Our Philosophy

Sharing with the world the small changes that improve the lives of those we love.

History

Hi! My name is Christian Garces and I would like to tell you the story of how we came about starting Travelade.  My wife and I love traveling and are frequent international travelers.  On a flight back from Paris I observed my wife as she carefully poured electrolytes into two large bottles of water.  With very few exceptions, she had performed this ritual on each of our flights, and the few times she failed to do so, she would arrive completely depleted by the time we reached our destination. I had heard a lot about the importance of being hydrated and although I did not care too much for the taste of my wife’s concoction, I knew that at the very least it helped me arrive feeling better than when I didn’t take it.  Well, on this particular flight back from Paris, as my wife patiently poured the powdery ingredient into the bottles, she said “It is amazing that none of these places at the airport sell a drink already prepared for when we travel.” Then it occurred to me that if this drink made such a huge difference in how we felt, why wouldn’t it do the same for everyone else?” Ten hours after, by the time we had landed in the U.S., I had finished writing the business plan for Travelade.

So, I spent the following months researching everything related to blood circulation, flying, altitude sickness, dehydration, electrolytes, antioxidants, and anything and everything that could help me design a natural beverage that could aid people in feeling more comfortable when they fly. Through this process I found an amazing amount of data, and common misconceptions, regarding these topics, including one study showing how plain water increased blood viscosity - in other words: thickening of the blood (if you want to learn more read our section: “What I learned”).  But in this process I also found an elegant solution to my quest. Through endless testing of natural fruit juices and organic spices, I developed just the right combination for a delicious drink that met my criteria of an isotonic, antioxidant-rich beverage. Travelade was born and today I am very happy to say that there is now on the market a delicious beverage specifically designed for when you travel. I hope this small change in the world would help you and your loved ones get to their destinations hydrated and feeling great. Enjoy it!

What I Learned

I was amazed with the amount of data available on the Internet regarding blood clot formation as it relates to air travel.  More commonly known as Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), it is a condition when blood clots form in the veins, most often legs. In most cases, according to what I’ve read, our bodies dissolve the clots before they become harmful, but in a few cases, they dislodge and end up in the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism which can be fatal if not treated in time. I encourage you to research the topic to learn more. Some of the sites that cover the topic include: www.globalttechnoscan.com/15Nov-21Nov/venous.htm, www.airhealth.org, and www.aviation-health.org.  One of these sites in particular, www.airhealh.org, estimates that 100,000 deaths occur in the US every year due to air travel-related DVT (Lancet, September 8, 2001, pp 838).  This makes it this condition the 5th leading cause of death overall, after heart disease, cancer stroke and respiratory disease. It is important for me, at this point, to insert a disclaimer that the Travelade drink is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent blood clots or any disease, for that matter.

One interesting find was the common misconception regarding drinking water.  For example, many sites mention the need to drink plenty of water, suggesting that for every hour we fly we should drink 8 ounces of water.  However, a study conducted in Japan, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, challenged this common belief. The study tested forty young men on a nine-hour flight. Twenty drank plenty of water, one cup per hour, as many experts recommend, despite this these men developing significantly increased blood viscosity (thickness) in the lower legs and increased urine output. The other twenty men drank one cup per hour of an electrolytic beverage, in the same manner, and had no increase blood viscosity and no increase in urine output. The Japanese study used an electrolyte drink consisting of 110 mg (per 8 oz cup) of sodium and 30 mgs of potassium (JAMA, February 20, 2002, pp. 844-45).

There are a couple of specific reasons why we become dehydrated when flying. One has to do with how dry the air is in planes and the other has to do with the natural increase in breathing, caused by the reduction in oxygen.  As humans we are comfortable with humidity levels of 50%. This varies according to the temperature, and thus, we use dew point (temperature at which water condenses) to measure what is comfortable.  The air in airplane cabins rarely exceeds 15% humidity. I won’t get into the details as to the reasons why, but it generally has to do with the cost of transporting the extra weight and the corrosive nature of water.  The unusually dry air plays a role on how quickly we become dehydrated and is one of the reasons for dry skin and eye irritation when we travel.   Compensating by breathing in the thin air simply exacerbates the problem.  Our bodies function at their optimum when we are at sea level, where barometric pressure is 760 mm Hg.  As we go up in altitude the oxygen saturation decreases with mountain sickness setting in between 6,500 and 8,000 ft. of altitude.  One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Effects of Aircraft-Cabin Altitude on Passenger Discomfort, Muhn, et al.) showed acute mountain sickness occurring in 7.4% of the 502 participants in the study at 8,000 ft. Most commercial aircrafts are designed and regulated by the FDA to maintain cabin pressure at a level no lower to 565 mm Hg (which is the equivalent of being at an altitude of 8,000 ft). There are various reasons for this limit being so low, including the reduced operational lifetime of aluminum, which has been used in the construction of most commercial airplanes. Other reasons for this low pressurization include the fact that maintaining a higher level of pressurization decreases energy for other aircraft systems, as well as the necessity of additional structural weight.  This results in the decrease of fuel efficiency.

My research also found that there seems to be a tradeoff between the amount of air flowing into the cabin and fuel efficiency.  Airlines are required to maintain cabin pressure, which only provides approximately 3 cubic feet of outside air per minute, per person (3 CFM/p).   Additionally, a study prepared by the Association of Flight Attendants estimate that economy section ventilation rates are typically on the order of 6-8 CFM/p.  Based largely on studies of “sick building syndrome”, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends a minimum of 15 CFM/p.  The amount of circulated outside air plays a key role on the level of carbon dioxide build-up. The maximum concentration of Carbon Dioxide recommended by ASHRAE is 1,000 ppm.  In measurements collected on 23 flights, average Carbon Dioxide build-up averaged 1,756 ppm, and 87% of the samples exceeded the 1,000 ppm upper limit recommended by ASHRAE.

In summary it has been very interesting to learn about the effects of air travel on our bodies. Having the right hydration is important but it's only one piece of the total picture.  For example, something that seems to be recommended by most airlines is the need to exercise our calf muscles by either walking up and down the aisle or raising our knees while you are sitting.  Walking and exercising our calf muscles play a key role in pumping blood, which prevents blood clots from forming in the first place. Oh, and one last thing: it appears that it doesn’t matter how healthy you are, because the healthier you are, the slower your heart rate is likely to be.  Look up what happened to top athlete, and world tennis champion, Serena Williams, who recently was treated for pulmonary embolism soon after flying from New York to Los Angeles.

Our Team

Christian Garces – CEO and Founder

Thomas von Schimonsky – COO and Co-Owner

Richard Munoz – CTO and Co-Owner

Marcela Garces, PHD - VP of Research & Development

Laird Wetzel – VP of Sales

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