Description
Description
Travel With Confidence: A Master Herbalist’s Guide to Staying Consistent, Prepared & Compliant With Your Wellness Routine Overseas
Welcome to part seven of the Master Herbalist Guide to International Travel Series, a valuable resource for all travelers.
If you haven't yet explored parts one through six, there is an absolute goldmine of wonderful information that can help you embrace a healthy lifestyle and enjoy your travels evermore:
- Part one: Foundational Rules for an International Adventure
- Part two: Common Health Issues and their Herbal Allies associated with extensive travel
- Part three: Choosing the Right Herbal Allies for Your Journey; Plus my Personal Protocol
- Part four: Top Functional Foods, Herbs, and Supplements for Travel
- Part five: A Master Herbalist Guide for International Travel for Kids (+Recipe)
- Part six: Go Farther, Feel Better: Nutrient-Dense Herbs & Superfoods for Energy, Endurance, Hydration & Everyday Travel Support
Today’s article will focus on the values of consistency and compliance.
Much like part 6, this, too, is a topic that does not get enough discussion and deserves its due attention.
Today, I will discuss the results of my decision to break my own rules and not follow my proven herbal travel protocol in its entirety.
Furthermore, I will also discuss why consistency and compliance are the two fundamental principles for everything you do in life.
However, before I dive into this topic, let's do a quick review of my base herbal travel protocol for those who have not read part 3 of my travel series.
The Master Herbalist’s Personal Protocol
With many years as an herbalist and world traveler under my belt, I have created and experimented with various programs to find what works best for me to stay strong and healthy on my exciting journeys. Can things still happen? Yes. What I take significantly reduces the odds, and if something does happen, I have what I need to deal with it, with minimal disruption. One final note: No one is saying you have to do what I do. I am simply sharing my personal travel program.
My base program is six items I never travel without.
- Minor Bupleurum: A Qi regulator, immune modulator, and perfect for adapting to temp fluctuations (When I travel, this is an issue I tend to deal with)
- Virugo Max: For a specific timeframe, use only. From a TCM perspective, it is used to purge heat and cool the blood. It is TCM’s support for viral issues.
- Formula King of Combination, aka Astragalus Codonopsis Combination: A classic Qi tonic formula that helps build strength and energy, supports immunity, and nourishes the spleen (digestion).
- Red Sage (Salvia): Supports blood and microcirculation; this is cooling in nature.
- Natto K: 100 milligrams at night
- Tibetian Rhodiola extract: 400 milligrams daily or…
- Ashwagandha Root Extract: 600 milligrams daily
I use the King of Combinations all the time because it supports my constitutional weaknesses according to TCM (Spleen Qi Deficiency). I also have Qi stagnation constitution issues according to TCM. I start taking Virugo Max, Salvia, and Minor Bupleurum 3-5 days before my travel begins and discontinue them 3-5 days after returning home.
I am writing this article to acknowledge that I make mistakes and have lapses in good judgment. Luckily, those mistakes are great reminders never to repeat them.
Recently, I was on an international trip and didn’t bring all the necessary items in my base program. The result was that for my entire trip, I did not feel 100 percent; I was affected by jet lag and fatigue. As a result, my constitutional issues flared up, which made the journey less enjoyable. While I did my best to focus on enjoying myself (and I still did), the flare-up took something important away from my experience. The result is that I beat the crap out of myself over a mistake that should NEVER have been made and, most importantly, never made again. Yeah, because beating yourself up for your mistakes is very helpful, right?
If you know me personally, you would agree that I am extremely disciplined and dedicated to tasks at hand. When I say that I am going to do something, you can bet your last shekel it will get done. I do all I can to ensure I enjoy the experiences I create for myself. However, I also struggle in a horrible way to postpone something, even when it is in my best interest, because I view it as quitting. Nothing enrages me more than quitting.
If I had to pinpoint where this all stems from, I would say that it comes from my 27 years as a competitive elite-level powerlifter. To get to the level I competed at, it takes a level of discipline and consistency that most people don’t have. To be clear, this is not about making a mistake. Mistakes are how we often learn the best lessons. This is simply about the fact that I didn’t do the same thing I have done on every other trip, with proven results.
This crucial mistake once again reminded me of the tremendous value these herbs bring to my life and well-being.
Recently, I heard an interview with Dr. Terry Whals, who is world-famous for using her version of the modified Paleo diet to slow her progression of MS. In the interview, she discussed a hard but extremely powerful lesson she learned from stopping her mitochondrial supplement protocol for just a few days because she didn’t feel like it was sustaining her energy levels.
To say that stopping her protocol set her back is an understatement. At first, I asked myself why someone so successful in their approach to illness would do such a thing. She admitted in the interview that, until she stopped everything, she had not realized how well her protocol had actually been working; lesson learned.
I have discussed the topic of “What we are supposed to feel in the long term” regarding the use of herbs and supplements in some of my much older articles. I stated that if the goal is balance or creating a state of homeostasis, it would stand to reason that the burst of energy you get at the beginning of the protocol eventually settles into a stable, balanced energy state, which becomes your new normal. Remember, anything that gives you a “jolt” (like an isolated version of caffeine and energy drinks) is ultimately going to cause a level of depletion because it works by pulling from your energy reserves. However, this does not include items such as matcha or functional coffee.
Please check out part 6 of this series to learn more in-depth info about the effects of matcha on jet lag.
Caffeine does not create energy. In fact, it actually only provides the sensation of energy by forcing your body to tap into its existing hormonal reserves. Caffeine, in essence, blocks fatigue signals. The crash you feel is caused by the fact that caffeine is blocking the adenosine receptors.
However, your body continues to produce and accumulate more adenosine in the background. When the caffeine wears off, all the built-up adenosine rushes in to bind at once, causing a sudden, overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. This vicious cycle triggers the adrenal glands to release stress hormones and stimulates dopamine release.
Truth be told, when we have been sitting in a balanced place (or, as some might incorrectly call it, a holding pattern) for a while, it is only natural that you may need a reminder that what you are doing is working. Unfortunately, instead of being smart and looking at health parameters (blood pressure, sleep, stress levels, and mood) to show you how well you are doing, most people stop everything, crash, and regret the decision instantly.
Consistency and Compliance always win the game.
I have written in many of my articles that consistency and compliance are always the perfect formula for reaching the finish line successfully. This formula holds true for pretty much everything you do in life. If you are consistent, there is no way you won’t see some success in everything you do. There is just no promise for how long it may take.
Unfortunately, this formula also requires considerable patience for several reasons. First, you never know how long it will take to move the needle initially. Waiting for this to happen can be extremely frustrating and can create a sense of defeat. As I have mentioned before, when you use medicinal herbs correctly, you will almost always see very fast results. However, daily tonics, adaptogens, and mitochondrial compounds are about the long game.
But if you stay on course, you will get to the finish line.
The other reason it takes patience is that this process is not a straight trajectory. Supporting your health is a lifelong commitment. Successful results come in different forms and are not always what they seem. As stated earlier, Dr. Wahl was under the impression that her personal mitochondrial program was “not working”, only to find out how well it actually was working once she stopped it for only a few days. Unfortunately, this is the big issue with reductionist thinking.
One final example of consistency winning the game is professional bodybuilding. Their lives are literally like the movie Groundhog Day: the exact same schedule and meals every day for years, all to reach the goal.
The best bodybuilders in the world will attest that if you miss a beat, it can have consequences. This is why there is only a handful of people who stand on the stage holding the sandow (named after Eugen Sandow who was a famous early bodybuilder) and are called Mr. Olympia.
Now, let’s look at consistency from a scientific perspective.
According to TCM, consistency is the cornerstone of healing. Rather than quick fixes, TCM focuses on restoring health through daily rhythm and routine. The basis of healing is cumulative, through adaptation and stabilization over time. One of TCM's primary tools is the “organ clock,” which shows which organ systems are most active during specific time blocks. It has been shown to be very effective when the patient is consistent with keeping eating, activity, and sleeping in line with the organ clock. For example, when you eat breakfast between the hours of 7 and 9 am, it is when the stomach energy is most active, and it supports the spleen’s ability to convert food into energy. While I am not encouraging you to choose TCM over Western or vice versa, whichever one you do choose, be consistent with that form of medicine's principles.
There is an overwhelming body of human clinical research demonstrating that greater consistency and compliance lead to significantly better outcomes across all health parameters than one-off, intensive efforts. As stated earlier, consistency allows you to adapt gradually, giving your body time to reach homeostasis and maintain it. Short, intense efforts often lead to long-term metabolic dysfunction.
However, there are always exceptions to this rule. In simple terms, it triggers acute physiological stress, cellular inflammation, and epigenetic adaptations. One of the most damaging effects of these short, intense efforts is mitochondrial overload, which leads to the rapid production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other free radicals, resulting in oxidative stress.
When this response exceeds the body's natural antioxidant defenses, it damages cellular machinery and impairs insulin signaling pathways, leading to acute insulin resistance.
In clinical trials, there is a concept known as the healthy adherer effect that clearly demonstrates that patients who strictly follow treatment protocols tend to have significantly better outcomes. In fact, a review of dozens of studies tracking protocol compliance found that 86% reported a positive relationship between strict compliance and positive outcomes. To put this into simpler terms, 90% or higher compliance yields results up to 40% better, with a 23% reduction in hospital visits. In fact, in a diet- adherence trial comparing 4 popular diets at the time to assess the effects of weight loss on heart health, the researchers found that the strongest predictor of positive outcomes was compliance.
From a neuroscience standpoint, consistency, or otherwise known as habit automation, the human brain is wired to reward consistency. In fact, when humans repeat an action consistently, the brain builds a myelin sheath around those specific neuronal pathways, which in turn shifts these behaviors into automatic responses. Once you master a habit, control goes from the prefrontal cortex (the brain’s slow think center) to the basal ganglia (the brain’s autopilot), allowing this habit to become effortless. In other words, the creation of muscle memory.
In conclusion, I hope you have enjoyed this addition to my master herbalist travel series and learned valuable insights into the importance of consistency in successfully navigating your health journey. I believe that understanding and applying these concepts across all areas of your life should be a top priority in any situation that demands success.
An adventure can be a significant time and financial commitment, and there is nothing worse than having it ruined by something completely preventable.
I hope you have many fun and exciting adventures in your life. Remember, we only live once, and there should be plenty of excitement and adventure involved.
For more information about our Ashwagandha, go here: Organic Ashwagandha Root Powder
The Author’s Bio
Michael Stuchiner is a Master Herbalist and proud graduate of The School of Natural Healing, with over 25 years of experience in various aspects of the field. He is a retired elite-level powerlifter who competed for 27 years. As an avid international traveler, he is passionate about medicinal and tonic herbs, as well as foods traditionally found in local markets across the 35 countries he has visited. Michael shares his years of experience as a Master Herbalist, traveler, and athlete through the hundreds of articles he has written and his YouTube channel, "A Master Herbalist Perspective." He is considered a true educator in this field. For more articles written by Mike, go here: Master Herbalist.
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