Health feeds Performance podcast

The Goldilocks Zone: is there a sweet spot for sporting adaptations? – Paul Ehren and Alex Kirchin

In the current sporting arena, we are surrounded by extreme practices: extreme training regimes, extreme dietary manipulations, and extreme lifestyle measures. These are intended to create a hormetic driver to stimulate a physiological response for the betterment of certain health parameters and sporting adaptations. And in many cases that’s exactly what happens.
But how much is too much? How many tough training sessions can your body handle before maladaptation, injury, illness, and overtraining ensue? How regularly can you exercise fasted before running out of the ‘fuel for the work required’? And just how often can you immerse yourself in cold water before your body stops adapting in a desirable manner? These are just some of the questions that Ian posed to his guests Paul Ehren and Alex Kirchin during this philosophical and applied discussion of sporting adaptations.
If we can assume that health is a requisite to sporting success, it will then be pertinent for sport and exercise practitioners to help their athletic clients find the sweet spot for physiological health and sporting adaptations. Not too hard, not too soft; not too hot, not too cold; and not too little, not too much.
Podcast hosted by The Centre for Integrative Sports Nutrition. 
About Paul and Alex
Paul K Ehren. Following a successful career in the City of London, Paul formed his own personal fitness consultancy based in Essex and East London, which he has now run for over 20 years. During this period, Paul competed as a Masters Bodybuilder and in a career that spanned some 20 years, became British Champion and also won various regional and international titles. The lack of competitions and the uncertainty surrounding the Covid pandemic forced Paul to retire from competition at the age of 62.
Paul’s current focus on ‘HealthSpan’ for practitioners and for clients has been prompted by observations he has made along the way in his career, together with reflections on his own life experience. Paul believes that individuals who work at the ‘coal face’ of practitioner-client interaction are best placed to navigate a path through the plethora of sometimes conflicting advice on healthy ageing, and to guide athletes to maintain optimal functional health throughout life stages. From extensive client experience he is well equipped to discuss sporting adaptations.
Website – www.paulkehren.co.uk

Twitter – @PaulEhren
Facebook – @pketraining
Alex Kirchin MSc is a nutritionist, lecturer, and product formulator. He began to explore the role of diet, health and performance in the 1980s when attending catering college and working as a professional vegetarian chef in London. He then entered the world of nutrition, completing his nutritional therapy studies at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, an MSc in Nutritional Medicine from Surrey University, and a Herbal Medicine qualification at the University of Westminster.  Since those formative years Alex enjoyed privileged positions as the technical director for prestigious global food supplement companies, but he always retained a keen interest in phytochemistry; examining how specific nutrients and botanical interventions could optimise physiological functioning and lead to improved health and performance. 
Alex’s interest in phytochemistry led him to develop a range of nutrition products that are underpinned by phytonutrient-rich, micronutrient-dense formulations that support the demands of active lifestyles, reflecting the challenges of the Scandinavian outdoor lifestyle. This resulted in an award winning, contemporary food supplement range, NORDIQ Nutrition.
Website: www.nordiqnutrition.com
Email: alex@nordiqnutrition.com

Immunity tips for athletes to thrive during the winter months – with Amy Desborough

Most athletes are only afraid of two things – injury and illness. Unfortunately, for many athletes the winter months can coincide with heavier training volumes or tough competition schedules, which can increase the incidence of an upper respiratory tract infection, or other type of illness. Immunity tips for athletes form a vital part of maintaining a regular training programme throughout the year.
In this interview, Ian Craig asks Amy Desborough, athlete and nutritional therapist, about what active individuals can do to support their immune system during the colder months. As you will hear, there are many immune strategies available to us, from basic lifestyle strategies through to specific supplement support.
Ian and Amy discuss the germ versus terrain theory of immunity, plus the effect that training load, stress, compromised sleep, and lack of rest can have on immunity for athletes. They also consider specialised immune strategies, including yoga and cold water immersion, and how much of these we should potentially be doing. Then they engage in a nutrition discussion, including consideration of a ‘rainbow diet’, anti-inflammatory strategies, and how to maintain vibrant gut-based immunity. Immune-supporting nutrition supplements are also discussed; including vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins C and D, the methylating B-vitamins, CoQ10, and zinc; plus certain speciality supplements like beta glucans and immune-active mushrooms.
Podcast hosted by The Centre for Integrative Sports Nutrition. 
About Amy
Amy Desborough BA(Hons) PGCE NutDip BANT CNHC CISNCert has been a nutritional therapist for 13 years. She trained initially with The College of Naturopathic Medicine and is registered with BANT and CNHC. During the past 10 years she has continued to train in various disciplines, including kinesiology, the Certificate of Integrative Sports Nutrition course, and more recently, the Lifecode GX Nutrigenomics Practitioner Programme. Her main areas of interest are in supporting gut health and autoimmune conditions for athletes and non-athletes. Amy lives in Pembrokeshire in Wales, seeing clients in person and from all over the country via Zoom.
Website: www.eatwell-feelwell.co.uk
Email: amy@eatwell-feelwell.co.uk