At this time of year it feels like everyone is either sneezing or coughing! Although exercise is proven to be good for us we also know that those of us that exercise regularly can be more susceptible to illness especially during the winter months. Getting ill can lead to missing training sessions and playing catch up which can be really frustrating so read on for some Sport Dietitian expert tips on boosting your immune system over the winter months.

Avoid Energy restriction – Under-Eating or not consuming enough carbohydrate to fuel the demands of training can lead to increased levels of cortisol in your body (a stress hormone). High circulating levels of cortisone can increase your risk of developing illnesses. The key message is balance your intake with your training.

Hydrate well – Our bodies are 70% water and staying hydrated is important for our health, performance and wellbeing. Not hydrating effectively during and after exercise can also reduce your bodies production of saliva. Saliva has anti-microbial properties that protect us from bugs and illnesses entering our bodies. A key tip is to start hydrating from the time you wake up – try diluting 120mls fresh orange juice with water for a great vitamin C and electrolyte boost to start your day.

Eat a balanced diet – Make sure your meals contain colour – the saying ‘Eat a rainbow’ is extremely important at this time of year. Focus on consuming a variety of fruit and vegetables at each meal. These contain important vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy. A great tip that I like to give the athletes I work with is to buy a soup maker – a great way of packing extra vegetables into your diet and also really handy as a grab and go snack or meal after training sessions when you need something quick and easy.

Get enough sleep – Although not directly related to nutrition, research has shown that not getting enough sleep can result in over-eating and cravings which can have a negative affect on the nutritional quality of your diet. We also know that getting fewer than 6hours sleep per night can quadruple your risk of catching a cold. Aim for 7-9 hrs each night.

Be supplement savvy – The evidence in terms of supplement use and cold avoidance is relatively poor. There is however some evidence that consuming Vitamin C (<1g per day) can reduce the severity and duration of the common cold. Probiotics have also been found to be beneficial and can boost your gut health, preventing inflammation and strengthening your immunity. Consider taking a good probiotic supplement or increasing your consumption of natural probiotics such as live yoghurt and kefir. If a cold has taken hold Zinc acetate lozenges sucked throughout the day can reduce the duration of a cold by 44%. Take these in a lozenge form and not in tablet form and ensure any supplements you take are batch tested and safe by visiting the Informed sport website – www.informedsport.com

The arrival of the New Year is a time to refocus and set some goals for the year ahead.

Whether these goals are to eat healthier, reduce your alcohol intake, exercise more, lose weight, or simply to improve your health and well-being, then good for you!

You’ve made a really positive step forward – you’ve identified the need for a change that is sure to benefit you. It’s a reality that some goals and targets (especially New Year resolutions) are often not maintained.

One of the reasons for this is that goals may not be specific enough. They may also be unrealistic. Initially, you are extremely enthusiastic and start off well, but you quickly realise that you may have bitten off more than you can chew.

So, what’s the answer to meeting your New Year goals?

When I work with clients, I find a great approach to supporting clients with setting goals is to set SMART goals. (For the SMART mnemonic read Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-related)

There are two key differences between setting conventional goals and setting SMART goals:

1. SMART goals are specific
2. SMART goals are achievable and realistic

Let’s look at two examples . . .

A goal: I want to reduce my alcohol intake.

SMART Goal: I want to reduce my alcohol intake – and I will do this by reducing my total alcohol units per week from 8 units to 4 units by avoiding drinking during the week.

A Goal:I want to exercise more.

SMART Goal: I want to exercise more – and I will do this by joining a running club and running with them on a Wednesday every week.

A Goal: I want to eat healthier.

SMART Goal: I want to eat healthier – and I will do this, firstly, by preparing breakfast (e.g. overnight oats) the night before to take into work on a Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.

How to become an achiever.

Once you have achieved your initial SMART goal, you will feel a fantastic sense of achievement.

Reward yourself with a treat you promised yourself at the start of the process – e.g. a new pair of trainers or a well-earned massage.

SMART goals may appear quite small initially, but once achieved you can go on and set more, gradually building upon your achievements with a very smug look on your face!

Have a very happy and healthy New year!

The phrase ‘We are what we eat’is very true when it comes to our mental health and wellbeing. Research tells us that the food we eat is associated with our mood, behaviour and cognition and a poor or unbalanced diet can lead to anxiety, depression and can also pre-dispose us to diseases in later life such as dementia. One of the most obvious yet under-recognised factors in the development of major trends in mental health is the role of nutrition.

One of the main reasons why it is believed that food consumption has a role in our mental health is associated with food production and manufacturing. What we are eating now is very different to our ancestors. Food production and manufacturing techniques coupled with changing lifestyles have resulted in the consumption of processed foods, reducing our intake of fresh fruit, vegetables and wholegrain foods.  Our consumption of sugar, alcohol and additives is also much higher.

So how does nutrition play a role in our mental health?
Just like the heart, stomach and liver the brain is an organ that is acutely sensitive to what we eat and drink.  Some nutrients trick the brain by triggering an over release of neurotransmitters and some foods damage the brain by releasing toxins that harm healthy brain cells. Balanced mood and feelings of well being can be protected by ensuring that our diet provides adequate amounts of complex carbohydrate, essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins minerals and water.

So where’s the evidence?
Nearly 2/3 of those who do not report mental health problems eat fruit and vegetables every day compared with less than half of those who report mental health problems. Those who report some level of mental health problems also eat fewer healthy foods (fresh fruit and vegetables, organic foods and meals made from scratch and more unhealthy food (processed foods including chips, crisps, chocolate ready meals and takeaways)

If we look into this further the brain runs on glucose which is derived from carbohydrate. Some carbohydrates are better at fuelling the brain than others because they are less refined and therefore release glucose more slowly. These are also called low glycaemic index carbohydratesand are found in foods such as wholegrain foods, vegetables and pulses.  Choosing foods that take longer to digest means that your brain receives a more steady and stable consistent flow of fuel with which to function. Refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, rice and sugary foods and snacks should therefore be consumed less often.

Essential fatty acids also play a role in our brain health. Although too much fat in our diet is considered unhealthy consuming ‘healthier’ fats such as omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids in moderate quantities is beneficial. These fatty acids perform vital functions in terms of structuring brain cells (or neurons). One of the richest sources of omega 3 fatty acids is oily fish. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are also found in nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables.

Vitamins and minerals are also key to our wellbeing and health with deficiencies in these having been implicated in a number of mental health problems. A healthy balanced diet should provide all the essential vitamins and minerals to sustain health and well-being. Unfortunately, symptoms of low mood and depression can include food restriction or consuming an un-balanced diet, this can lead to nutritional deficiencies and can further exacerbate symptoms of low mood, anxiety and depression.

Lastly water is key to our health – our bodies are 70% water and our brain 80%, it is therefore essential that we hydrate effectively to ensure our brain can function appropriately. Symptoms of under-hydration can result in tiredness, lack of concentration and low mood and can also affect appetite regulation and hunger.

The time is now right for Nutrition to become a mainstream everyday component of mental health care 
Targeted nutritional intervention is key to addressing mental health and well being and that this is particularly important on a 1:1 basis but also in the workplace where stress can be a significant factor.

Structured education sessions can cover: –

• Promoting a healthy balanced diet (linked to food and mood)
• Promoting food literacy (label reading)
• Construction and sustaining a healthy balanced diet
• Addressing food related challenges such as weight gain in menopause which can cause distress and can alter eating habits and body image
• The benefits of nutrition and physical activity

• What are the advantages of targeting nutrition?
  A healthier, motivated workforce and reduced sickness absences – The mental health foundation state that Worksite prevention strategies can produce annual savings of £392,000 annually
• Enhanced self esteem, self reliance and self determination over healthy food choices
• Prevent high blood pressure, stroke and high blood cholesterol levels
• Reduce the risk of dementia and chronic diseases
• Promote optimal nutrition
• Enhance food security

If you are interested in receiving tailored nutrition advice, please get in touch.

It’s so hard these days to find sensible evidence-based advice on how best to control your weight! The internet and social media are filled with articles on the next best celeb diet from the Ketogenic diet to the metabolic diet, the low carb diet, macrobiotic diet, liquid only diet and everything in between!

So, what is the key to successfully managing your weight when your training? Read on for some evidence-based Sports Dietitian Tips for long-term sustainable weight loss.

1.Fight the Fads

The first step to successful weight loss is to avoid faddy diets and restrictive eating. It’s true these diets will result in weight loss, but these effects can be short-lived. These diets also often eliminate whole foods groups which can result in nutritional deficiencies, affect your energy levels, increase the risk of injury and affect your health and immunity.

2. Be Sensible

The key is if we are sensible we can improve our body composition reduce body fat and manage our weight providing we get one principle right! To alter our body weight and body fat, we have to think about Energy Balance!

What’s this? In summary – if the amount of Energy or Calories you consume exceeds or is greater than the amount of energy you expend or burn on a daily basis, you are likely to gain weight. If the amount of energy you expend is greater than the amount of energy you consume you will lose body fat and body weight. If you consume roughly as much energy as you expend on a day-to-day basis, your weight is likely to remain stable

3. Introduce a sensible Calorie deficit

If you are trying to lose weight you need to be in Negative energy balance. Reduce your Total energy or calorie intake per day by 200-500kcal and no more than this. This should achieve a slow healthy and gradual weight loss of 1-2lb/ week. To do this you need to determine how much energy you are consuming on average from food and fluids on a daily basis.  Apps like My Fitness Pal are useful ways of tracking your intake or consult with a Registered Sports Dietitian who can analyse your dietary intake for you.

4.Maintain a Good Quality protein Intake.

If you are attempting to loose weight you need to preserve your lean muscle mass otherwise your body will use this as an energy source.  This is not the key to long-term weight loss or performance. To prevent this aim to include good sources of protein (e.g. fish, meat, eggs, yoghurt, milk, cheese, lentils or beans) at each meal. Recommended Protein guidelines for weight loss for the athlete population to preserve lean muscle mass are between 1.6-2.6g/kg per day.

5.Think Quality

It’s Important to consider the quality of the food you are eating if you are attempting to loose weight. Choose fibre rich or whole grain carbohydrates e.g. wholegrain bread, brown rice and pasta instead of refined carbohydrates e.g white bread, pasta and rice and  choose high quality protein e.g. white fish, lean meat, yoghurt, eggs and cheese and choose healthy fats e.g. monounsaturated fats such as rapeseed oil or olive oil instead of saturated or unsaturated fats.

6.Periodise your Intake

The key to successful weight loss for recreational up to elite level athletes is to recognise that energy intake needs to be balanced against training. There is no one size fits all approach, every sport is different, every athlete is different, and an individualised approach is important. Athletes need to recognise that on some training days where the intensity and volume of training is greater the need for energy and particularly carbohydrate will be higher whereas on low volume training days or rest days requirements will be lower. Periodising energy intake against training enables an athlete to manage their weight successfully.

For help and Support, Dietary analysis, individualised and tailored recommendations to support health, well-being and weight loss please get in touch.