Mature Muscle Podcast

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S.4 Sp.4 - Extreme Eating Part 1: The Carnivore Diet, with Nutritional Therapist Mark Bennett.

This week I spoke to Nutritional Therapist Mark Bennett. We spoke about extreme diets, specifically about the carnivore approach which is animal only products. We discussed its effectiveness, safety and how to implement and follow it properly. We also spoke about what happens in the body while its being followed. Mark has been on MM before, we spoke previously about Sugar, Sweeteners and Metabolic Damage (S.3 / Ep.18). We had a great chat then, and he agreed to come back on to discuss this topic with me.

I’m very interested in nutrition generally, but especially in the extremes - from pure meat, to no meat - so I’ll be covering the vegan approach too.

The carnivore diet is a restrictive eating plan that involves consuming only animal products, such as meat, fish, and animal-derived foods like eggs and certain dairy products. It excludes all plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds. The rationale behind this diet is that humans evolved primarily as meat-eaters and that consuming animal products exclusively can provide all essential nutrients.

Proponents of the carnivore diet claim various health benefits, including weight loss, improved mental clarity, and relief from autoimmune conditions. However, the scientific evidence supporting these claims is limited and mostly anecdotal.

Nutritionally, the carnivore diet can provide adequate protein and fats, including essential fatty acids and amino acids. However, there are concerns about potential nutrient deficiencies, such as vitamin C, fiber, and certain phytonutrients found in plant foods. Additionally, long-term adherence to the diet raises concerns about cardiovascular health due to high saturated fat intake and the potential impact on gut microbiota due to the lack of dietary fiber.

Research on the carnivore diet is still in its early stages, and more studies are needed to fully understand its health impacts and sustainability.

Mark Bennett

Nutritional Therapist BSc (Hons) BA (Hons) mBANT CNHC
Certified Gluten Practitioner
Nutrigenetic Counsellor

Mark is a functionally trained and qualified Nutritional Therapist, having achieved a first class honours nutritional therapy science degree. Functional medicine looks at the body as a whole and is focussed on identifying the causes of chronic disease rather than symptomatic relief. By intelligently identifying the root cause of symptoms and disease, targeted and individually tailored dietary and lifestyle interventions can be recommended to help the client achieve their health goals.

Mark is a member of the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT), the Complementary and Natural Health Care Council (CNHC), as well as being a registered Certified Gluten Practitioner and Nutrigenetic Counsellor.

Mark runs a private clinic near Reading in Berkshire. Areas of specialism are cancer support, autoimmunity, chronic fatigue/ME and dementia. Mark regularly speaks at well being and lifestyle events and provides content for various online and real world publications/channels.

Website: www.entirewellbeing.com

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

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S.4 Ep.3 - Coach Masterclass: Greg Mikolap from ICON 

This is the second of a series of interviews of local (to me) established coaches, PTs and gym owners. Todays guest is Greg Mikolop owner of ICON in Maidenhead, Berkshire. I've known him for several years, we worked together for a few years as freelance PT's many years ago.

Today, we dive into his training philosophy, successes, failures, some thoughts on nutrition and supplementation, and generally insights and learnings...

You can see more about Greg here:

ICON Gym
https://icongym.co.uk/

LinkedIin:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/goodlookingbody/?originalSubdomain=uk

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/iconmaidenhead?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

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Have a comment? I'd love to hear from you!

S.4 Ep.2 - Coach Masterclass: With Aaron Hopkins of PT:U

This is the first of a series of interviews of local (to me) established coaches, PTs and gym owners. Todays guest is Aaron Hopkins, owner of PT:U in Crowthorne near Wokingham.

Aarons Bio: 

Aaron Hopkins

Aaron has a wealth of knowledge and experience ranging from sports performance to body composition with testimonials to prove his results.  He has put his skills to the test from playing semi-pro rugby, running ultra marathons and competing in powerlifting.

​We had a great chat for just over an hour, and we covered training, nutrition, supplements and our experiences, successes and failures. We had lots in common but I don't share his hatred of spinning!

Check out PT:U Here:

https://www.pt-u.co.uk/

Check out Aaron and PT:U on Facebook and Instagram too Here:

https://www.instagram.com/ptupersonaltraininggym?igsh=MWpvdXlqazg4M2V5NQ==

https://www.facebook.com/PTUPersonalTrainingGym

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

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S.4 Ep.1 - The Science of Pain & Pushing Through the Pain Barrier

Welcome to a new season, looking forward to some great new guests and also getting some previous guests back on.

Today i'm speaking to Dr Richard Harrison, he is a pain researcher employed at the University of Reading and affiliated with the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences (SPCLS) and Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN). His research focuses predominately on pain, examining psychological processes underlying how pain is processed, as well as individual differences in the ability to modulate (or control) the experience of pain.

As pain is a multi-faceted phenomenon, involving sensory, emotional, cognitive and affective dimensions, his research covers a wide breadth in an attempt to understand such a complex topic. Richard is a firm believer in the utility of inter-disciplinary research, especially when studying pain. Working together with colleagues across an array of skill sets helps improve the relevance and scope of his work, as well as reducing the risk of researching within an “echo chamber”. 

http://www.richaharrison.com/

Today we discuss:

What pain is, and why it is such a multi-faceted phenomenon

He explained what means by pain being either a body- or mind-state

Why do some people feel pain so much more acutely than others

How can athletes can push themselves through what many mere “mortals” can’t

Which type of athletes can handle more than others.

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

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This isn't an episode, just an update and review of season 3, plus a  few words about the upcoming Season 4.

15,000 downloads, so far and some great feedback, thanks all! 

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

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S.3 Ep.20 Optimal Heart Health: Coming Back Stronger After A Heart Attack

Last episode in this season, and its a cracker! Today i'm joined by Dr Richard Godfrey, a lecturer in physiology at Brunel University, London. In 2007 he had a near fatal heart attack, but using his knowledge and lots of research, he managed to rebuild his health and heart function. We discuss all aspects of heart heath including, exercise, diet and lifestyle.

Dr Richard Godfrey is a Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching and Human Performance at Brunel University, London - but is a physiologist by background. He lectures at every level in physiology and at level 2, 3 and Masters in Sports Coaching. He completed his PhD on ‘The exercise-induced growth hormone response in humans and its association with lactate’ in 2003 with Cranfield University. His interests extend to sports performance and increasingly to health-related aspects of exercise. As a result he has published on a wide range of issues: heat, hydration and performance, jet lag, bone health, physiology of rowing, altitude, physiology of exercise training, physiology of triathlon, detraining, cancer and exercise, sleep, immune function and education.

In 2003 Richard joined the teaching team in the School of Sport and Education (now College of Health and Life Sciences) following 12 years as a physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Centre (BOMC), the British Olympic Association’s Department of Science and Medicine. During the last 7 years with the BOA he was Chief Physiologist of the BOMC and was involved in organising physiology service provision to elite sport before the home-country sports institutes, including the English Institute of Sport, were operational.

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

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S.3 Ep.19 - Creating A Dementia Defence Plan. With Prof. Andy Lane

This episode has a focus on longevity. Today I teamed up with Professor Andy Lane to look at nutrition, exercise, sleep and social interaction and how they may be able to slow down the onset, or reduce the severity of dementia. Brain health is a subject of interest to both of us, as we both have parents suffering from some form of brain condition. 

Andrew Lane is a Professor of Sport Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton. He is accredited from the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) for scientific support and research and Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. He has authored more than 100 peer refereed journal articles and edited two books. He is a member of the Emotion regulation of others and self research network (www.erosresearch.org) investigating emotion regulation in sport and other settings. His applied work has involved a number of clients including the English Institute of Sport and the London Boxing Association working with an athlete preparing for World Championship contests. 

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

Please also join the Mature Muscle Podcast Facebook Group for the latest info.

Have a comment? I'd love to hear from you!

S.3 Ep.18 - Sugars, Sweeteners & Metabolic Damage. With Mark Bennett BSc

Today I was joined by Mark Bennett, a highly qualified Nutritional Therapist. The plan was to talk about sugars and artificial sweeteners, which we did. But then we got into so much more. Sometimes it got quite technical and we went pretty deeply into chronic health conditions, food and how its eaten can affect them. 
We spoke specifically about the diabetes epidemic, obesity - and how it’s become such a serious global health issue. I found it fascinating, and I hope you do too.

Mark Bennett

Nutritional Therapist BSc (Hons) BA (Hons) mBANT CNHC
Certified Gluten Practitioner
Nutrigenetic Counsellor

Mark is a functionally trained and qualified Nutritional Therapist, having achieved a first class honours nutritional therapy science degree. Functional medicine looks at the body as a whole and is focussed on identifying the causes of chronic disease rather than symptomatic relief. By intelligently identifying the root cause of symptoms and disease, targeted and individually tailored dietary and lifestyle interventions can be recommended to help the client achieve their health goals.

Mark is a member of the British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT), the Complementary and Natural Health Care Council (CNHC), as well as being a registered Certified Gluten Practitioner and Nutrigenetic Counsellor.

Mark runs a private clinic near Reading in Berkshire. Areas of specialism are cancer support, autoimmunity, chronic fatigue/ME and dementia. Mark regularly speaks at well being and lifestyle events and provides content for various online and real world publications/channels.

Website: www.entirewellbeing.com

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

Please also join the Mature Muscle Podcast Facebook Group for the latest info.

Have a comment? I'd love to hear from you!

S.3 Ep.17 - Meal Prepping Tips & Tricks

Today i'm joined by my buddy Phil Agostino to discuss all aspects of meal preparation. We chat about the many benefits of planning ahead;

- Time saving
- Reduced stress (the trauma of decision!)
- Promotion of healthier eating habits
- Better Macro/Micro nutrient balance
- Economical, less waste
- Less chance of saying "F**K IT! i'm getting a deliveroo!"
- Different containers, microwave, BPA free etc
- One Pot Meals and batch cooking
- Better dietary consistency

We hope you find this helpful. 

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

Please also join the Mature Muscle Podcast Facebook Group for the latest info.

Have a comment? I'd love to hear from you!

S.3 Ep.16 - Ice Baths & Cold Water Immersion with Prof. Greg Whyte

In this episode i'm joined once more by Professor Greg Whyte OBE (Sports Science). We discuss:

The concept of cold water immersion including optimum duration and temperature. 

What scientific evidence exists to support the idea that cold water immersion can have positive effects on the body and mind

What are the main physiological changes that occur during cold water immersion that contribute to its health and performance benefits

How cold water immersion impact the body's immune system and its ability to recover from physical exercise or injuries.

Potential risks or drawbacks associated with cold water immersion, and how they can be mitigated.

Practical recommendations or guidelines for individuals who are interested in incorporating cold water immersion into their health and fitness routines.

Specific populations or conditions for which cold water immersion may be particularly beneficial or should be approached with caution.

Any psychological or mental health advantages to be gained from regular cold water immersion.

We should also maybe emphasise it's always important to consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new health or fitness regimen, including cold water immersion

Find out more about Greg Whyte:

Instagram
@profgregw

UNSTOPPABLE: https://youtu.be/rKlfKDoZUw0

The Whyte Answer
http://www.thewhyteanswer.com

Bean Lite - The new Bespoke Exercise &  nutrition App
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/bean-lite/id1299547415?mt=8

Bump it Up
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bump-Up-flexible-exercise-pregnancy/dp/0593077482

Achieve the Impossible
http://www.achievetheimpossible.co.uk

I hope you find this useful and enjoyed the podcast. Watch for the next episode soon, please subscribe when you can and please leave us a rating or review. Click the link highlighted to find out more about Lee here.

Please also join the Mature Muscle Podcast Facebook Group for the latest info.