Road Test: Time Out Chicago
From Time Out Chicago / Issue 143 : November 22, 2007 - November 28, 2007
Road test
The challenge Travel from Chicago to San Francisco without feeling fazed by the lengthy trip by using FlyRight, a preventative herbal solution that claims to “boost immunity, improve energy and prevent jet lag.”
How it worked I’ve been bedridden with flulike viruses after past flights to San Francisco, so this time, I was hoping to improve my luck. The mediciney-tasting liquid is a mix of herbs that are familiar (gingko, chrysanthemum) and scary-sounding (eleutherococcus, ganoderma). But I choked down the recommended dosage—one teaspoonful added to a small amount of water three times daily on the day before and after the flight, and a teaspoon every hour the day of the flight. Then I kept my fingers crossed and waited.
The results The plane was packed, there were the requisite coughers and snifflers on board and we had several in-flight delays that prolonged the trip. When I arrived in San Francisco it was cold and rainy—catch-a-cold weather. That evening my throat felt scratchy, a telltale sign I would have a full-blown cold by the next morning, but I laid low and kept taking the stuff. By the middle of the next day, I was surprised to find that I was back to feeling like myself and stayed healthy for my entire visit. On day three, I even posted my fastest time ever during a half-marathon—the reason for my trip. But I didn’t use FlyRight on my return flight, and wound up losing my voice for five days. That’s the price I paid for being cocky.
— Judy Sutton Taylor
