This was the blending of the IPad which has been seen by over 12 Million People.

Ok so the videos were a bit of fun and prove how strong the Blendtec Blender is.

Here is a more technical presentation that has some useful nutritional info in it, apologies for the way he refers to the fruit as ‘Pro Doose’ instead of ‘Prod Use’ It’s pretty good showing all the features and benefits of the machine. I love the way it can make a hot soup in 90 seconds. Check it out at 5mins n 58 sec.

For more information on ordering a Blendtec Total Blender  visit our online store.

We were introduced through James Haskell the England Rugby player as Rich is his strength and conditioning coach and Personal Trainer Clapham .

Have a look at his gym and the latest session he has put Haskell through, it looks like a lot of fun and the gym looks top drawer. 

You don’t have to be a rugby star to train with Rich so if you can get to Clapham to train it would definately be a good return on your investment as he knows his stuff.

He’s put together an introductory package of 15% of any membership if you quote ‘LOVELL’

Contact him at  http://www.r4reach.com

Here is the video 

Maintenance meals contain around 1/3 protein, 1/3 starches and 1/3 fibrous carbs – this bad boy was made with organic homemade chicken stock and a bit of chorizo.

The changes in acid status for the 8 protocols tested were all similar, so an optimal protocol couldn’t be recommended. However, the results suggest that bicarb co-ingested with a high-carbohydrate meal should be taken 120–150 min before exercise to have maximal effect on acid-load and to reduce digestive disturbance.

Instead of short term bicarb loading, many athletes find a longer term loading strategy with beta alanine a more tolerable, effective method for lactate buffering. Green drink have also been shown to reduce the acid load on the body:

http://www.yoursportsnutrition.com/health/alkalising.html

Amelia J. Carr, Gary J. Slater, Christopher J. Gore, Brian Dawson, Louise M. Burke (2011); Effect of Sodium Bicarbonate on [HCO3–], pH, and Gastrointestinal Symptoms ;IJSNEM 21, (3), 189 – 194

If you’ve not been before make sure you book a spot for next year it is an excellent event with lots to see, do and learn.

Gavin and I did about 10 cookery demonstrations over the 2 days. On Saturday we had Louise Rogers introducing us in the Healthy Eating Kitchen, she’s a Fitness Model and has been described as Britains Best Built Body and is an IFBB Pro and presenter on Active TV.

She was really nice and we spent a fair bit of time chatting with her and she loved the food that Gavin was cooking in his demo’s. Even the spicy liver and spring greens that was part of the sports nutrition on a budget session.

We need to thank the guys from Athleat for sending us a supply of Grass Fed Beef, liver and chicken that we used in the cookery demos. Everybody who tasted a steak was raving about it, if you’ve not tried it what are you waiting for ( use body power and you can get a 10% discount for the next week).

I was also interviewed for an article in Muscle and Fitness, it’s one of the first magazines that I started reading when I was a youngster so that will be cool when it comes out.

Gavin also had a chat with John Sheepard form Ultra Fit Magazine . If you’ve not picked up a copy of Ultra FIt, it’s a really good read the articles tend to be quite in depth which I like not just cursory info, hopefully we will get some more articles published there in the future.

I saw these amazing bags for storing your food in when you are out and about as well I’ve put my name down for one they are awesome, they are not available here in the UK yet, I’m sure they are going to be really popular.

If you are doing any sort of heavy lifting especially a dead lift, one of the first things to go is your grip, that’s why you may see people lifting wearing wraps or straps so that they can lift more without having theri grip give way.

If you use these fat gripz to train with it will help you improve your grip strength so that when it comes to lifting weights without them you’ll be able to lift heavier.  Having a strong grip is really important in sports like Rugby and all the grappling arts like BJJ, wrestling and MMA.

Try them out. I predict you’ll be seeing them around a lot in future.

Matt

Consultations with Mat Lovell

Antonio Paoli, A. Et al., (2010) Exercising Fasting or Fed to Enhance Fat Loss? Influence of Food Intake on Respiratory Ratio and Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption After a Bout of Endurance Training; 10, 55-64

Essential fat soluble nutrients is ideal for those on a low fat diet, need extra anti oxidant support.

It has vitamin K in it which is important if you are taking vitamin A and vitamin D.

The Healthy Kitchen is a feature new to Body Power and it reflects their vision to provide a holistic experience. I’ve got some really exciting features to share with you in the Healthy Kitchen and hopefully I’m going to be able to deliver a lecture on some advance muscle building techniques.

Gavin Allinson who is going to be working alongside me in the healthy kitchen visited the show last year and said

"It is amazing! There is something there for everyone, there is so much to see and so many people to talk to that if you live nearby a 2 day ticket is a great option. If you are just going to go for the day make sure you get there early as you won’t have time to fit everything in. It’s only £18 for a day ticket, you would be mad not to be there.

Anyway to make it a bit sweeter for you if you purchase your ticket in the next 2 weeks and use the coupon code NUT2011 when you purchase your ticket we will give you one of our ebooks for free, these e-books cost £19, just forward the e-mail of your ticket confirmation to mike@sportsnutritionvlog.com and he will sort you out with either:

- Match Day Nutrition
- Immune Boosting Strategies – Nutrition and Immunity
- Endurance Nutrition Strategies
- Toxic Fat Attack with Blood Sugar Control

We look forward to seeing you there.

My Karate instructor Mary Stevens was competing and had decided to invite some of the children along to the event my son was one of them.

As I was going to be going along to take him I asked if I could enter I’ve only ever done about 10 classes of BJJ and had really enjoyed it every time.

When I looked at the weight categories the Super Heavy Weights were at 100.5 KG and over  I didn’t fancy fighting against some 120 Kg monster so I had an incentive to be sub 100.5Kg

I only had about 5 days to prepare to ensure that my weight was under the limit. Usually people weigh themsleves naked first thing in the morning and my weight 5 days out was 98.5 however that didn’t take into account the weight of the GI (BJJ suit), I had a suit on order but it did not turn up on time so I ended up having to borrow one and obviously did not know it’s exact weight.

My other area of uncertainity was the accuracy of my scales, I’ve got a good pair of digital tanita scales but as you probably know you can weigh different on different scales so I was a bit paranoid about them being inaccurate.

What I wanted to be able to do was to be in a position the night before of being right on the weight so that when I woke up I would be under by the 1 -1.5kg that I drop overnight due to evaporation and dehydration and visiting the toilet in the morning, so that was going to be my margin of error.

In order to do this I needed to reduce my carb intake, I had no real time to do any fat burning. By reducing my carbs and depleting my glycogen stores I would lose the water associated with the glycogen that would cause me to reduce weight. I knew thins was going to  definately impair my performance but I weighed up the option of being underpowered and the top of my weight class and fully powered and at the bottom of my weight class and chose to be at the top and underpowered.

The plan was to get to the event early and check in on the scales and then eat and drink as appropriate in order to try and replenish any carbs that I had depleted.

When I got to Bristol there were 2 hours before my fight and I weighed in at 98.7 so I had 1.8kg g to play with so I did a few squats and light exercises and had 500mls of  an energy drink so that was an extra 500 grams and then had some food.

Normally on match day you would want to have low GI Carbs that are also low in fibre but high in energy like parsnips, rice pudding. mango and tropical fruits as Matt details in Match Day Nutrition . As I was wanting to try and replenish some carbs quickly I went for a higher GI option and had one and a half jam bagels that was an extra 160g.  I could have eaten more but didn’t want to be too full before I had my bout.  I continued sipping water and every now and then would double check my weight on the scales.

What did I learn

1. My scales are pretty accurate
2. I know how much a BJJ Gi weighs now
3. Prepare better and burn fat over a period of 2-3 weeks before a fight so you can be fully carbed up on the day.
4. Being carb depleted causes fatigue quicker in a combat sport (I knew it before I really felt it this time)
5. I am targeting the next weight class down 94.2 kg with GI on. I am going to use Four Week Fat Loss principles to get me there
6. BJJ is an awesome all over workout
7. BJJ is a lot of fun and is going to be a huge sport here in the UK.

My 2 fights are below if you are interested.

Got a good take down and won by arm bar in this one

This was the final and I won on points with a couple of take downs

Carnitine has been seen to have a beneficial effect in intense exercise, supporting anaerobic respiration, while also supporting fat metabolism. GPLC has been shown to stimulate Nitric-Oxide production, dilating blood-vessels to improve the rate of nutrient delivery and waste removal.

A dosage of 1.5 g GPLC produced 3 – 6% higher values of Peak power and 2 -5% higher average-power values compared placebo. On the other hand, higher dosages seemed to be detrimental.

The authors suggested that blood vessel-dilation may have actually gone too far at higher doses, as participants complained of excessive “muscle pump” making them feel heavy, in pain and fatigued.

Carnitine is included in just the right amount, along with a host of other fat-burning/performance enhancing nutrients in our specifically designed Thermo-5 supplement.

Jacobs, P. and E. Goldstein (2010). "Long-term glycine propionyl-l-carnitine supplementation and paradoxical effects on repeated anaerobic sprint performance." Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 7(1): 35.

Leucine exerts muscle-specific insulin-amplifying effects, explaining the effectiveness on strength of whey (leucine rich/fast acting) and free aminos (even faster amino release!). Protein may not make you smarter, but for strength gains, it’s definitely the smart choice!

Thomas B. Walker, Jessica Smith, Monica Herrera, Breck Lebegue, Andrea Pinchak, Joseph Fischer, 2010; The Influence of 8 Weeks of Whey-Protein and Leucine Supplementation on Physical and Cognitive Performance IJSNEM Volume 20, Issue 5, 409 – 417

Signed copy of ‘Cooking with Balls‘ is available here

I’ve met Tommy Yule while I have been working up at Loughbourough with UK Athletics, not only is he a competitor for Scotland in the Weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, he is a Strength and Conditioning Coach with Uk Athletics.

We decided to sponsor Tommy to help him out with some supplements and nutritional advice. He’s got an excellent attitude which you’ll see when you read this article that was published in the Scotsman newspaper recently.

Hopefully at some point we’ll be able to get Tommy to do some teaching at a seminar so keep an eye out for that.

Here’s a copy of the interview that was in the Scotsman

WHILE some have been alarmed at Delhi’s state of unreadiness a matter of days ahead of the Commonwealth Games, Tommy Yule has stoically refused to let the roof fall in on his ambitions of adding gold to his current medal collection.

Following the news that the athletes’ village was still a building site and unfit for human habitation, and the horror of a footbridge collapsing close to one of the main arenas, stories emerged of tiles falling from the ceiling of the weightlifting venue which will play host to Yule’s latest bid for glory.

A veteran of three previous Games, in Kuala Lumpar, Manchester and Melbourne, where he not only won silver, bronze and bronze respectively, but revelled in the whole experience, he would have been forgiven a momentary wobble. But he says he never doubted he would travel and has tried to remain focused on his own goals rather than Delhi’s own goal.

"I have tried to not let it bother me," said the Loughborough-based competitor. "I put a lot of faith in the Scottish team management. They have been out there making sure that the village where we will be staying will be up to the standards we would expect. I have put my faith in them because in all of the previous Commonwealth Games they have always done a fantastic job in supporting the athletes so I didn’t see it being any different this time round. With all the issues going on, it could be used as a distraction or an excuse by some and I can understand that but I don’t see it as an issue and the situation now seems to be resolving itself.

"I felt it wasn’t right that it might not happen. Maybe it was just blind faith but we were only getting media reports so I didn’t have enough facts to doubt it too strenuously. When I looked closely at the weightlifting story it said that two tiles had fallen down and I just thought it was an example of feeding the fears that now surrounded the situation. The village and the bridge falling down is obviously a very real issue and it has been a nightmare but the weightlifting one I don’t consider any big deal. I’m sure it will be safe."

After delaying the departure to ensure their accommodation was fit for purpose, the first group of Scottish athletes left from Glasgow yesterday and Yule admits that, for some, the idea of competing has already lost some of its lustre. Even before meeting up with Team Scotland, Yule, who is also the strength and conditioning coach for UK Athletics, had glimpsed first-hand the impact of the negativity and uncertainty, with a number of big-name athletes making their excuses or withdrawing due to health and safety issues.

But there is such a lasting legacy when it comes to the Yule family and the Commonwealth Games, that the 34-year-old lifter insists that pulling out was never a consideration for him.

Both of his parents competed for Scotland. His mum Heather was a shot putter in 1970, while dad Tom lifted in 1974 and his twin Stuart is a veteran of the 1998 and 2002 Games.

"Others are not looking forward to it as much as they would have been. Instead of being purely excited about going to a Commonwealth Games to compete, people have been watching everything that has been taking place and I think it has definitely taken the shine off going for some people. In my sport I am quite selfish though, so while other people engage in those kind of conversations I have just tried to focus on the goals in my head. I know I’m going there for a reason and so long as I can sleep somewhere that’s OK, and there’s a competition taking place, then I’m happy to get on with it.

"Our family has a long association with the Commonwealth Games and every one I have been to has been a very enjoyable and memorable experience and I would like this to be one I can savour as well. The last one in Melbourne was such a good Games and I had my wife and my little boy [Randall] there and he was on the podium with me and that is my fondest memory."

Yule, who retired in 2008 before being lured back in 2009, is hoping for more moments to relish but says that so much will depend on the condition of the athletes’ village and the venues. The chairman of the Athletes Commission for the 2014 bid process, he stressed the importance of the living conditions when drawing up plans for a successful Games in Glasgow in four years’ time.

"That’s one of the major things because the village is effectively your home for the duration of the Games so it needs to be a decent standard and has to be an environment where you can focus on the com-petition, recover from the training, relax and also be able to mix with the other athletes. That is what makes the Games so unique and memorable, that camaraderie and ability to mix with people from other sports and other countries. It can really motivate you."

Yule, though, has already proved he has a mental strength to match his weightlifting power. "I now have two young children and I’m busy with my job so for me it has been a lot harder to prepare. And also I came out of retirement [but] I never stopped training and I was still in a position where I felt I could compete successfully and I have always felt there was a bit of unfinished business because I have never won a gold medal. That has been the motivation. I want to be competitive for a medal. I’m not going to say that yes I will win the gold medal but I do want to be competitive.

The difficulty with the Commonwealths is that I have no idea what the other top guys will be lifting this time around."

As a nation, it’s spirits that India needs to be lifting in the coming days, but once the action begins, forget the falling tiles, in his ongoing love affair with the Commonwealth Games, Yule is determined to raise the roof.

• Ultimately failure to plan ahead may become a source of stress as it can in so many other areas of life.

• Take the time to plan your nutrition and hopefully it will not become a headache.

• Creating new eating habits should not be a matter of will power, it is rather a matter of developing new skill which over time will become like second nature.

• When your new eating habits attain this level they will not be difficult to sustain, as you will not be denying yourself any foods. At this stage you may wish to adopt the 80/20% rule as discussed with your nutritionist.

Doughnuts and Fries

This pair of perpetrators defines “empty calories”!  Essentially, these types of foods brake the golden rule of combining fat and carbohydrate, meaning that your body is stimulated to store energy as fat by the insulin-release… and then given plenty of fat to store in the form of vegetable oil! The oils used for deep frying are high in omega-6, already present in excessive amounts in the western diet, which may increase inflammation and compromise recovery from training. In addition, heating these oils may also increase levels of trans-fats, although McDonalds in the UK has switched to using non-hydrogenated oils. If we compare skinny fries with chunky chips, the extra surface area increases the amount of fat compared to carbohydrate, meaning that any potential for carbohydrate-recovery is non-existent, as we’ll just be “Wide-loading”, rather than “carb loading”!  Weight for weight, fries have 50% more fat and 25% less carbs than oven-chips (which are hardly a health food to begin with!). Now if we consider doughnuts, with their additional sugar, as well as the possibility of trans fats being used in some less reputable establishments, then we can see the many levels on which these foods conspire to impair health. Although potatoes are high in vitamin C, this is in the skin, and doughnuts are pretty much devoid of micronutrients. Why would you eat these foods, you doughnut!?

Doner Kebabs

Like many of these “anti-nutrient” foods, this could be healthy if only people didn’t cut corners, use inferior produce, and seemingly make a concerted effort to pollute what we’re eating! Lamb itself is a wonderful food that’s stacked with glutamine and iron, making it ideal for recovery from exercise, immune function, and oxygen transport. So, how do they go about making it so bad? Well, firstly, the name “lamb” covers all different cuts of meat. The tail, being particularly high in saturated fat, is used to keep the kebab moist and succulent, while additional saturated fat is smeared on top of the doner to baste the “meat” throughout cooking. So, they take an already fatty meat and add additional saturates! However gratuitous, that may sound yet more “bad fat” is added in the form of hydrogenated oils, or trans-fats. While writing a recent piece of investigative journalism, a curious reporter took it upon himself to analyse a Mancunian kebab, revealing it to contain of 5.8g trans-fat, compared to 0.87g in a Big Mac (www.manchesteronline.co.uk 2009; drquincy.com 2010). Trans fats decrease insulin concentration leading to insulin resistance – (Bhathena 2006; Lichtenstein, Appel et al. 2006) and cause cancer and autoimmune diseases (Levine and Labuza 1990; Qu, Xu et al. 1992; Wang, John et al. 2008). Too many doners, and you may soon be searching for a (blood/liver/heart/kidney) DONOR!

Aspartame

A lot of the evidence on the negative effects of artificial sweeteners is equivocal, although it does make shocking reading. Even if the studies aren’t conclusive, the numerous reports and physiological links with so many areas of bad health would persuade many people to shy away from these compounds, just to be sure! Aspartame could be potentially toxic due to the following break-down products:
•    Methanol and formaldehyde
i    Methanol > > formaldehyde >> formate
ii    Methanol/localised formate production in retina causes blindness
iii    Formaldehyde from Aspartame may increase neurotoxicity of other compounds such as the aspartate, killing brain cells!
iv    Formaldehyde alters DNA; this is carcinogenic (cancer causing)
•    Phenylalanine
i     Possibly decreases tyrosine and tryptophan uptake into brain, decreasing levels of serotonin and catecholamines.
•    Aspartate and Glutamate
i    Neurotoxicity

While these mechanisms are relatively speculative, studies on humans have revealed that consuming sweetener can actually increase calorie intake (LAVIN, #160 et al. 1997; Fowler, Williams et al. 2008). It seems that priming the body for a sweet reward causes more eating in subsequent days.
This may leave a sour taste in your mouth!

Cola

Colas contain caffeine and phosphoric acid, which may adversely affect bone-health. In order to neutralise the acidity, calcium may be leached from the bones and studies have shown that Bone Mineral Density (BMD) may decline in women who consume a lot of cola (Tucker, Morita et al. 2006). The mean BMD of those with daily cola intake was 3.7-5.4% lower than of those who drank cola less than once per month. Similar results were seen for diet cola and, although weaker, for decaffeinated cola. “Full fat” Coke will also add another 7 tsp of sugar per can!! The Real Thing? A really, really BAD thing!

Cheap Meat

Again, sausages needn’t be bad, but poor quality meat just isn’t worth considering! A typical “value” supermarket sausage is around 40% “Pork”, the rest being made up with water and rusk. Ammonia is included as a preservative (the smelly chemical from bleach that your body tries so hard to eliminate in urine!), while suplhites are also found in high concentrations. These chemicals can cause breathing difficulties and allergy-like symptoms in sensitive individuals, as well as being known to destroy vitamin B1. The “pork” in these products is what’s known as  “mechanically separated/ recovered meat” (MSM/MRM), a paste-like substance obtained by forcing the pork bones, with attached edible meat, under high pressure through a sieve. Ironically, all these harmful substances are usually added as preservatives – although they will likely preserve the meat far more effectively that the individual eating it!

References

Bhathena, S. J. (2006). "Relationship between fatty acids and the endocrine and neuroendocrine system." Nutr Neurosci 9(1-2): 1-10.
drquincy.com. (2010). from http://www.drquincy.com/blog/what-are-the-ingredients-of-takeaway-doner-meat/http://www.drquincy.com/blog/what-are-the-ingredients-of-takeaway-doner-meat/.
Fowler, S. P., K. Williams, et al. (2008). "Fueling the Obesity Epidemic[quest] Artificially Sweetened Beverage Use and Long-term Weight Gain." Obesity 16(8): 1894-1900.
LAVIN, #160, et al. (1997). The effect of sucrose- and aspartame-sweetened drinks on energy intake, hunger and food choice of female, moderately restrained eaters. Basingstoke, ROYAUME-UNI, Nature Publishing.
Levine, A. S. and T. P. Labuza (1990). "Food systems: the relationship between health and food science/technology." Environ Health Perspect 86: 233-238.
Lichtenstein, A. H., L. J. Appel, et al. (2006). "Diet and lifestyle recommendations revision 2006: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee." Circulation 114(1): 82-96.
Qu, Y. H., G. X. Xu, et al. (1992). "Genotoxicity of heated cooking oil vapors." Mutat Res 298(2): 105-111.
Tucker, K. L., K. Morita, et al. (2006). "Colas, but not other carbonated beverages, are associated with low bone mineral density in older women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study." Am J Clin Nutr 84(4): 936-942.
Wang, J., E. M. John, et al. (2008). "Dietary fat, cooking fat, and breast cancer risk in a multiethnic population." Nutr Cancer 60(4): 492-504.
www.manchesteronline.co.uk. (2009). from http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/.

They employ a lot of success habits often without realising them.  Check this out if you've got 5 minutes it's worth a read.

Matt

A lot of people make no progress if they load up on root vegetables at night particularly as these contain high amounts of energy per weight.

Grains are also high but it’s easier for people to identify these in the diet. Grains tend to be slightly acid forming in the body having a +ive PRAL score. This makes them less useful for health and athletes alike as an acidic environment potentially lowers alkaline agents like glutamine, and minerals such as magnesium and calcium.

Most proteins are also acid forming with meat's being highest…..

Potential detrimental effects of a high acid diet include:

Mild acidosis can cause such problems as:

• Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and reduction of oxygen.
• Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
• Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
• Immune deficiency.
• Acceleration of free radical damage, possible contributing to cancerous mutations.
• Hormone concerns.
• Premature aging.
• Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
• Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
• Low energy and chronic fatigue.
• Slow digestion and elimination.
•  Yeast / fungal overgrowth.

A really easy way to alkalize the body is through the use of green drinks  – I mix mine in with whey protein which is only slightly acidic.

Other handy tips include lemon juice or cider vinegar, both having a net alkalizing effect despite being acidic in nature……

By doing this you effectively cut down on waste – throwing less food away is good for the environment and for your pocket. In addition to this there would be no food superfluous to needs – so snacking on the wrongs foods and excess food outside of your meals and snacks would drop down.

A simple tip to save you money, time, and drop your body fat %.

It doesn’t work if you go to the super market hungry though – big mistake that one.

I worked with Lawrence over a number of years as an England Player and also at his club Wasps.  When I found out that he was doing a massive cycle ride for charity Dallaglio Cycle Slam  I contacted him to see if I could help out in any way.

He's put together a team of around 200 people that are going to visit all the 6 Nations grounds over the next 4 weeks with the aim of raising over a million pounds for charity.

I met with  Lawrence and updated him on some key concepts for endurance nutrition, to be fair he was pretty much on the ball already.

I produced a couple of guides for endurance nutrition that I gave access to for all the riders and have been answering any questions the members of the team have had.  Keep an eye out for them I'm sure they will get some coverage on TV.

About 8 of Lawrences team are going to be doing all 4 legs of the Cycle slam and I arranged with Kinetica   to supply them with Recovery Powder and Protein Powders that they are going to need on the trip.

There's quite a bit to endurance nutrition when you get into it, it's not just energy bars, gels and hydration.  Stay posted for more ideas.

Matt

Hi Matt,

I do have a question for you.

You may wish to share this answer with others as I suspect they will have similar concerns.

Is it safe in your opinion to use microwave for cooking/reheating food?

Best

Don

Hi Don,

I’m not a fan of microwaves at all.

I believe they denature proteins and may have harmful effects in the body.

It doesn’t take long to heat stuff up in a pan, steam it – whatever.

I prefer not to use them and I’d advice others not to as well.

There’s some studies on the effect microwaved food has on immune function and whilst these are neither well controlled or large they do provide interesting and believable evidence in my opinion to avoid them.

I’d already made my mind up instinctively when they first came out as a teenager.

Matt

I value your questions and look forward to hearing them and helping assist you.

Best regards

Matt Lovell

These special substances occur in nature are freely available and have the ability to rapidly improve your body composition and long term health as well, they are;

Fish oil

Coconut Oil

Green Tea

Chocolate

CLA

Not taking advantage of things like these is understandable if you don’t know about them, so the purpose of this article is to inform you about some cool foods you can include into your daily habits to increase health wellness and even happiness.

The daddy of special substances is fish oil. Fish oil is the panacea of life, there’s not much it can’t or won’t do in the body to regulate and enhance all aspects of cellular function.

The reason it does this is because the cells or rather cell walls are made from fat. So the health of the cell membrane depends on the fat that you eat. You need cells to be built from a good mix of fatty acids, but if you have too many of one type over another then cell membrane health will be compromised and cell communication will be less efficient.

There are a number of ways to tell if you are deficient, by far the most accurate and recommended way is to get your red blood cell fatty acids status analysed through a blood test. You should do this regularly if you take fish oil or any kind of essential fat at least once every 6 months.

Other ways you can tell are if you have rough skin on the back of your arms, or anywhere else, dry eyes, frequent infections, poor memory, loss of hair of dandruff, slow wound healing, PMS or breast pain and infertility.

Any inflammatory condition will worsen with low or insufficient intake of omega 3 and a balance of other fatty acids particularly omega 6 and trans or hydrogenated fats. This is one of the reasons for the increase in these disorders in the western world. Asthma, eczema, arthritis, aches pains, heart disease, and stroke, can all be avoided or symptoms associated with these conditions improved through supplementation and changing the way you eat.

The culprit in this picture is also excess omega 6, vegetable oil – if you have sunflower oil at home, throw it away! Switch to omega 9, sources instead – olive oil is the way to go along with avocado, and other monounsaturated rich sources like peanuts and sesame seeds.

People who are likely to be deficient in omega 3 are those who don’t eat oily fish or walnuts, pumpkinseeds and linseeds regularly or people who don’t supplement. Athletes are normally always deficient as they process these fats quicker than the public but eat like the general public.

89% of all athletes I test are deficient, and 50% are still low after 18 months of supplementation. The reason for this is athletes process these fats quicker due to high cell turnover and high states of inflammation. Plus it takes time to get these fats back into the body unless you mega dose which is something I do not believe in.

Most common reported health benefit which people are aware of is a decrease in inflammation and pain around joints and problem areas such as old injuries or points of surgery. Many athletes who have taken fish oils can use less anti-inflammatory NSAIDS or even non at all once they have the right levels in their diet and supplementation programme. Combining fish oil with other herbal botanicals can literally work wonders. Last week I took an elderly lady from not being able to open doors or lift up her grandchildren to doing just that within a week. Her arthritic thumb was hampering common daily activities so much; she couldn’t function in normal ways. Her regime simple, cat’s claw, ultra inflamex (metagenics product), and fish oil.

They also help with a variety of mental parameters as the brain is comprised primarily of fish oil. There’s plenty of research to support higher IQ level in children and lower behavioral issues with kids who take fish oils and fatty acid supplements regularly. The same benefits also apply to adults through fish oils ability to increase serotonin levels and brain communication.

SUMMARY AND SCIENCE;

Here’s some science based advice and practical issues you should consider when supplementing with fish oils;

Fish oil, which has a high concentration of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may increase fat utilization and decrease fat storage. More specifically, it may turn on the lipolytic genes (fat burning genes) and turn off the lipogenic genes (fat storage genes). Furthermore, it may provide additional fat loss effects by increasing the utilization of fat stores from the adipocytes, serotonin levels (and hence reduce carbohydrate cravings), insulin sensitivity and decreasing alcohol cravings.

High doses of EPA and DHA increase oxidative stress, which in turn promotes inflammation. For example, they can cause oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDLs), i.e. LDL is converted from large, good LDL to small, dense, bad LDL. The significance of this is that small, dense, bad LDL has the potential to leak through the endothelial wall, setting off a chain of athrogenic (cardiovascular) events. Owing to this EPA and DHA should be taken with gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which has an anti-inflammatory effect. The dose of GLA should be 30-50% of the total amount of EPA:DHA. In order to reduce oxidative stress caused by high doses of EPA and DHA, it is important to eat anti-oxidants which are red in colour since they benefit the heart.

In order to optimise fish oil supplementation, the following should apply:

· The accumulative dose of EPA and DHA should be ~4-6g/d. However, higher doses may have an additive effect on fat loss

· You should get your RBC fatty acid profile measured every 6 months when taking fish oil or any fatty acid supplement

· The ratio of EPA:DHA should be 3:2

· Fish oil supplement should be combined with GLA in the dose highlighted above

· Fish oil supplement should be combined with vitamin E (prevents oxidation of fish oil within the body, i.e. increases its stability within the body)

· Fish oil supplement should be stored in a cool, dry place

· Fish oil supplement used should be cycled regularly

· Combining fish oil with L-carnitine may have an additive effect on fat loss. For every 10g of fish oil, take 1g of L-carnitine. Since L-carnitine is a stimulant, it should be taken before 4pm so as not to disrupt sleep.

VIRGIN ORGANIC COCONUT OIL

This is one of the most misunderstood of all fats, classically labeled a saturate and as such fattening to consume. Nothing, I repeat nothing could be further from the truth.

Note it is virgin, organic – not any old coconut oil will do! Be very sure you have this type of oil otherwise the health benefits will not happen! Standard palm oil is not the stuff you are looking for.

Coconuts themselves are highly nutritious and rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber. They are classified as a "functional foods" because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional or calorie content. Coconut oil is of special interest in addition to other functional fats because it possesses healing properties far beyond that of any other culinary oil and is extensively used in traditional medicine among Asian and Pacific populations. Pacific Islanders consider coconut oil to be the cure for all illness. The coconut palm is so highly valued by them as both a source of food and medicine that it is called "The Tree of Life." Only recently has modern medical science unlocked the secrets to coconut’s amazing healing powers.

Coconut oil is not actually saturated fat in the true sense of the word, in that it comes under the saturated classification but is not a long chain fatty acid, it is a medium chain triglyceride as such it does not behave like a saturated fat in the body. Medium chain triglycerides actually absorb directly to the liver so they burn very like carbohydrate, this means they provide instant energy and are suitable for endurance based events, containing more calories per weight than carbohydrate and with many additional health benefits.

There’s been a lot written on the net about coconut oil and for those of you who want to read further go to; http://www.livecoconutoil.com/maryenig.htm

All I will say on the matter is coconut oil is absolutely essential for excelling in any sport and should be consumed as part of a regular diet whether you exercise or not.

With all food products which have health benefits, it easy to think ‘why believe all the hype’? And I still don’t believe it’s good for you! Well here’s a list of things coconut oil definitely does not do;

· Coconut oil contains no cholesterol so it does not increase blood serum cholesterol level.

· It does not promote platelet stickiness, which leads to blood clot formation.

· It does not contribute to atherosclerosis or heart disease.

· It does not promote cancer or any other degenerative disease.

· It does not contribute to weight problems.

· Does not create cell damaging free radicals like other vegetable oils and is stable at cooking temperatures

So we can see that it is not associated with the same stigma as other saturated fats! What about the good things it can do?

Before you read this list remember these are facts supported by research you can follow the link for peer reviewed research at the end of this article.

Finally I’d like you to take the coconut challenge, replace all butter and oil use with coconut oil for 2 weeks and see and feel the difference.

POSITIVE HEALTH BENEFITS FROM USIGN VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

· It reduces the risk of atherosclerosis and related illnesses.

· It reduces the risk of cancer and other degenerative conditions.

· It helps prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, including Candida.

· It improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.

· It relieves stress on the pancreas and enzymatic systems of the body.

· It assists in the absorption of minerals and fat-soluble vitamins.

· It is easily absorbed and utilized by people who have trouble digesting fats or who have gallbladder disease.

· It improves calcium and magnesium absorption for the development of strong bones and teeth

· It helps protect us from disease-causing bacteria, viruses, yeast, fungi, and parasites

· It supports immune system function.

· It helps prevent osteoporosis.

· It helps control diabetes.

· It supports good thyroid function (an essential part of any good weight loss program).

· It supports a healthy metabolism.

· It provides an immediate source of energy.

· It supplies less calories than other fats.

· It supplies important nutrients that are necessary for good health.

· It improves digestion and nutrient absorption.

· Is resists spoilage and rancidity, even without refrigeration.

· It resists breakdown from heat, making it the absolute best oil on Earth for cooking.

· It helps your skin to stay soft and smooth.

· It helps prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin.

· It is an important factor in preventing skin cancer and blemishes.

· It assists the body in destroying dozens of harmful viruses including hepatitis C, herpes, and HIV.

· If you’re not using "Live Coconut Oil" for your daily cooking and body care needs you’re missing out on one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind.

Thanks to livecoconutoil.com for some of the Information in this article.

For the science hungry guys go to;

http://www.coconutoil.com/peer_reviewed.htm

GREEN TEA

Next to fish oils green tea is a wonder food, drink it regularly, drink it lots – get a version you enjoy the taste of. The best product is Matcha ceremonial green tea used in the orient for 1000’s of years to improve mediation and meetings between people. Here’s a list of what it does.

v Green Tea; calms the brain

v Increases both GABA and Dopamine

v Excellent for decision making when under fire

v Increases alpha waves

v Protects against most diseases

v Burns fat

Alpha brain waves are seen in wakefulness where there is a relaxed and effortless alertness, for more info check out http://www.biocybernaut.com/about/brainwaves/alpha.htm

So if you like being stressed, fat and prone to disease don’t drink green tea!

SCIENCE AND SUMMARY;

Increased adipose (fat) mass is a consequence of either increased adipocyte (fat cell) size (hypertrophy) or increased adipocyte number (hyperplasia) or both. Adipose tissue hyperplasia (increasing in number) is a result of increased adipogenesis, which includes preadipocyte proliferation and adipocyte differentiation. Thus, therapeutic agents that have the ability to reduce or inhibit adipogenesis or increase cell death by apoptosis could have a profound impact on body composition.

.Green tea extracts, specifically those containing a high proportion of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), have been shown to increase 24 hour energy expenditure and fat oxidation (Dulloo et al., 1999) and increase weight loss in humans (Chantre and Lairon, 2002). In addition, EGCG treatment has been shown to decrease fat deposition in rats (Kao, Hiipakka and Liao, 2000). Although increased thermogenesis and inhibition of lipase activity have been suggested to be responsible for EGCG induced weight loss, EGCG has been shown to have antiproliferative effects (inhibits maturation and increases apoptosis, i.e. cell death) that may also impact adipose tissue.

In addition to its antiproliferative effect, EGCG may also have an inhibitory effect on differentiation. More specifically, it may act to inhibit the extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathway in adipocytes, resulting in inhibition of lipogenesis. Empirical evidence suggests that 500mg of EGCG taken in the form of a decaffeinated green tea extract supplement twice daily (500mg at breakfast and lunch) is optimal for the fat utilization and storage effects highlighted above.

Furthermore, EGCG can be considered to be a general wellbeing nutrient. It has been reported to have antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties (Kondo et al., 1999; Cai et al., 2002) and anticarcinogenic or cancer preventing actions (Chung et al., 2003; Hu, Han and Chen, 1995).

Basically it kills fat cells, up regulates fat burning and prevents cancer – so drink it!

Chocolate Has Health Benefits

Can chocolate really be good for you? Recent studies have shown that eating chocolate can be beneficial to your health. Chocolate contains a substance called catechins that could help prevent cancer and heart disease, as well as lower blood pressure. Catechins are strong antioxidants which clear away destructive molecules in the body called free radicals. Free radicals damage cells which help trigger heart disease and cancer. A large amount of antioxidants in your diet can help reduce your risk for developing heart disease and cancer. Cocoa powder and chocolate are good sources of antioxidants. See the list of Top Antioxidant Foods below. Dark chocolate contains significantly higher amounts than most other foods. You can also find catechins in large doses in green tea. In addition, researchers have discovered that physical and emotional enjoyment from eating chocolate, even in small doses, can enhance immune function for hours afterwards. They believe that life’s small pleasures may have a cumulative effect in boosting the immune system over a long period. The good news is that moderate chocolate consumption offers health benefits. The bad news is that you can’t eat whatever you want because too much chocolate can lead to weight gain.

TOP ANTIOXIDANT FOODS ORAC* UNITS PER 100 GRAMS
Cherries	670
Onion	450
Corn	400
Eggplant	390

SOURCE: Data from U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. *ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) is a measure of the ability of foods to subdue harmful oxygen free radicals that can damage our bodies.

CLA & another reason to eat grass fed beef;

CLA appears to help drop body fat and build muscle; it also works to protect muscle when you really damage it.

Hey guess what CLA also occurs naturally in cows, yes the meat and milk and milk based products which come from a cow are very high in natural CLA. There’s one problem though the cow’s got to eat grass! Before you think I thought they did, how wrong could you be, most cows eat a version of cornflakes (less refined than the ones we have in the supermarket though)! This is because omega 6 fatty acids make you fat real quick, remember the inflammation story? It’s omega 6 dependent. Do yourself a favour, don’t eat cow’s which don’t eat grass and don’t drink the milk, eat the cheese or put the butter on your bread (you’re using coconut oil now though right?)

But if grass fed beef is beyond the pail then you might want to supplement with CLA.

The term CLA refers to a class of positional and geometric conjugated dieonic isomers of linoleic acid. It has been shown to have many biological effects, including anti-carcinogenesis, anti-atherogenesis, immune modulation, and altering body composition (Pariza, 2004).

The effect of CLA on human body composition is controversial, but when the body of evidence is considered as a whole, CLA does reduce body fat (Whigham, Watras and Schoeller, 2007); although the effect is modest. The mechanisms by which CLA may reduce body fat include reduction of lipid accumulation by adipocytes mediated through effects on lipoprotein lipase and stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase (Pariza, Park and Cook, 2001).

As highlighted above CLA has different isomers. The t10, c12 isomer has been identified as the one responsible for decreasing body fat (Park et al., 1999; Gavino et al., 2000). Notwithstanding this, one human study that exclusively used the t10, c12 isomer resulted in transient insulin resistance within 12 weeks (Riserus et al., 2002). There is inadequate data to indicate an ideal mix of isomers for body composition, but it is generally agreed that a mixture of t10, c12 and c9, t11 results in no severe adverse events (Whigham et al., 2007).

The optimal dose for CLA is uncertain. Doses ranging between 0.5-5g/d have been reported to decrease body fat. However, higher doses may produce additional fat loss (Whigham et al., 2007).

As part of your fat burning regime including grass fed beef products seems to be a useful idea. In addition supplementing with CLA will help decrease pain and inflammation associated with intensive exercise and may have additional beneficial effects on fat storage and muscle building.

For a comprehensive discussion of performance fats go to; http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=461360

SCIENCE AND SUMMARY;

Increased adipose (fat) mass is a consequence of either increased adipocyte (fat cell) size (hypertrophy) or increased adipocyte number (hyperplasia) or both. Adipose tissue hyperplasia (increasing in number) is a result of increased adipogenesis, which includes preadipocyte proliferation and adipocyte differentiation. Thus, therapeutic agents that have the ability to reduce or inhibit adipogenesis or increase cell death by apoptosis could have a profound impact on body composition.

Green tea extracts, specifically those containing a high proportion of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), have been shown to increase 24 hour energy expenditure and fat oxidation (Dulloo et al., 1999) and increase weight loss in humans (Chantre and Lairon, 2002). In addition, EGCG treatment has been shown to decrease fat deposition in rats (Kao, Hiipakka and Liao, 2000). Although increased thermogenesis and inhibition of lipase activity have been suggested to be responsible for EGCG induced weight loss, EGCG has been shown to have antiproliferative effects (inhibits maturation and increases apoptosis, i.e. cell death) that may also impact adipose tissue.

 Full Report Coming soon

Furthermore, EGCG can be considered to be a general wellbeing nutrient. It has been reported to have antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties (Kondo et al., 1999; Cai et al., 2002) and anticarcinogenic or cancer preventing actions (Chung et al., 2003; Hu, Han and Chen, 1995).

Basically it kills fat cells, up regulates fat burning and prevents cancer – so drink it!

I really enjoy these live calls, they keep me on my toes as I never know what’s going to come up.

It’s my plan to have these at regular intervals.

If you’ve got any burning sports nutrition related questions then post them on the blog and I’ll get to them as soon as possible.

Increased Muscle Mass:

Just wanted to give you the heads up about a new program I’m putting together.

It’s designed to help you add ‘lean muscle mass’.

It’s an area that most people men in particular want to improve in and there is a lot of conflicting information in the market place especially when it comes to nutrition.

Working with rugby players it’s one of the main areas that I’m required to focus on.

As you may know I’ve been working with international rugby players for 7 seasons now and I’ve helped my athletes get some pretty impressive results. E.g. one player put on 10 Kg’s or 22lbs of lean muscle in a 12 week period.

I’ve put together this page where you can pre-register your interest and I’ll make sure you get to know when it’s ready to launch.

http://sportsnutritionvlog.com/anabolic-builder/

Matt Lovell

P.S. If you’ve got a question about building muscle you can ask it here http://sportsnutritionvlog.com/anabolic-builder/ on the page and I’ll answer it for you in a live Q and A call that I’ll be doing as part of the launch.

The symbol is taken from a medieval symbol which captures the essence of the people living at the time. It means free, cheerful, hardy and God fearing.

Feeling free, maintaining a good sense of humor and being hardy are all part of what you might call radiant health or health which is more than an absence of illness.

For me God fearing is not something I take in a conventionally religious sense, to me  it means nature aware and respectful. Acknowledging the powerful and delicate balance we walk with nature and all it’s wonderful nutrients and the ability we have to harness these nutrients and bioactive substances to thrive.

This is the ultimate goal of the work that I do to bring maximum health, wellness and performance to those following the programmes we design – whilst keeping happy!

Our strength lies in an ability to use what works for the individual. We believe fundamentally in the difference in function between people and the need for different approaches to bring out the best performance outcomes.

Check out my dad’s front door!

As such we draw on standard applications of clinical nutrition along side the use of Eastern principles of healing. We combine this with modern instruments of assessment of function, from the omega wave to standard blood chemistry panels, questionnaires and clinical assessment.

The raw data on functional status helps us to design our plans and build suitable supplementation strategies. It is our pleasure to provide you with excellent resources and product recommendations to enhance your returns from your programme.

Matt

I value your questions and look forward to hearing them and helping assist you in your goals.

Best regards

Matt Lovell