travel nurse tips

Many aspects of life require extra energy, particularly fast-paced, labor-intensive, stressful jobs. One job that may require plenty of energy is travel nursing. While the go-to method of gaining energy is caffeine, you can also boost your reserves by making dietary changes. Here are foods traveling nurses should add to their diets to keep their energy up.

1. Nutrient-rich Fruits And Vegetables

One of the best ways to keep your energy up is to load up on nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables such as spinach, strawberries, bananas, and kale. Doing so ensures you get the necessary amounts of energy-boosting nutrients such as iron, vitamin B6, and potassium. These are versatile foods that can be added to many recipes and meals. Many people choose to add cut fruit to yogurt, cereal, and oatmeal breakfasts. You can also blend many of these fruits and vegetables into smoothies. If you want an extra boost, you can also include nutrient supplements and powders such as opti greens.

2. Fatty Fish

Fatty fish such as salmon and tuna are also useful additions to your diet if you want to boost your daily energy levels. You shouldn’t eat seafood every day, but including these fish, in your diet several times throughout each month or adding a daily fish oil supplement to your diet can be beneficial due to the high amounts of vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein in them. The protein ensures you feel fuller longer and have greater energy stores, while vitamin B12 supports your body’s iron levels and produces red blood cells in conjunction with folic acid.

3. Lean And Plant-based Protein

Protein is an important source of energy for your body, but you need to choose the right kinds of protein. Try to focus on lean meats such as poultry, protein sources that contain healthy fats, such as fish and eggs, and plant-based protein, such as nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes. Sources of protein that contain trans fats, such as processed meats, and saturated fats, such as red meat, should be consumed in moderation.

4. Wraps of All Kinds

As a travel nurse, you’re likely going to want many of your meals to be compact, portable, and easy to eat quickly. This applies to lunches and snacks in particular. A great option for ensuring you have a portable meal that also packs plenty of nutrients is by choosing to make wraps. A wrap can include the same ingredients as a sandwich in a more compact package. Wraps have as much variety as sandwiches, too. You can make them out of tortillas or lettuce and fill them with combinations of nearly all the other foods on this list, among others.

5. Green, Black, Or Oolong Tea

Coffee may be the go-to source of caffeine, but there are alternatives that allow your body to process caffeine more slowly and provide you with additional nutrition. Many types of teas, excluding most herbal blends, contain caffeine. Unlike coffee, tea contains a compound called L-theanine. This compound reduces the negative effects of caffeine, such as jitters, and moderates the dispersal of caffeine throughout your body. Drinking one or more cups of tea in a day is highly likely to improve your concentration and alertness. Tea also contains high amounts of antioxidants, namely flavonoids or polyphenols.

6. High-fiber Foods

No matter what your diet is like while you work as a travel nurse, make sure high-fiber foods are included in it. Foods that are high in fiber are well-known for regulating your digestive cycle, but they have other benefits as well. They provide your body with longer-lasting energy stores and regulate your blood sugar. High-fiber foods include most fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds. You can also add fiber supplements to your diet.

Many people find that a balanced and nutrient-rich diet has better energizing effects than simply consuming caffeine. You can try out different dietary changes to determine what seems to work best for you. Consulting a dietician or nutritionist can also be quite beneficial.

Our job board is a great place to search for your next travel nurse assignment. We have you covered with our housing page if housing is an issue. There you can search for what you are looking for in housing.

If you are a new travel nurse or looking into becoming a travel nurse:

Travel Nurse Guide: Step-by-Step (now offered in a PDF Downloadable version!)