I love to travel and whether for work or pleasure, that means I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in flight. I love a good flight to catch-up on work, watch the latest movie, or just have a moment to myself. What I don’t like? The germs and the lack of healthy food options.

Planes are dirty. Between each flight, there is a crew that comes in and does a general cleaning of the plane however, they don’t scrub each seat, seatbelt and tray table which means that germs are everywhere. Add in people coughing and sneezing and a plane isn’t the healthiest place to be this time of year. To combat that here’s what I recommend you do:

• Carry sanitizing wipes. The minute I get on the plane I wipe down my seat, the seatbelt and tray table with my Clorox wipes. I get some crazy looks but who cares? I want the things I am touching for the next four or five hours to be germ free.

• Carry hand sanitizer. This may seem like overkill for some of you, but I ALWAYS have a small tube of hand sanitizer with me wherever I go. Why? Because after I’ve closed the bathroom door on my way out, closed the overhead bin, or helped someone out, I want to rid my hands of germs. Look, I’m battling a cold, too and you want me to do this (and you should do it, too).

• Wear a scarf. Four years ago, I travelled overseas during prime cold and flu season, and a colleague traveling with me wore a pashmina around his neck and over his mouth the entire flight to keep his neck warm and germs away from his mouth and nose. Almost like a face mask without it looking awkward.  While I laughed at him at the time, he got the last laugh. I caught whatever bug was flying around the plane while he continued to live his healthiest life. Lesson learned.

• Drink water. This is key. You get dehydrated while flying so you want to continue to drink water your entire flight.

And you want to eat right. More and more flights are cutting back what they offer passengers which means you’ll either bring a meal with you or purchase one in-flight.  If you are trying to be healthy (and who isn’t), here are my tips for eating healthy while traveling: 

• Pack nuts and water. Almonds are best as they will help you feel fuller longer and are a healthy option. And water helps with dehydration (see above). If you’re hungry you will grab whatever you come in contact with and sometimes that is candy or other junk food. You don’t want that so pack some trail mix or single serve almond packs in your bag to help control your hunger. And always purchase the large bottle of water once you’ve passed through security. Don’t want to shell out $10 for a bottle that should cost $2? Bring a water bottle and fill it up once you’re through security.

• Bring fruit. Pack and orange, apple, or banana to have with you. They are super easy to carry and will also help regulate digestion during your travel.

• Eat clean protein. We all run out of time, so if you need to eat what’s offered on the plane, opt for the item that has the highest amount of healthy clean protein. The chicken salad, eggs, hummus, or protein pack. If it comes with bread, you can always remove it if you aren’t doing bread.

• Fasting is an option. If you’re not happy with any of your options, I always bring a tube of my collagen protein and vitamins or my BCAA’s. I will mix these with my water and they will also hold me over while flying. And since I generally fly first or last thing each day, you can do this as part of your fast as well.

• Grab a salad to-go. Take advantage of the great options at airports to grab a salad or meal. More and more, you’ll see healthy food options in the airport. Prepackaged salads and sandwiches and more. Grab one of these and eat it when you’ve hit 35,000 feet.

If you are picking up something to bring on board, please oh please be considerate of your neighbors. We’ve all been on that flight with the guy who brings on Jack in the Box or a garlic lovers pizza. Don’t be that guy. Stay away from tuna, garlic, anything that might be pungent. We’re all sharing the same space for the next few hours so let’s not make it unbearable for each other.

With these tips, it should be easier to stay healthier this holiday season while in the air. Have other tips or tricks to add? Sound off in the comments below.