hour race, soyou could keep going and do as
many laps as you could, but youhad to do 30 miles to finish.
But the the winners were did,you know, I forget 60, 70, 80
miles um in that time.
SPEAKER_01 (26:49):
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
So you wake up and start at like4 a.m.
and then hopefully end at that.
SPEAKER_00 (26:55):
Yeah, it was it was an early start, but there's only
a few hours of daylight anyway,so it didn't really matter.
SPEAKER_01 (27:00):
Oh, yeah, that's fine.
Well, you got the northernlight, so that's beautiful.
So, what's your goal with FlightKit?
SPEAKER_00 (27:08):
We want to make healthy travel easy for people.
Um, and close to bringing thisout to as many people as we can.
We've already, you know, hadtens of thousands of people use
it and have phenomenalexperiences.
We have you know, dozens of proand Olympic teams use it, the
military.
So the elite performers arealready onto it.
Um, we're already working withthree NFL teams this season to
(27:29):
do their travel.
So nice.
We're really excited to be ableto help the elite performers and
really then bring what wedeveloped to everyday people.
And so um, everyday people areour bread and butter audience,
and um, we love supporting themand making that whether it's
they travel every year, whetherthey travel 10 times a year, or
it's that one trip every 10years, we want to make it feel
(27:51):
great and let people have asgood a time as they can.
SPEAKER_03 (27:54):
Okay, and what's your website?
Is it uh fly kit with two teas?
SPEAKER_00 (27:58):
F-L-Y-K-I-T-T, like what's on my shirt.
Okay, fly kit.
Flykit.com, and you can find allabout us there.
SPEAKER_03 (28:04):
Okay, great.
Well, thank you so much, Andrew.
SPEAKER_00 (28:07):
Awesome.
Thanks, Karen.
SPEAKER_03 (28:08):
All right, perfect.
Thank you.
Bye bye.
Thanks for listening.
If you enjoyed the podcast, canyou please take a second and do
a quick follow of the show andrate us in your podcast app.
And if you have a minute, wewould really appreciate a
review.
Following and rating is the bestway to support us.
If you're on Instagram, let'sconnect.
(28:29):
We're at Where Next Podcast.
Thanks again.
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