This is a featured blog for the Birmingham-based health charity Sport 4 Life, who have just launched an innovative scheme to help promote a healthy lifestyle – the smoothie bike!

The bike is being used as a fun educational tool for children and young people about the importance of healthy eating and exercise. Simply power the pedals to make the blender spin, so whilst you’re cycle away you’re also making yourself a delicious, healthy drink.

Along with planned Sport4Life tours throughout the UK schools, the bike is also available to hire for corporate and community events. Ricky Jolley from the Witton Community Fun Day said

“The bike was so much fun at our event, it really got people interested and active, there was a real buzz around it…and the smoothies were delicious”

For more information on the Sport4Life smoothie bike please call James on 0121 233 4793, or email james@sport4life.org.uk

We are pleased to announce that UK based health charity Sport 4 Life, whose aim is to relieve poverty and help build community spirit through the power of sport, have signed up to a dedicated section on our charity blog.

Sport 4 LifeUK, a social enterprise set up to promote and deliver community sport and exercise in Birmingham, celebrated its first 18 months of charitable work with an evening event held in February 2008. Attended by supporters, associates and sporting dignitaries, including professional golfer Alison Nicholas MBE, the event saw guests entertained in a sporting style, with healthy fruit smoothies being made by a pedal-powered blender (the ’smoothie bike’), with exercise-based games console the Ninetendo Wii getting hearts pounding, and with a table football tournament inspiring healthy competition all round. The event helped raise hundreds of pounds for community sport in Birmingham, and will be used to implement Sport 4 Life UK’s vision.

The Power Of Sport

Nelson Mandela once said -

’sport has an important role to play in the lives of people. Sport has the power to change the world, the power to inspire, and the power to unite people in a way little else can’ 

It is precisely this power that Sport 4 Life UK is aiming to harness. We have a vision to change lives through the power of sport by relieving poverty, building community and improving health, and we are already seeing the power of sport in action. As Chief Executive James Forrest says ’sport has a real power to engage with hard-to-reach groups and to change peoples’ lives for the better. Improved health, reduced stress, better community cohesion, personal development and less crime and anti-social behaviour are but a few of the outcomes we are seeing as a result of sports coaches working with and alongside local communities, and it is precisely these benefits that we want to see spread throughout Birmingham and further afield.’ The government, likewise, echoes these sentiments, with the Sport England policy document Sport Playing Its Part delineating 4 key contributions sport can make to society :-

•  to healthier communities
•  to safe, strong and sustainable communities 
•  to economic vitality and workforce development
•  to meeting the needs of children and young people.

The power of sport is well recognised and well understood, therefore, but the real challenge comes in effectively using that power.

Getting  Active in the Grass Roots

In its first year Sport 4 Life UK has focused its work within a number of deprived communities in Birmingham, and has delivered a diverse range projects.

The Street Sport initiative, a programme designed to provide constructive opportunity and personal development for disadvantaged children and young people, for example has been piloted on the Chamberlain Gardens Estate in Ladywood and the Stockfield Estate in Acocks Green. Structured and professional sports coaching sessions are delivered three times a week, with activities ranging from football to netball, from indoor rock climbing to kayaking, and from sports leadership courses to community tournaments, and are focused on engaging ‘at risk’, hard-to-reach and marginalised youngsters in activities that will benefit them physically, socially, educationally and morally. 

‘its fun and it gets me out and active’Danny (Ladywood)

‘the coaches are friendly and its loads of fun’Joseph (Ladywood)

The Discover Sport programme, on the other hand, provides sporting opportunities for disadvantaged men in Birmingham, and is aiming to use sport as a tool to unite, integrate and empower those suffering from social exclusion and marginalisation. 30 to 40 men from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds attend the All Nations Football Project every week, for example, while recovering substance users from the Slade Road Community Drug Team centre are benefitting from weekly football sessions designed to motivate participants to a healthier, substance-free lifestyle.

‘I feel reborn after running around’Mamadou Saliou Barry, Guinea-Conakry

Last, and certainly not least, the Exercise 4 Life project aims to combat poor physical and mental health and well-being amongst disadvantaged women by providing a unique 10-week aerobics programme. The course incorporates weekly hour-long aerobics classes, healthy eating workshops, exercising-at-home demonstrations, and introductions to mainstream gym classes, and is being delivered throughout the city including classes for young carers in Druids Heath, refugee women in Ladywood and disadvantaged mothers in Aston. 

‘The class has enabled women who would not normally be able to access such activities to improve their health and fitness’Anna Toogood, Karis Neighbour Scheme

Get In Touch

Anyone interested in our charitable work is warmly invited to visit our website Sport4life, or to contact our office on 0121 233 4793.

Following on from our article here Megan and Emma Whitehouse have sent us over the final flyer to promote their sale for Cancer Research UK. We hope everything goes well for you girls!

Make your mother’s day with an alternative charity gift from Cancer Research UK. They have a range of thoughtful and unusual gifts that are a great alternative to the usual flowers or chocolates. Your gift could fund research into breast cancer or buy essential lab equipment for their team scientists.

Any alternative gift you choose will directly fund CRUK’s life saving work and help beat cancer.  They have charity gifts for all budgets - from £6 to £600, so you will be sure to find something to make your Mum smile on March 2nd.

The Cancer Research Send and Give online shop also offers a great range of eCards so if you’re worried about getting a card to your Mum in time or just want to save paper, why not personalise one of the thoughtful, funny or touching eCards. You can even upload a photo of the two of you.

By donating the money you would have spent on a paper card you will be helping to beat cancer.

>> Buy online at the Send and Give with Cancer Research UK Shop

>> Read more about how you can  donate to Cancer Research UK

>> View the Top 10 Charity Gifts for Mothers Day

A Cancer Research UK press release hit our inbox today and we felt we should share it with you guys.

“Cancer Research UK scientists have used the immune system coupled with a virus found in horses and cattle, to hunt and purge cancer cells through the lymphatic system, a study reveals in Nature Medicine.

Studying mice, the researchers found that the vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), carried by a type of white blood cell called T cells acted as a ‘cancer hunter’, tracking down tumour cells in the lymph nodes, liver and spleen, and killed them, leaving normal healthy cells unharmed. At the same time, VSV also helped to trigger an immune response against the tumour, significantly improving the anti-cancer effect.”

Read the full story here - http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/news/archive/pressreleases/2008/january/394168

We received a great email from Megan (aged 12 - nearly 13!) and Emma (aged 9) Whitehouse who wanted us to help publicise their jumble sale taking part in February in aid of Cancer Research UK. They are aiming to make up to £50 for this great cause and sent us the following information.  The final date has been confirmed as Friday 29th Feb 2008.

The sisters have worked really hard to put this thing together and if anyone lives in or around Kings Sutton (near Banbury) your help or attendance would be most welcome in helping them achieve their £50 target! Below is information they provided us with :

“We all know that many people in this village have been effected by cancer, either through friends and relatives or you yourself but now is your chance to do something about it! 

Time: 3-30pm
Date: Friday 29th Feb 2008

Place: King’s Sutton Primary School, Richmond Road, Kings Sutton. (near Banbury).
Telephone: 01295 811289

For more information phone on 01295 812363

You can also visit the Cancer Research website at http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/  Any donations for the sale should be left at 52 Richmond Street, King’s Sutton.

The World Cancer Research Fund have yesterday made public their much awaited report in to the causes of common cancers. The study, conducted over five years by two hundred scientists used statistical data over the last forty years to produce what they say is conclusive evidence that a third of cancer cases in Britain are preventable by taking their recommended guidelines on diet and exercise. It has long been known that smoking is the major cause of cancer but this new evidence suggests that obesity comes a close second in terms of having a direct bearing on the risk of getting a range of cancers including kidney, endometrial, oesophagus, pancreas and breast.

Carrying excess body fat is now the second most important lifestyle factor attributing to cancer cases and experts are advising us to monitor our levels by being aware of our body mass index (BMI). This is calculated by taking a persons weight in kilograms and dividing by their height in square metres - there is an easy tool here that will work out your BMI for you. The ‘healthy’ range for BMI is between 18.5 to 25 however, the World Cancer Research Fund are actually recommending that the best place to be is nearer to 18.5 as the risk of cancer increases once you’re at 25. A BMI of 25 - 29 is considered overweight and therefore at risk and anyone over 30 is considered obese. The advice given is to stay as lean as possible throughout adulthood and to avoid putting on weight after the age of 21.

Other recommendations regarding exercise will not come as welcome news to Britain’s army of couch potatoes. The study concludes that at least 30 minutes a day of ‘vigorous’ exercise a day is required or an hour of moderate exercise in order to be of most benefit in terms of preventing cancer. Specific dietary recommendations were to avoid high density carbohydrates, particularly sugary snacks including fruit juices and sugary carbonated drinks and processed that is high in fat. Also, on the black list is red meat which should be consumed in moderation, no more than 500g per week and processed meat such as ham and bacon should be avoided. Interestingly the claims for a diet rich in fruit and vegetables being a source of cancer prevention are still being made but with a slightly different perspective from the their historical view as being of direct benefit. The World Cancer Research Fund have suggested that a diet containing lots of fruit and veg is still the best option but the benefit comes from this type of diet being associated with low BMI rather than cancer fighting properties of vegetables. This claim is backed up by the assertion that vitamin and mineral supplements are of no use and in some cases could even have a direct bearing on causing some cancers.

It was bad news for those who enjoy a tipple also - alcohol is attributed to up to seven common cancers and the risk increases with any level of consumption. The study did acknowledge the benefits of reducing the risk of heart disease in moderate alcohol consumption but from a cancer point of view abstinence is best.

Cancer Research UK welcomed the report. “Small changes can have a big effect on our cancer risk and everyone needs to take action, individuals as well as government,” said Lesley Walker, director of cancer information.

Here are the top ten tips as recommended by the World Cancer Research Fund :

• Stay as slim as possible throughout adulthood - ideally with a BMI closer to 18.5 than 25.
• Take half an hour’s vigorous exercise every day or an hour’s moderate exercise
• Avoid sugary carbonated drinks and fast food
• Eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day and cereals/grains/pulses with every meal
• Eat no more than 500g of red meat a week and no processed meat at all
• No more than one alcoholic drink a day for a woman and two for a man
• No more than 6g a day of salt (most of the population of Britain currently exceeds this level)
• Dietary supplements (vitamin and mineral pills) not recommended
• Breastfeed exclusively for six months
• Cancer survivors to follow a specific diet tailored to include all of the above recommendations.