Which way will you fall this season?

Today's discussion is all about balance. Especially relevant as the festive season is less than a month ago. What is the most worrying aspect from my point of view from a balance and festive season perspective is the way that balance after this period rarely seems to be recaptured.

The damning evidence that swayed me to get this message out, is every festive season an average of 3 kilograms of weight is put on. That doesn't surprise me as it is an over indulgent time of the year and if there was ever an excuse to over indulge this may slip in as one of them. The problem is the majority of us never balance up the scales and lose the added baggage accumulated at these times of the year. So adding it up over 5 or 10 years you can see why someone you haven't seen for 10 years is now 30 - 40 kilos heavier can't you? Scary stuff but relatively simple to fix. Just get a little unbalanced in the activity and nutrition stakes immediately after the festive season and equilibrium should create the necessary correction needed.

As an example of how to increase the activity scales over Christmas or New Year check out this seemingly innocuous and fun half hour or hour activity and the benefits it can produce. 36 healthy untrained men were randomised into a soccer group, a running group and a control group.Training was performed for 1 hour two or three times per week for 12 weeks; at an average heart rate of 82% of HRmax for both training groups.During the 12 week program, the soccer group improved fitness 62% more than the running group. The soccer group also lost an average of 50% more fat than the running group. The soccer group had an increase in lean body mass of 3.75lbs, an increase in lower extremity bone mass, a greater decrease in LDL-cholesterol and an increase in fat oxidation during running at 9.5 km/h. The running group saw none of these changes.The number of capillaries per muscle fibre was also almost 50% higher in the soccer training group than in running. Both groups reduced blood pressure equally.The researchers concluded that participation in recreational soccer training, has significant beneficial effects on health profile and physical capacity and in some aspects it is superior to frequent moderate-intensity running

So what this is saying is a simple run around the soccer, football or even rugby field with stop start activity or high intensity interval training is a very effective and efficient way of losing weight and getting healthier plus having fun with your mates. Sounds easy eh, well the reality is losing weight and getting back into balance isn't hard to do but it is a commitment. Are you ready to commit?

Make Christmas healthier by including basil

Now that summer is on the way and the days are heating up. I am excited to report I can smell Basil in the air. There is something about Basil that really excites me. Says a lot about my life doesn’t it. But just to justify my exuberance about the health properties of the humble herb basil I am going to let you in on a few of the many health benefits of the essential oils found in basil.

It turns out its qualities play a huge part in reducing inflammation. This is important when we are fighting or trying to reduce the chances of developing cancers and cardio vascular disease. Basil helps stop inflammation by blocking the cells excretion of proteins called cytokines and also a chemical called nitric oxide which when cells are able to exchange these two components, inflammation results.

Also essential oils found in basil can effectively inhibit bacterial growth especially disease causing bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Shigella species, Salmonella species, Mycobacterium species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Pathogenic strains of these bacteria can cause illnesses like food poisoning, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and dysentery. Just the names themselves sound bad enough don’t they?

Anyway you get my point and if you don’t I will spell it out. Basil is good for you and you should be making the most of it right now and all through summer. In fact researchers say it is worth noting that herbs and spices contribute significantly to the total antioxidants obtained from the diet. Basil is virtually calorie-free and, in addition to antioxidant vitamins and phenolics, is a rich source of vitamin K, zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium and dietary fibre. It adds a lot of flavour in a way that’s waistline-friendly.

I can see it now on your Christmas lunch table in a pesto dip, maybe a tomato salad or even in the marinara or Neapolitan pasta sauce.