Welcome to the Focus Fitness Blog.

Welcome to the Focus Fitness blog where the focus is on health, fitness and general well being. I created this blog because as a personal trainer working with clients every day I am always receiving requests for nutritional advice, healthy recipes and many different forms of fitness advice. In the process of keeping my knowledge as up to date as possible I personally do a fair bit of reading in all of these areas and am always coming across useful books, websites, blogs, magazine articles etc. This blog will be a perfect way to share all of this interesting and useful information with you. I would love to hear any comments you may have regarding the information posted here and also pass on the message if you find any useful information of your own. Hopefully, we can have some fun along the way.

Friday, 4 October 2013

Poop transplant

I read about a procedure recently where people with severe stomach issues received beneficial bacteria transplants from family members via their faeces.  It's true - honest!  Bacteria such as C. difficile are very common and can disrupt vital intestinal flora.  The faecal input from family members can return the gut microbiota to healthy levels which mean that the intestinal cells are better equipped to fight infections.  The research papers I read showed very promising results.  Food for thought!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2442891/Poop-pills-feces-healthy-people-guts-patients-infections.html

Monday, 10 June 2013

Thursday, 7 February 2013

Sports Energy Drinks - The Lowdown

The International Society of Sport Nutrition has published their position on the use of sports and energy drinks.  It makes very interesting reading with benefits and disadvantages reported.  I have been trying very hard not to use them recently after advice from a sports coach, and have been turning to chomping down a banana on my longer training sessions.  It would be interesting to hear any comments you may have.

Here is the paper.  Happy reading!

ww.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1550-2783-10-1.pdf

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Incorporate Exercise Into Your Daily Regimen to Prevent Cancer


I received this very interesting article from an author named Melanie Bowen regarding the preventative and therapeutic effects of exercise for cancer.  Melanie's link is http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/melanie/bio.htm and here is the article.

Incorporate Exercise Into Your Daily Regimen to Prevent Cancer

Did you know that fitness is an important part of any cancer patient’s regimen? If you have recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, or prostate cancer, you probably were told to exercise and eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. If your doctor didn’t tell you to exercise, you should probably inquire and find out why.

Studies have shown that exercise boosts the immune system, fights free radicals, and balances energy levels. Exercise can help improve a host of symptoms if it is a regular part of the routine. Here are some ways that fitness can benefit cancer patients.

1.  Improves Survival Rates
Cancer patients who exercise are more likely to survive. Exercise helps to remove toxins from the body faster. When toxins are removed, free radicals do not have time to attack the body. This is why exercise is so important to cancer patients. In fact, exercise is important to healthy living overall. Other conditions may develop as a result of lack of exercise and may interfere with cancer treatments. For instance, lack of exercise may lead to obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes. These conditions may exacerbate cancer.

2. Improves Mood
People who have cancer are often depressed because they are uncertain about their outcome. Exercise helps because it increases endorphins, which help to regulate mood. When cancer patients are feeling down, they should go for a walk, jog, or engage in other physical activity to boost their spirits.

3. Reduces Further Tumor Development
People who exercise will reduce the development of tumors and carcinogens in the body. Exercise and fiber are two important factors that help eliminate cancer from the body. Exercise can also reduce inflammatory and immune factors.

4. Reduce the Risk of Cancer With Exercise
Exercise can reduce the risk of cancer by anywhere from 20 percent to 80 percent. Studies have shown that 30 to 60 minutes of exercise per day can reduce the risk of cancer. The exercise should range from moderate to high-intensity for the best results. Patients who engage in high intensity exercise can reduce exercise times to between 20 minutes to 40 minutes daily.

If you want to prevent cancer or prevent further development of cancer, go outside and get active! Gone are the days that illnesses are treated with bed rest. Instead, physicians know that patients must increase their heart rate through exercise to eliminate toxins and increase the chances of recovery.