It is now a well-accepted idea that what we put in our body will affect our physical performance, which has lead to ‘sports nutrition’ becoming a huge and lucrative industry. Guidelines have traditionally focused on the intake of protein, carbohydrates and fats with a view to maximising performance and analysing the nutritional adequacy of an athlete’s diet based on training demands. However, little thought is given to the underlying health of the athlete or their general lifestyle and therefore the context into which the exercise they choose to do is being placed i.e. are they already a stressed individual? Do they have any physiological health issues that may be affecting absorption or functioning of systems that are being taxed by strenuous exercise regimes? Is their exercise regime contributing to organ/system imbalances?

So today we are joined by Hayley Purtill Quin to talk about the importance of a 'health-first' approach to sports nutrition. Hayley is an IHS nutritional Therapy graduate, a member of the Nutritional Therapists of Ireland and the Institute for Functional Medicine and is also trained in functional sports nutrition. She actively trains as a purple belt in the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Want to know more? Then don't forget that IHS have two sports nutrition courses based on the 'health-first' Functional Sports Nutrition model. For active individuals wishing to support their active lifestyle better we have https://learn.instituteofhealthsciences.com/course/simple-steps-to-eating-well-for-fitness

And for nutrition practitioners wanting to support their active clients in a more comprehensive and personalised way try https://learn.instituteofhealthsciences.com/course/personalised-sports-nutrition

Mums and dads - Are emotional outbursts a recurring theme in your household? Maybe from the kids...or maybe your you too! Have you ever wished you had practical tools to help you know what to say and do to help them in those emotionally intense moments? Would you love for your child (and maybe even yourself) to have simple strategies in place so that they can find their inner calm more easily?

Well this episode is for you as we chatted to Natalie Costa - award winning coach, speaker, author and founder of Power Thoughts (https://www.powerthoughts.co.uk), a coaching service designed to give children ‘power’ over their own thoughts! Through her private practice and workshops, Natalie has helped thousands of children worldwide discover the tools to help them feel calmer, happier and more empowered. On this episode she shares her practical and easy tips for helping managing those big emotions. 

If we asked you to name the most common chronic disease in Europe - what would you say? Maybe overweight and obesity? Heart disease? Well no - its allergy. More than 150 million Europeans suffer from chronic allergic diseases with predications that by 2025 half of the entire EU population will be affected.

The UK has some of the highest prevalence rates of allergic conditions in the world, with over 40% or adults and children having being diagnosed with an allergy. And the most worrying thing? The number of people living with allergies is rising by 5% every year – and these figures do not include intolerances – they relate solely to pure allergy to foods and environmental factors.

So this month we chatted to IHS graduate Nicola Brady https://www.thefoodclinic.ie/, a Nutritional Therapist and professional cook with a special interest in allergies and intolerance to find out why allergies and intolerances are on the rise, how we find out if we have an undiscovered allergy or intolerance and what we can do to support our immune systems.