September 27, 2007 9:13 AM PDT

A jet lag cure from Silicon Valley

by Michael Kanellos
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Has Silicon Valley acupuncturist Ted Ray come up with the cure for jet lag?

Come and dig my herbs.

(Credit: FlyRight )

FlyRight is an herbal concoction that Ray says will ameliorate the effects of jet lag. Jet lag is often caused by the disruption in a person's circadian rhythms--the rhythms an individual establishes with the day/night cycles where they have been living.

But there are other causes--canned, recycled air; stress; dehydration; and poor blood circulation. All of these symptoms can be attenuated by the various herbs in the liquid, he says. Ginkgo? Good for swelling and fatigue caused by poor circulation. Linden works on circadian clock disruption. Avena? Helps take away the wooziness caused by that recycled air. The ingredients also can help fight off the risk of catching a cold from someone on a plane, the creator of the product says.

"Is there a perfect solution to flying? Not really, but if you can solve 80 percent of the problem, you're ahead of the game," he said. "If you get to Germany at 10 a.m., you don't want to be sleeping in your suit by 3 p.m."

Doubters exist the medical value of herbs, but, as Ray points out, every CEO at every pharmaceutical company has scientists trolling around the Amazon looking for natural medicines.

A $14 2-ounce bottle is good for a round-trip flight within the U.S. or a one-way international flight. The 2-ounce limit makes it small enough to carry on a plane. You can mix it with vodka too, but vodka will dehydrate you, so some of the benefit will wear off.

"Can you eat Big Macs and go to the gym? Sure, but it might make more sense to have a turkey sandwich," he said.

Ray, an acupuncturist and herbalist, developed the product after continually hearing complaints about jet lag from his customers. If FlyRight takes off, you can expect to see a lot of it on the San Jose-Taipei red-eye, which itself is sort of like a 14-hour meeting.

He's got a whole list of testimonials on his site too. But next week, on a trip to Japan, I'm going to try it out and give you a review.

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