Queen Elizabeth's unusual £1 cure for jet lag and how it works

Daily Record

18-05-2025

The late monarch travelled the globe in her Royal duties and she had a strange way of combatting jet lag
As Queen for a record-breaking 70 years and 214 days before her death in 2022, Queen Elizabeth was used to flying all over the world and many were long haul flights as she visited Commonwealth countries in her role. So it's fair to say she was familiar with jet lag and how to deal with it.
Royal tours and the demands that come with them leaves little down time, so the Monarch had an unusual way of combatting jet lag. And she avoided sleeping pills or regular medication to help her body clock adjust. Instead she would suck on a boiled sweetie.
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For many of us a strong cup of coffee might be the cure, for the late Queen she chose a Barley Sugar sweet which us commoners can buy online for £1.25 for a 100g bag.
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The sweets are often described as travel sweet as they are also thought to combat travel sickness.
Medical experts may not agree with sugar as a solution to jet lag and indeed, some would advise to avoid.
This is because it can cause a spike in blood sugar levels which will crash later, causing fatigue.
But GP Dr Nick Knight, a specialist in lifestyle medicine, told the Telegraph at the time, there was some merit in her actions.
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He explained: "What the Queen is doing by having barley sugar is essentially using her body's sugar metabolic pathways to help adjust her body clock.
"It is a little niche but essentially the same should happen if you were to have your breakfast, lunch and dinner at times that match your destination before you get there, regardless of whether you're hungry or not.
"Doing this instead of just consuming barley sugar will obviously be more filling."
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But she didn't just pack barley sugar sweets for long haul flights. Other items that were staples on royal flights included a black dress in case of mourning, a supply of her own blood and a doctor close behind.
This was the case if she was visiting countries where reliable blood supplies were not a given.
And when she would fly to Scotland to spend summers at Balmoral, the Queen's beloved Corgis would accompany her on the flight.
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Of course, she never had to worry about showing her passport. She was the only royal who didn't require a passport, after all the British Passport was issued in her name.
However, she reportedly did have to undertake an identity check when she left or came back to Britain. She had to give her full name, age, address, nationality, gender and place of birth to immigration officials.