The Mobile Physical Co.

I was asked this yesterday as I was doing a training session and realised I did not know what the latest take on Salmonella and raw eggs was. I had been trying to get a clients protein intake up in the morning and he had told me he was having a few egg whites to do this. I used to do the same a number of years ago in the good old days but now things have changed. I knew this was still not a great idea but wanted to check out the Food Standard Agency for latest information.

I found this article and it is not good news.

Between November 2005 and January 2007, eggs purchased from 1,567 catering premises in the UK were tested for salmonella contamination. Eggs from eight different countries were tested. Most of the eggs originated from the UK (89.0%).

Salmonella was found on the shells of six samples, of which one was also contents positive, giving a prevalence of 0.38%. Five of the positive samples were from the UK and one was produced in Germany. Salmonella Enteritidis was the most common serotype (0.31%) with phage type (PT) 4 being the most common phage type (0.19%).

The survey showed evidence of poor egg storage and handling practices in catering premises. Half (55%) did not store their eggs under refrigerated conditions, a fifth (20.7%) of egg samples had expired best before dates or were in use after three weeks of lay indicating poor stock rotation, and 37.1% mixed and pooled eggs for use during the day.

Get the full article here

These could be as useful as a pair of running shoes

Weight training could be as effective as endurance exercises like running when it comes to burning fat and warding off diabetes, a study suggests.

American scientists created mice which carried a gene that, when switched on, gave them muscles similar to those produced by weight training.

When the gene was off, the mice – which were fed a fast food diet – became obese and developed liver problems.

But when on, the same mice burned up fat, the Cell Metabolism study said.

See the full article here

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy when it comes to gaining muscle. Nine times out of ten, most of us fail in the dedication department. What starts out as a carefully planned and calculated program, ends up hitting some bumps along the way.

However, even if we are dedicated (some may call it obsessed) and diligent about our nutrition, with proper training and recuperation practices, we still would not be able to add more than 1 pound of muscle in a week. That’s right, only one pound a week–and this is assuming you’ve had a darn good week both inside and outside the gym!

See the full article here

The official iPod workout is in it’s finally stages of production, here is a sample

New recommendations to limit the risk of cancer was unveiled late last year.

THESE RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE:

Limit red meat

Limit alcohol

Avoid bacon, ham, and other processed meats

No sugary drinks

No weight gain after 21

Exercise every day

Breastfeed children

Do not take dietary supplements to cut cancer

But a low recommendation of 500g of red meat weekly and totally cutting bacon and ham from your diet go further than before. Normally these would be allowed in moderation but the World Cancer Research Fund now believe you should cut anything that may lead to excessive weight gain as they now link obesity strongly to cancer.

So make sure plan your meals ahead as much as possible to avoid these bad food choices.

Read the full article from the BBC

Salt-rich diets could be the key to why some children battle with obesity, University of London researchers say.

In a study of data on 1,600 children, they found that children eating a salty diet tended to drink more, including more fattening, sugary soft drinks.

They reported in journal Hypertension that halving the average daily salt intake of six grams a day could cut 250 calories a week from a child’s diet.

They called for further work by the food industry on reducing salt content.

The UK has one of the highest rates of death from heart disease in the world – one British adult dies from the disease every three minutes – and stroke is the country’s third biggest killer, claiming 70,000 lives each year.
Heart attacks occur when blood flow is blocked, often by a blood clot, while strokes are caused either by blocked or burst blood vessels in the brain. A range of other conditions, including heart failure, when blood is not pumped properly around the body, and congenital heart defects can also cause long term problems, and even death, for sufferers.

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What are phytochemicals?

Phytochemicals are non-nutritive plant chemicals that have protective or disease preventive properties. There are more than thousand known phytochemicals. It is well-known that plant produce these chemicals to protect itself but recent research demonstrate that they can protect humans against diseases. Some of the well-known phytochemicals are lycopene in tomatoes, isoflavones in soy and flavanoids in fruits. They are not essential nutrients and are not required by the human body for sustaining life.Foods containing phytochemicals are already part of our daily diet. In fact, most foods contain phytochemicals except for some refined foods such as sugar or alcohol. Some foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, beans, fruits and herbs, contain many phytochemicals. The easiest way to get more phytochemicals is to eat more fruit (blueberries, cranberries, cherries, apple,…) and vegetables (cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, broccoli,…). It is recommended take daily at least 5 to 9 servings of fruits or vegetable. Fruits and vegetables are also rich in minerals, vitamins and fibre and low in saturated fat.

List of plants containing phytochemicals