As part of my partnership with Swisse, I have been working with Rick Hay, a Nutritional Physiologist, who has been giving me nutritional and exercise advice, to compliment the supplements I am taking. After many phone consultations, I was excited to actually get to meet Rick in the flesh! We met at Keelham Farm in Skipton, which is a farm shop selling fantastic produce and it also has a wonderful cafe inside the store.
It was a really informative chat and then after lunch we had a walk around the store and Rick gave me some excellent nutritional advice, based on the wonderful array of fresh fruit and vegetables on display.
I think most of us are aware that peppers are full of antioxidants, but Rick explained that the yellow and orange ones have beta keratin in them and are rich in vitamin C. Interestingly I found out that green chillis are excellent fat burners. Beetroot promotes nitric oxide, which is great for after sport. This was good news as I usually have beetroot in a protein shake after my workout. Garlic is an excellent natural antibiotic.
I was quite surprised to hear that snacks and treats are ok, as long as you keep active. If you are going to have a sweet treat then have it with a handful of nuts. Alternatively, a spoonful of nut butter and a piece of fruit is a very healthy snack. I asked about my main vice, Diet Coke and was surprised that Rick said it is okay to drink it, but to make sure that you eat something at the same time because that way your body isn't tricked into thinking it is going to get calories.
I really enjoyed meeting Rick and his nutritional advice was really useful. Since our lunch, I have tried to get back into running. It's still a little painful, but I am going to take it easy and make sure I get back to full fitness.
Disclosure: We were provided with supplements for the purpose of this post. All opinions are my own.
