Davinia Taylor is a fitness guru and health biohacking extraordinaire. After starting her career as an actress – a career that saw her land a starring role in British soap Hollyoaks and party around London with Kate Moss and Sadie Frost, she turned to health and wellness and is now a podcaster, wellbeing coach, CEO of health brand Willpowders and the Sunday Times best-selling author of It’s Not A Diet. Fresh from her appearance at Soneva Fushi’s Soneva Soul festival, Davinia Taylor shares her wellness travel and travel biohacking (making small, incremental changes to one’s day and routine) tips and what she can’t travel without.

What’s your road most travelled?

My journey has been full of ups and downs however having faith nowadays has helped my stress levels, given me confidence to grow with my intuition and improved my patience with life in general.

Where are you based now?

After 25 years in London, I relocated back to my home county in the north of England, Lancashire. I felt as we age we often hanker after our familiar surroundings, particularly now I have my children. It feels safe and familiar however, the draw to the adrenaline of the city still sees me in, but I’m settled.

If someone were to spend 24 hours in Lancashire, where would you send them?

I would suggest they embrace the extensive walks through the Forest of Bowland, which is an area of outstanding natural beauty. The air is clean and we have nine rivers which are wonderful to explore and paddle in the Ribble Valley. It is an area without too many tourists, however, steeped in history with incredible Michelin star pubs with open fires and locally reared and grown produce. I’d recommend raincoats and walking boots because this area is notoriously wet but ever so lush because of it.

What can you not travel without?

Definitely my CALMS, which is an amazing amino acid which increases GABA, which is our anti-anxiety hormone. It keeps me feeling safe when I’m far from home and helps me drift off to sleep if I have three before bed or focus on work if combined with caffeine while stopping the jitters or anxiety caused by too much coffee or matcha tea.

Tell me about Soneva’s SOUL Festival. What key wisdom did you impart?

To be honest I wanted to absorb the positive energy. I struggle with the shift into winter and I aimed to absorb some ancient wisdom to support my mood moving towards the dark nights. I shared my story of how I lost four stone and reduced inflammation and stress levels to regain control of your life and confidence again.

What are some main takeaways from your events/talks at SOUL Festival?

I explored how to move away from industrialised food products and how to improve cognitive function with certain ingredients and protocols, which will be a super entry point to the life-changing world of biohacking. My company is continuing its mission to make natural foods available to as many people as possible while considering the environment and how or who has produced it. We pride ourselves on our provenance and practice fair trade and ethical considerations at each and every step. I will enjoy hearing new insights and suggestions on how we can further enhance this ethos as we move towards international status.

You are the best-selling author of It’s Not A Diet – tell me about this. What are the key takeaways from the book, in your own words?

I learned the most toxic ingredient for us is not sugar (however, it is a very addictive and dangerous substance), but the real issue is veg and seed oils, which have saturated our food chain in the name of profit. Side effects are brain damage, weight gain, addictive eating, arthritis, dementia, CHD, to name a few.

What health biohacks are your signatures and most popular? What can you share with our readers in relation to travel?

I love silicon earplugs and my 100% silk eye mask, which contains aloe vera, coenzyme Q10 and sweet almond oil. It reduces wrinkles and helps me get to sleep during a night flight. I constantly hydrate with Electotide, which not only provides me with cellular hydration but also contains a diuretic, which drains my body of toxic water retention and in-flight puffiness.

Do you have an in-flight ritual?

I take SPICE a few days before to reduce inflammation as it’s a blend of curcumin and ginger, which helps my digestion and stops bloating too. I have non-compression socks which have copper woven into them to increase circulation, which can become an issue when sitting for so long and at an altitude

As a frequent traveller, have you had a recent travel discovery?

Fasting on the plane helps with jet lag, however, I look forward to the experience, so I hack around it with Rise and Shine liver support which contains NAD-H for cellular respiration and energy and molybdenum if you drink any alcohol. A clean liver means a more positive mood upon arrival.

Where’s next on your travel list?

As Willlpowders CEO, I think I will be in Sydney for a few weeks in January as I am desperate to set up shop for our Australian cousins. I’m really looking forward to doing a book tour and meeting new customers in our ever-expanding community.