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'there's a bug going 'round!!' - a phrase often heard at this chilly time of year, or so i used to think. seems like we here it all year 'round now. and whats to blame???? THE WEATHER??? well that would be the short sharp 'consious clear' answer.

this last couple of years has been interesting. i am suprised by how many 'bugs' there have been going around which seem to be hitting kids and people mid life (30-50) like some mass plague! which makes me wonder is it really all the weather's fault??

looking over the group i mentioned (0-50 year olds) they all have one thing in common..............poor nutritional value in their diet! now i dont mean to tar everyone with the same brush but looking at studies (uk mainly) over the past 50 years there has been a massive decline in good solid vitamin and mineral content in people's diets. decreased selenium intake (trace mineral that helps reduce cancer risk and plays a key role in a number of metabolic processes, including; antioxidant systems, thyroid hormone metabolism, immune function and reproduction) mainly due to not having enough selenium in the soil produce gets grown in. a balanced diet in nutritional foods can have a great effect on metabolic, immune & hormone functions in the body. processed foods (tv meals brought introduced in the 70's). fast paced life, we no longer appreciate food, we seem to take it for granted! ok, so there's little chance of a mass famine here in the uk but our disease rate is not to differant to those who live in countries that are in short supply of food..........

back to my point before i go ranting on.....................

is it really the weathers fault? i think no, not here in the uk. we have spent years consuming poor nutritional value foods and in turn have gave our bodies no chance against diseases. we will sometimes get the odd cold but if we have a good balance of vitamins and minerals we have a better, quicker recovery time. in my view a strong immune system is a good solid base to start from when looking to gain good health. a good immune system helps fend off nasty diseases which in turn gives you more time to keep active and search out those good foods! 

have fun!

marc :)

FAD'S!! if you read most health and fitness magazines. newspapers or happen to stare blankly at one of those info-mercials you will have more than likely come across the latest 'fad' in the fitness industry. mostly we associate a fad with nutrition. fad diets - atkins, paleo ('lets eat like cavemen/women but get all our information from smart phone apps and books!'), acai berry, hollywood, cabbage soup..........blah blah blah and so on.

whilst we should all know by experience or being that little bit smarter that these diets are rubbish. they dont have a long term lasting effect for health (probably do more damage) and weight loss. what they do is capture people imagination of a better place for a short time and then it would be entirley up to the person how long they run with it.

similar can be said for the other side of the fitness industry, the exercise part. we see new 'revolutions' every 3-6 months by the looks of it. i have seen one recently that promises to change your metabolism FOREVER with a 30 minute bodyweight routine! and this a a seemingly 'new' way of training!! i get the distinct feeling i've seen this before, more than once, on a shopping channel!

im not here to knock the idea, its good to try and get people more active but i have a couple of issues with the way they advertise and put it across.

1 - they smartly rob you of your money. take a PT for example. they should have qualifications to take a circuit class, they can put whatever exercises they wish in their class. it puzzles me why they would buy into a course to get a made up certificate for something they where already qualified to do!!!!

2 - places like bootcamps, the p90x/insanity rubbish and brands like 'metafit' constantly push fat loss. i'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and guess the biggest percentage of people going to these classes are slightly overweight. these classes are pretty high intensity and would put a fit person's body under stress. it doesn't make sense putting someone's body that is already stressed through even more. thats not to say they shouldn't exercise.

these classes/products are just 'brands', they jump on an obvious bandwagon and fleece everyone that gets in their way. boxercise is a prime example. someone thought one day 'boxing.........best training in the world to get fit'. they got themselfs a skipping rope and hooked a punchbag up and away they went. total disregard for the sport, they taught poor technique and i would love to see the figures on how many people hurt their wrist,elbow and shoulder. point being we rarely hear of boxercise classes now, a few floating about but they have fizzled out and something else has taken it's place.

all in all these people are here to make a fast buck and eventually they may leave you laying there in a heap while they stroll away with money bag slung over their shoulder. the more of these classes that pop up the more the fitness industry may become like a 'fast food' chain. quick, easy and convenient and in the long run may leave the people taking part worse off.

thanks for reading.

marc :)