GYM GUIDE NIGERIA: BODY BOOST FITNESS AND HEALTH CLUB

It's Christmas Eve!!! As a child Christmas Eve was one of my best nights. My sister and I believed in Santa Claus, so we would wait up all night to see Santa drop off our gifts, but then sleep off. I can still remember the joy I felt when I went down the next morning and saw loads of gifts under the tree. Then I had at least five gifts with my name labelled on them. But of course, I discovered Santa was my parents and my numerous aunts and uncles. As I got older, the number of gifts under the tree reduced and now I'd be shocked if I saw any present under the tree.

If you've been in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria over the past few days, you'll probably have noticed the congestion on the roads. I visited a gym with my mum and what should have been a 15 minutes drive, took over an hour long. My mum had been going on about this gym, so I was really looking forward to going and posting this article.

Body Boost Fitness and Health Club, "body boost" for short is located at Deborah Lawson House, Plot F6, Abacha Road, GRA Phase 3, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. Upon stepping into the reception, I had a good first impression. The reception was clean, tidy and with a fresh smell. I was also quite happy with the gym's facilities. There are a good number of modern equipment: treadmills, elliptical bikes, chest press machines, hip abductor/adductor machine, abdominal crunch machine and a few others. There is also a good variety of studio classes (dance aerobics, step, spinning, circuit training, pilates) offered. Unfortunately, I did not get to participate in any of the group fitness sessions as most of the instructors were away for the holidays. There is a separate changing room for male and female with shower and toilet facilities, so you can shower after your workout. There is also a restaurant that offers healthy meals. I did not try these, so no comments. In general, I enjoyed my workout and offered my mum a free personal training session.

So, next time you are in Port-Harcourt, or if you live in Port-Harcourt and are looking for a fitness center, head to body boost to meet your workout needs. You can find out more information on their website: http://www.bodyboostng.com

Here are a few pictures of the gym, Enjoy!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

NUTRITIONAL/HEALTH BENEFITS OF PLANTAINS

P lantains are widely eaten in West Africa. Plantains are similar to bananas but larger in size. While bananas are termed fruits, plantains are vegetables. Bananas are mostly eating raw, while plantains are usually cooked before consumption. Plantains can be eaten unripe, ripen or over-ripe. When unripe, plantains are usually green in colour, when ripen, they turn yellow. In Nigeria, for example, unripe plantains are usually used to cook plantain porridge, ripe plantains are mostly fried and used as a supplement to main dishes like rice and beans. Over-ripe plantains are used to make snacks like plantain fritters.

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS OF ZOBO/SORREL DRINK

z obo/sorrel was a must have during family gatherings. As children, we loved drinking it, not only because of how nice it tasted, but also because it coloured our lips and tongues red. Zobo (Nigerian) or Sorrel (Jamaican) is a red coloured drink made from a flower called Hibiscus sabdariffa. The sorrel plant contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, niacin, riboflavin and a group of compounds called flavonoids. Flavanoids not only gives the sorrel plant its deep red colour, but, are also rich in antioxidants which rids the body of toxins. The sorrel plant also contains nutraceleuticals, which are said to be helpful to the health. Nutraceleuticals can help prevent and treat several diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and cancer.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF LIME AND HONEY

L ime and Honey are two must haves in my house. I use honey as a substitute for white sugar. I remember a friend of mine visited me once and she wanted to drink garri (drinking garri is local to Nigerians, i.e. eating dried cassava with cold water as opposed to hot water), she was astonished when I told her to use honey to sweeten her garri. I'm not a tea person, but my parents are, and a cup of tea for them is not complete without limes.

Fabila's Fitness Club

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