High Performance Health

‘Everyone can get a good night’s sleep’ In this interview, Angela is discussing the value of sleep with James Swanwick Australian American entrepreneur, speaker, former sports centre anchor on ESPN, host of the James Swanwick podcast and author of the ‘30 day no alcohol challenge’. James shares his extensive advice and expertise on the effects alcohol has on sleep and how we can break the habits that are holding us back. They discuss in depth how the quality of our sleep affects all areas of our lives and the ways in which we can all improve our sleep and improve our lives. KEY TAKEAWAYS You get to a point where the seemingly innocent drink at the end of the day results in a lack of clarity, focus and energy the following day and all these elements combined lead to a compromised life. The reality is that alcohol is a poison with toxins and those toxins remain in the body for 7 to 10 days. If you do what nature intended and drink water you will look the way nature intended and your hormones will work the way they are supposed to, your clarity focus, and energy increase and your sleep will improve dramatically. If you can sleep the way nature intended it results in a better life. Most people who complete 30-day challenges tell themselves they are depriving themselves and celebrate making it by returning to the same indulgences. I show them how to rewire their brains so that outstanding health becomes the desired reward. The support of friends and family is inconsequential compared to the support you can get from a coach who will hold you accountable when the going gets tough. Some people have very self-destructive behaviour – they are not afraid of failure they are afraid of success and no longer being mediocre. Clarity focus and energy are a choice because naturally, our brain wants to look for danger. If your ‘why ‘is big enough, the ‘how’ just falls into place. Top tips; Don’t drink alcohol Focus on experiencing great sleep – everything starts with great sleep Live in appreciation rather than expectation most of the time Raise your energy with outstanding health – get the right nutrition, hydration and plenty of sunlight. Wear blue light blocking glasses prior to going to sleep. It's about going back to the way we were designed in nature, regulate serotonin and melatonin through exposure to blue light early in the day. Drink lots of water and eat whole foods, those that can be picked, plucked or killed. BEST MOMENTS ‘Be grateful for what you have achieved, what you have at the moment and grateful for what you will grow into’ ‘The biggest thing holding us back is ourselves ‘ ‘We are artificially keeping ourselves awake with the devices in our lives’ ‘Alcohol may help you fall asleep, but the quality of sleep will be comprised’ ‘Clarity, focus and energy are a choice because naturally, our brain wants to look for danger’ VALUABLE RESOURCES High Performance Health podcast series Swanwick Organic Comfort Mattress Swanwick Sleep website Discount code; Angela http://jamesswanwick.com/project90 http://30daynoalcoholchallenge.com/ The 30 Day No Alcohol Challenge book by James Swanwick The Power of Habit book by Charles Duhigg ABOUT THE HOST Angela Foster Angela is a Nutritionist, Health and Performance Coach. She is also the Founder and CEO of My DNA Edge, an Exclusive Private Membership Site giving individuals the tools and bio hacks needed to optimise their genetic expression for optimal health and performance. After recovering from a serious illness in 2014, Angela left the world of Corporate Law with a single mission in mind: To inspire and educate others to live an energetic, healthful and limitless life. Angela believes that we can truly have it all and has spent the last 5 years researching the habits and routines of high performers, uncovering age-old secrets, time-honoured holistic practices and modern science to create a blueprint for Optimal Human Performance. CONTACT DETAILS Instagram Facebook LinkedIn High Performance Health FB Group

In this very special episode, Angela is in conversation with former world boxing champion, personal performance coach, author and professional speaker, Billy Schwer. Since retiring from boxing, Billy has been working with business leaders, showing them how to empower, achieve and score huge wins in business and life. Billy joins Angela today to discuss his own transformation from boxing as a sport to "Mental Boxing”, an empowering concept born from a period of transition in his own life, along with his seven-step winning formula for success. KEY TAKEAWAYS Billy’s whole life has been founded upon the drive to prove his worth, and to show the world that he is strong enough to take anything on. This is a belief that he tries to instil now into those he coaches. Transitioning from professional sportsman to life in the real world was something that Billy struggled with a great deal, as he was forced to analyse himself all over again. Billy likens the process to mourning the death of a friend. Billy The Boxer was someone who suddenly did not exist anymore, and the effect upon himself was devastating. Time and perspective have allowed Billy to realise that although he spent the first part of his life fighting and pushing himself in order to achieve his goals, when he reached them, he suddenly came to the understanding that the journey itself was the important part. The things that caused Billy to be a champion inside the ring, also caused him to fail outside of it. Always be conscious of every outcome of the decisions we make in life. By stepping back and analysing himself in detail, he realised that and was able to make valuable adjustments. Failing to admit to ourselves that things aren’t going as planned can often be a huge stumbling block in self=growth. Billy advises that we stop and “man-up”. Admit when things aren’t going well. It might be hard, but the rewards are endless. Part of Billy’s incredible success in boxing was his ability to completely visualise every aspect of every fight, from the arrival at the venue to the fight itself, and even so far as to envisioning the press conference afterwards. By seeing the fight beforehand and visualising his victory over and over again, Billy was able to instil a highly-developed sense of self-belief that often carried him to victory. Self-doubt is a huge killer of the belief in what’s possible. You’re only as good as the future you’re living into and manifesting for yourself. Live for each moment and don’t waste precious time doubting or worrying about the things that might happen. We have coaches to help us along in sports. There are coaches for people in business. Even the most successful and financially wealthy people have coaches. Coaches in life are equally as important and should be more widely accepted. It’s not always about an abundance of training or exercise in order to make ourselves feel better. Being fit, healthy and positive is all about using exercise in an efficient way. Little and often can sometime be far more effective than pushing ourselves to breaking point. BEST MOMENTS ‘I believe there’s always a reason why we do what we do' ‘Opinions are like bellybuttons. We’ve all got one and they’re all different' ‘Winning the world title just wasn’t as sweet as I thought it was going to be’ ‘Every human interaction has an element of mental boxing’ ‘Boxers are the last of the gladiators’ ‘Are people living with passion, power and purpose?’ ‘Commit to your dreams. Take inspired action. Make it happen’ ‘I think everyone should be doing gymnastics’ ‘Hindsight’s a wonderful thing but we need to have some foresight! That’s the power of coaching' VALUABLE RESOURCES The High Performance Health Podcast – Omny Billy’s website: https://mentalboxing.com Billy on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/billy-schwer Billy on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/billyschwer/?hl=en Billy on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/billyschwer1 Man Up by Billy Schwer - https://amzn.to/2JsksaY ABOUT THE GUEST Billy Schwer spent twenty years at the top of his field in arguably the most gruelling and demanding sport there is – Boxing. During his professional career he won British, Commonwealth, European and IBO World Boxing Titles. One of the most consistently brilliant fighters Britain has ever seen, Billy’s sharp skills, courage, determination and grace in the ring attracted a huge fan base. His engaging personality and ready wit made him a favourite amongst other boxers, promoters and the media. Billy is a reflective and engaging speaker who demonstrates honesty and intelligence. These qualities have led to him being sought out by various journalists to contribute to radio discussions, feature articles and opinion pieces on a breadth of subjects. Through sharing his own amazing story, Billy regularly shows audiences how to take their performance to the next level and encourages them to push their own boundaries to produce extraordinary results. ABOUT THE HOSTAngela Foster A

Angela is joined by musician and holistic health expert and entrepreneur Niraj Naik, to talk about his truly inspiring story. Niraj became known as “The Renegade Pharmacist” after applying the practices of nutritional and holistic therapies alongside his role as a traditional pharmacist. After facing an intense backlash from the big corporations, Niraj was beset by his own health problems that saw him housebound with depression and ulcerative colitis. But by using his own knowledge and expertise, Niraj managed to cure himself of this condition, and has ever since used this same knowledge and set of techniques to positively transform the lives and health of many, many others. Join the conversation between Angela and Niraj to hear about his definition of true health, and the inspiring, empowering methods he uses to achieve it. KEY TAKEAWAYS After suffering from colitis and seeing no way out, Niraj was advised that if he healed himself, he would be a great role model to others, and so began to study alternative methods of treatment and form contacts with people around the world who had done the same thing. Breathing techniques and music led Niraj to develop Soma, music that eases the listener into different brainwave sets. Combining this with breathing techniques, and by placing himself in a sauna environment, Niraj was able to achieve trance states where he was able to re-programme his sub-conscious mind. Niraj believes that when we train our vibrational state through meditation, music, yoga or other methods, we alter our own frequencies, and attract others who may be on the same wavelength and mission. This is what led Niraj to create Soma. Manifestation and magic won’t work unless you feel good. Self-analysis will reveal the things that are making us feel bad and good. Move toward the things that make you feel good. The diet and lifestyle that work for you may be completely different to those that work for other people depending on your personal energy type. Through pranayama techniques we can control the efficiency of mitochondria through oxygen. The more efficient it becomes, the less you need to breathe. Too much oxygen can cause damage, which Niraj likens to a wildfire on a cellular level. Pranayama is all about optimising our breathing and making our oxygen intake far more efficient. Yoga is about anaerobic exercise as opposed to aerobic exercise. Aerobics is where the practitioner switches from one yoga pose to the next very quickly, and is the most common. Anaerobics is where the pose is held for a much longer time, forcing certain muscles to use up their individual energy supply and nutrients. By studying people such as the Nepalese Ghurka army and the competitors in the Mexican Olympics, that high altitudes can have an incredible effect upon our strength and health due to low oxygen levels, and in some cases can see a reduction or reversal in symptoms of some diseases. Niraj has incorporated these learnings into his fitness protocols BEST MOMENTS ‘The word “I” as in ill, and “We” as in wellness’ ‘The subconscious mind is like an operating system’ ‘You become an architect of your own software’ ‘The first thing you need to find out is what is your bliss?’ ‘How long you can hold your breath is a measure of how efficient your mitochondria is at using oxygen’ ‘What we’re doing is a spiritual practice without any of the dogma or any of the fluff of religion’ ‘I really believe in the golden rule which is do unto others as you would do unto yourself’ ‘The fact that we are even alive is a miracle' VALUABLE RESOURCES The High Performance Health Podcast – Omny Soma Breath - https://www.somabreath.com/about-niraj-soma-breath/ Niraj’s 21 day Awakening Breath Protocol - https://www.somabreath.com Exclusive offer of 20% off with the code soma20 for listeners to this podcast! Soma Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/517749358627036/ ABOUT THE GUEST Niraj Naik first discovered the power of breath after finding peace and solace in a sauna after a hard days work from his highly stressful career as a community pharmacist, when frequently visiting a wellness center called Nirvana in his home town of Reading, England. He instinctively began to extend his exhalation and even make toning sounds with his voice that would bring him into a deep meditative state. To the surprise of other members of the spa, he was able to stay in the sauna for many times longer than everyone else, up to 45-1hr at 90c+ temperatures. Eventually he escaped the pharmacy as he was promoted to the head office of one of the largest supermarket chains in the UK to carry out his novel healthy shopping list system for delivering essential life saving information to patients on diet, nutrition and holistic health. This helped Niraj form the curriculum for Soma Breath, a system based on the traditional yogic practices before they were altered by modern day practitioners of yoga from which this new field of breathwork has emerged, who have ei

With so much information out there, it can be extremely difficult to find the nutrition plan that will allow you to achieve optimal health and the best physical results. In our constant quest for wellbeing, more energy and longer life, finding the plan that works for us as individuals can be a tricky task. In this episode, Angela discusses personalised nutrition and whether or not there’s a single nutritional protocol that can positively benefit everyone. KEY TAKEAWAYS Human beings share many of the same genes, but the small variants in our genetic make-up can radically alter the way we process and generate energy from proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Our capacity for digesting different types of food is partly dependent on the types of foods our ancestors ate. One way of determining which dietary course is right for us is to figure out which ancestral strain we belong to, thereby learning exactly how our bodies process different food types. We can find this information out by looking at our own DNA. After testing her own genetics, Angela discovered that she was particularly sensitive to carbohydrates, and was struggling with PCOS and insulin resistance. Both of her parents’ sides of the family had a strong history of Type II Diabetes. After being told that these conditions might affect her ability to have children, Angela began to research ways of controlling PCOS through nutrition. The beta adreno-receptor gene variants ADRB2 27 and 16 are vitally important in unlocking fat cells and allowing fat to be burned for energy. Knowing your own variant is vital in understanding how your body will react to carbohydrate intake and staying lean and healthy. If you carry a certain variant of ADRB2 27, and your aim is to shed body fat through exercise, then you may need to stimulate this gene more and so will benefit greatly from beta-receptor stimulation before you exercise. This can be done by taking caffeine. Understanding how quickly you metabolise caffeine can help you fine-tune things further. The FTO gene (or “Fatso” gene) is a protein prevalent in the body that’s associated with obesity in adults and children, and acts as a nutrient sensor that impacts hunger and the amount of food we need before we are satisfied. Scientists have found that those with variants of the FTO gene often have a higher Body Mass Index (BMI). PPARG has been called the “Thrifty Gene” and was named so for its use as a fat-storer. In past times, this gene would have enabled the build-up of body fat to allow humans to survive winters. Now that food is abundant, too much activation of PPARG can cause weight gain and increase the risks of heart disease and stroke. Time restricted eating is an incredibly powerful way of lowering inflammation and enhancing body composition. It also acts as a fantastic kickstarter to losing body fat. Angela’s top five nutritional practices for achieving a healthy body and maintaining it are: Ruthlessly remove all highly processed foods from your diet. Move, move, move! Prioritise your sleep Use time-restricted eating to restrict your window of eating to a maximum of twelve hours per day Test your DNA (you only need to do this once!) and test your key blood bio-markers and your gut annually. BEST MOMENTS ‘This is a complex process that happens in our cells over a billion times per second’ ’Not everyone is as sensitive to carbs as another person’ ‘If you’re someone who’s hungry all the time, it could be that the FTO gene is playing a part here’ ‘It’s the expression of our genes that’s important’ ‘Processed foods are driving the increase in heart disease and weight gain that we’re currently seeing’ ‘The sedentary lifestyle has been dubbed the new smoking for a reason’ VALUABLE RESOURCES The High Performance Health Podcast – Omny For more information on DNA testing and assessing your epigenetic expression, go to bit.ly/personalisedhealth For ways to optimise your workspace, go to bit.ly/workspacehacks Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker: https://amzn.to/2XDfsUB ABOUT THE HOST Angela Foster Angela is a Nutritionist, Health and Performance Coach. She is also the Founder and CEO of My DNA Edge, an Exclusive Private Membership Site giving individuals the tools and biohacks needed to optimise their genetic expression for optimal health and performance. After recovering from a serious illness in 2014, Angela left the world of Corporate Law with a single mission in mind: To inspire and educate others to live an energetic, healthful and limitless life. Angela believes that we can truly have it all and has spent the last 5 years researching the habits and routines of high performers, uncovering age old secrets, time honoured holistic practices and modern science to create a blueprint for Optimal Human Performance. CONTACT DETAILSInstagramFacebookLinkedInHigh Performance Health FB Group

In this episode of the High Performance Health podcast, host Angela Foster talks to holistic health expert, influencer and bio-hacker Blake Bowman, an online content creator with over 150,000 followers on social media. In this fascinating and deeply insightful conversation, Blake shares a wealth of incredible biohacks and advice, including how to use the power of medicinal mushrooms, the importance of nasal breathing, the benefits of red-light therapy and how it can enhance collagen production, plus Blake’s top tips for correcting muscular imbalances and postural alignment. By the end of the show, you’ll be in possession of a roadmap that will allow you to instantly upgrade your body and mind and perform at your best. KEY TAKEAWAYS Blake’s health strategy is a holistic one, incorporating not just diet and exercise, but also areas such as the use of herbs, biohacking, finding routines that optimise brainwaves, and the power of different light waves and exposure to them. Taking control of health is the result of understanding the many factors that impact it. Our bodies consume light much in the same way that a plant does. Through photon receptors, our bodies consume light for energy. This means that the light sources we take in through our skin and our eyes is extremely important. Most indoor light, whether from bulbs or screens, are completely unnatural and are destructive to our physiology. Blake’s top tips for optimising lighting conditions in your home are: Swap out LED bulbs for incandescent bulbs. Use crystal rock salt lamps. Dim your lights at night. Buy a pair of blue-blocking glasses and wear them at home. Use candles where possible. At night, Blake often tapes his mouth so as to encourage nasal breathing. The benefits are that it eliminates snoring, which is caused by sleeping with your mouth open; breathing is optimised when we breathe through our noses as our sinuses mix nitrous gas with our oxygen intake which increases our circulation. Overall, nasal breathing at night profoundly increases your sleep quality. Red Light Therapy - This has many benefits. Not only does it reduce wrinkles in your skin, but it stimulates your mitochondria, a main producer of ATP energy. Almost all chronic illnesses are associated with low energy production on a cellular level. Red light therapy can be an extremely efficient way of ensuring we gain more energy at this level. Bad posture is defined by the body’s muscular imbalance. When some muscles are tight and some are weak, they literally hang in different ways from their attachments on your bones and subsequently dictate your posture. Good posture is not created by simplistic methods such as “Sit up straight”. Short breaks while sitting for lengthy periods of time are essential to correcting any muscle imbalances that might be forming. Blake is a particular proponent of the medicinal benefits of mushrooms, particularly Reishi, otherwise known as the “Queen Of Mushrooms”, which can have positive effects upon such physiological conditions as liver functions, high blood pressure, cholesterol, psoriasis, asthma and allergies. Blake recommends looking for Reishi grown on logs as it is the most natural and most nutritious version, or grow your own from a kit you can purchase online. Preparing medicinal mushrooms can be tricky. Blake recommends making sure you “extract” the goodness from the mushroom. In Reishi, half of the beneficial compounds are water-soluble, while the other half are alcohol-soluble. Use a coffee grinder to grind the mushroom to powder, then you can make tea with the powder (water extract), or put a chopped mushroom in a jar with very strong, pure alcohol (alcohol extract) for a minimum of six weeks. Once the alcohol extraction has taken place, strain the extracted fluid and use it in drops onto your tongue to gain the benefits of the extracted compounds. Lion’s Mane mushroom extract is an incredible tool that aids with the human ability to learn. Blake advises using it for any kind of learning exercise that requires you to gain and adapt to new knowledge, whether mental or physical. BEST MOMENTS 'Many of us don’t realise that we are constantly consuming junk light, and it’s almost like consuming junk food’ ‘Breathing through your nose helps to relax your body’ ‘You cannot simply have good posture’ ‘Muscles that are always getting strained, are usually weak muscles’ ‘We could all do with more zen’ VALUABLE RESOURCES The High Performance Health Podcast – Omny Guerrilla Zen: https://guerrillazen.com/about/ Potentia Wellness: https://www.potentiawellness.com www.iristech.co Somnifix Strips: https://www.amazon.co.uk/SomniFix-Sleep-Strips-Breathing-Nighttime/dp/B076CQ1NR8 Blake Bowman’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/GuerrillazenFitness/videos Infra-red light therapy: bit.ly/biohackyourself and use code ANGELA for 10% off or www.joovv.com Crystal Rock Salt Lamp - https://amzn.to/2XC3wHC Top 3 Benefits Of Red Light: https://www.youtube.com/w

Welcome to the High Performance Health Podcast! The High Performance Health Podcast is all about optimising your body, mind and lifestyle for high performance. Packed full of actionable insights, strategies, bio hacks, lifestyle hacks, mindset strategies and expert performance advice, Angela Foster is on a mission to optimise your human potential. Featuring interviews with some of the top experts on the planet in the fields of health, performance and business, this show aims to inspire, educate and empower you to live an energetic, healthful and limitless life. ABOUT THE HOSTAngela Foster Angela is a Nutritionist, Health and Performance Coach. She is also the Founder and CEO of My DNA Edge, an Exclusive Private Membership Site giving individuals the tools and biohacks needed to optimise their genetic expression for optimal health and performance. After recovering from a serious illness in 2014, Angela left the world of Corporate Law with a single mission in mind: To inspire and educate others to live an energetic, healthful and limitless life. Angela believes that we can truly have it all and has spent the last 5 years researching the habits and routines of high performers, uncovering age old secrets, time honoured holistic practices and modern science to create a blueprint for Optimal Human Performance. CONTACT DETAILSInstagramFacebookLinkedInHigh Performance Health FB Group