Allied Health Certification and its Contribution to Society

Definition of Allied Health

Allied health is a common connotation in the medical field that encompasses a tune of almost 200 health providers excluding doctors and nurses. Professionals such as speech pathologists, orthopedists, podiatrists, and dietitians among others fall under the category of allied health workers. In basic terms, Allied Health is a service that provides complementary services under the supervision of professional experts such as doctors and nurses.

Case in point is Australia where almost 90,000 allied health professionals provide complementary services in different hospitals. Services offered range from making visiting rounds, creation of reports to the provision of care that carers may not be in a position to provide. An increasingly aging population and the governments’ prioritization of healthcare only mean that allied health workers will increase. The training requirements for this diverse group vary as some are more specialized than others hence requiring extensive education and ongoing developmental training.

There are two broad categories in allied health, namely, assistants or technologists and the technologists or therapists. The training for technicians normally takes roughly two years. They are tasked with carrying out procedures all the while working under the close supervision of the technologists. On the same breath, technologists undergo more rigorous training and study to develop or sharpen their skill centered on diagnosing and patient evaluation.

Like any other career, passion plays a critical role in determining one’s success in their profession. However, players in this industry and course facilitators opine that one must have a strong academic background. One can achieve this by enrolling for a degree or diploma courses to equip oneself with knowledge and the required skills. However, it is worth noting that not all skills are taught while acquiring academic knowledge. Such skills include but are not limited to being approachable; Allied health professionals should be down to earth, easy to communicate with and keen to listen while paying attention to details.

How to get Certificate IV in Allied Health

As earlier illustrated, taking Australia as an example, we see the government has prioritized the training of allied health workers through the funding of relevant training institutions such as the Health Industry Training. It is stipulated in their website that to acquire Cert IV in Allied Health, one should not already have in an acquisition or working towards acquiring a higher certification.

Through the health Industry Training, one can acquire concessional or pocket-friendly fees pegged on condition that the applicant is either an aborigine or an inhabitant of the Torres Strait. Further, they can take advantage of the concessional amounts by furnishing a health care or pension card provided under the Commonwealth statutes.

The government has also stepped up its efforts in providing funding to organizations to offer training to both existing and new workers. Under such a program, one is eligible to acquire certification level IV in the following areas; Administration and Mental Health, and Ageing and support.


Jobs available with Level IV Certificate and how to contribute to society

As earlier discussed, there are a variety of jobs and careers to choose from and they mainly fall under two major categories, therapists and technicians. Under the latter, we do have laboratory technicians, respiratory therapy and radiology technicians. Despite most of the jobs requiring a two-year-investment in the form of degrees, some jobs also require less time in equal measure. Such include medical assistants and home health assistants.

By investing in higher degrees, technologists and therapists are tasked with the diagnosis and evaluation of patients hence formulating a road map on treatment. Further to this, they are also tasked at knowing the potential benefits and effects of a particular treatment plan. Under such categories, we do have pharmacists, physicians, and health administrators who are required to go up to masters and doctorate levels.
Dozens of career options lay bare for one to choose from when focusing on Allied Health. One may delve in a more active role leading to therapy roles such as an occupational or physical therapist. Being one of the fields that require one’s interaction skills to be top-notched, there exist those that would like to limit their interaction with patients thus taking active roles in the information technology field. They specialize in the generation and retrieval of patients’ files and processing of claims. A career in the Allied Health sector is inexhaustible and one would have a broad range of choices.

The Team

Adrian is a qualified Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified NLP Practitioner, Certified Personal Fitness Trainer, Cross Fit Trainer, Strength & Conditioning Coach and Pilates Instructor.  He has modelled both nationally and internationally and worked for major fashion labels such as Calvin Klein, L’Oreal Paris and Guess while living in Milan, Italy.  With constant demands on body measurements and pressure to maintain a low body fat percentage, Alex became very interested in various aspects of healthy weight management and fitness.

“Becoming thoroughly absorbed in this fascinating field, I became committed to researching an abundance of qualified information on biology, body fat eradication strategies, nutrition and different training techniques. I used my body as a guinea pig; aiming to achieve a lean body without sacrificing my health and mental wellbeing.  During this time, I fully realised my passion for physical training whilst optimising the connection between body and mind”.

Returning to Australia in 2012 Adrian decided to dedicate himself full time to the health industry, and Alex Fox was created. It didn’t take long before he became entrenched in metabolic conditioning, hormonal specific training and strength and power training, finding that this was the most efficient way possible to improve his health and to take his fitness to the next level. Today, it allows his clients to achieve Real Results Fast. No matter how much time you spend in the gym, we all know you need a balance of great nutrition, rest and an experienced trainer for noticeable results.

Our passion is to incorporate health and fitness into your life and to help you to achieve the optimal Lifestyle Balance – encompassing your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.  So whether you are just taking the first step to a healthier and fitter lifestyle or you want to take your training to the next level, Alex Fox will get you there.

All about the role of nutrition in health

Significant Role of Nutrition in health

Proper and good nutrition is the underlying factor for living and sustaining a healthier lifestyle. Nutrients are essential to the body and are the reasons for driving biological activity. The nutrients provided by the foods affect physical growth, operational capabilities, development and overall health.

3 Major types of nutrition

Nutrients are broadly categorized into two types: Macro-nutrients and the Micro-nutrients. Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein are the three types of macro-nutrients, whereas minerals and vitamins are two micro-nutrient types. These nutrients are responsible for performing below vital functions in the body;

1. Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates provide quick energy to cells through the formation of monosaccharides. Such as monosaccharide of sugar or glucose.

2. Proteins
Proteins are responsible for building tissues and gives body structure through the formation of small monomers called amino acids. Excellent resources for proteins are chicken, fish and eggs.

3. Fats
Fats or lipids stores energy in the body and thereby helps in cushioning organs, protecting cells and transmitting hormonal signals around the body. Oil and butter are rich in fats.

How can we improve nutritional health?

Eating nutritious food is not tough. The five fundamentals of improving nutritional health are:

1. Drink water in abundance.
2. Include fibre rich whole grain cereals, one to two ounce of nuts, fresh vegetables and fruits in a daily diet plan.
3. Take fishes such as salmon, tilapia or catfish at least three to four times a week.
4. Avoid including foods that contain saturated and or trans fats, including white foods such as white bread, rice, pasta and creamy sausages.
5. Go slow on high fructose syrup, alcohol and other high-calorie sugary foods.

Role of nutrition in health and disease

Nutrition has a significant impact on health and wellness. Adequate intake of nutrition, well-balanced diet and physical workout is the mainstay for achieving perfect health.
On the contrary, lack of proper nutrition results in reduced immunity, risk of exposing to diseases, undermined mental and physical growth, and low productivity. Improper nutritional habit may lead to chronic diseases such as Type-2 diabetes, heart and lung disease. These can be prevented, delayed and manage through proper dietary eating practices.

Improving Nutritional Health

Maintaining a balanced diet is key to a healthy life. Following checklists can help to improve your health:

1. Assess your diet by noting down what you drink and eat every day. This results in an increase or decrease of particular food down the line.
2. Check the current fruits and vegetable intake. A 4 to 5 cups of vegetables and fruits are needed daily.
3. Check for whole grain, calcium and other rich fibre foods are included in the diet.
4. Seek a dietitian or nutritionist help for particular diet plan for any health issues or other health risk factors.

Nutritional Health

Significant Role of Nutrition in health

Proper and good nutrition is the underlying factor for living and sustaining a healthier lifestyle. Nutrients are essential to the body and are the reasons for driving biological activity. The

nutrients provided by the foods affect physical growth, operational capabilities, development and overall health.

3 Major types of nutrition

Nutrients are broadly categorized into two types: Macro-nutrients and the Micro-nutrients. Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein are the three types of macro-nutrients, whereas minerals and vitamins are two micro-nutrient types. These nutrients are responsible for performing below vital functions in the body;

  1. Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide quick energy to cells through the formation of monosaccharides. Such as monosaccharide of sugar or glucose.

  1. Proteins

Proteins are responsible for building tissues and gives body structure through the formation of small monomers called amino acids. Excellent resources for proteins are chicken, fish and eggs.

  1. Fats

Fats or lipids stores energy in the body and thereby helps in cushioning organs, protecting cells and transmitting hormonal signals around the body. Oil and butter are rich in fats.

How can we improve nutritional health?

Eating nutritious food is not tough. The five fundamentals of improving nutritional health are:

  1. Drink water in abundance.
  2. Include fibre rich whole grain cereals, one to two ounce of nuts, fresh vegetables and fruits in a daily diet plan.
  3. Take fishes such as salmon, tilapia or catfish at least three to four times a week.
  4. Avoid including foods that contain saturated and or trans fats, including white foods such as white bread, rice, pasta and creamy sausages.
  5. Go slow on high fructose syrup, alcohol and other high-calorie sugary foods.

Role of nutrition in health and disease

Nutrition has a significant impact on health and wellness. Adequate intake of nutrition, well-balanced diet and physical workout is the mainstay for achieving perfect health.

On the contrary, lack of proper nutrition results in reduced immunity, risk of exposing to diseases, undermined mental and physical growth, and low productivity. Improper nutritional habit may lead to chronic diseases such as Type-2 diabetes, heart and lung disease. These can be prevented, delayed and manage through proper dietary eating practices.

Improving Nutritional Health

Maintaining a balanced diet is key to a healthy life. Following checklists can help to improve your health:

  1. Assess your diet by noting down what you drink and eat every day. This results in an increase or decrease of particular food down the line.
  2. Check the current fruits and vegetable intake. A 4 to 5 cups of vegetables and fruits are needed daily.
  3. Check for whole grain, calcium and other rich fibre foods are included in the diet.
  4. Seek a dietitian or nutritionist help for particular diet plan for any health issues or other health risk factors.

Health and Fitness Management

What is health and fitness management?

Health and Fitness Management is a field that improves one’s overall well-being. Health and fitness professionals will give you a program so you will know what you must eat and what you must do to keep fit. It is going to be hard at first, but you must do it if you want to avoid being a magnet to diseases. You will need to watch what you eat so your weight will go down. If you are asked to seek a health and fitness expert, it is most likely due to you being overweight. It is never a good thing to be obese as fat people never get any benefits.

health fitness

Why is a healthy lifestyle important?

Those who live a healthy lifestyle usually live longer. If you don’t take care of your body, you may die earlier than expected. Yes, that means you should not smoke and drink often. If it is possible to say goodbye to those vices, then do that. You will notice those who live long are those who don’t have any vices. They may have tried it at one point in their lives, but they quit it when they found out how bad it affects your body’s organs.

How can we live a healthy life?

You can live a healthy life by exercising regularly and eating the right food. You will get weight if you eat lots of sweets and red meat even if you exercise. If you do that, you will just be wasting your time at the gym. Remember, losing weight is all about what you eat. That doesn’t mean you must only eat vegetables, though. You must control the amount of calorie intake in the food you eat. No matter how delicious your favourite meals are, your body is going to suffer in a few years.

What’s the best way to build strength?

The best way to build strength is to work out at the CrossFit gym at least three to four times a week. If it is less than that, what you are doing will not affect your body. Yes, you will be wasting your time at the gym if you only do it when you have time. If you are interested in building strength, you should make time for it. If you have an office job, you must find time for it either before or after work.

CrossFit Training

What is a CrossFit trainer?

A CrossFit trainer is someone who implements CrossFit training. There are times when it is a group session, and there are also times when it is one on one. Believe it or not, both are pretty effective methods in making you build strength and lose weight. You have all the freedom to ask the CrossFit trainer if what you are doing is right. You can expect the trainer to correct what you are doing now and then. If you are doing the wrong thing, you may not experience the benefits of the exercise. A CrossFit trainer is usually a fit person and wears the uniform of the CrossFit gym. The CrossFit trainer will generally do a lot of difficult things at the gym and make it look easy. The reason why a lot of famous athletes do CrossFit is because of its effectiveness.

What does it take to become a CrossFit trainer?

It takes several years of CrossFit training before you can call yourself a CrossFit trainer. It is never easy to do so, but it will be worth it in the end. Besides, there is no such thing that you can learn for a few days. The pay is excellent for CrossFit trainers. More and more people nowadays are reverting to CrossFit training as it is a new and enjoyable way to lose weight and gain new friends at the same time. Thus, you will have a lot of people wanting to be trained by you if you choose to become a CrossFit trainer.

The Benefits of a Healthy and Well-Balanced Lifestyle

Living a healthy and well-balanced life is a luxury that many of us wish they had. As simple as it sounds, putting down that unhealthy snack and going for something that is more nutritional may be more difficult than expected. To most, eating healthy and regular work out is a temporary necessity towards achieving a set weight goal. But this short term mindset is what hinders a healthy style of living. Breaking old habits and working towards a lifestyle that highlights nutritious and active well being is a challenge. Thus, having support such as a health coach can give them that push towards their new habits.

Health and wellness coaching is a supportive mentor that guides long-terms food and lifestyle changes to improve one’s health. A health coach promotes the idea that each person has unique dietary, physical and emotional needs. Thus, establishing simple ways of eating and working out rather than following set diets and fitness plans. Though weight management coaching is what comes to mind while thinking of a health coach, dealing with the mindset and behavioural aspects is a large part of the job. Therefore diving into areas of life that impact one’s health, such as stress factors, relationships, habits and way of thinking, is a starting point that many health coaches focus on. Meeting in group coaching is a popular choice, but one-on-one is also offered for those looking for more of a more custom experience.

Becoming a certified health coach can be a lengthy and challenging process, thus evaluating one’s goals and making sure that they are sincerely interested in helping others is very important. The first step into becoming a licensed professional is finding a reputable health coach certification program. Taking a look at factors such as credentials of the program, the duration, and alumni achievement is research that will help point out the best available courses. In most programs, once you have gained a solid nutritional foundation, to become credentialed health care professional, you must take an exam. When you do make sure you are prepared and meet all prerequisites such as a CPR certificate, high school diploma or equivalent, at least 18 years of age. Once you have passed the exam, you are now a certified health coach, practising from anywhere to one-on-one in a local office to online.

Coaching an individual towards training for an active lifestyle is an experience many looks for when reaching out to a health coach. What many that are new to body training do not realize is that the best exercises only require your body and a motivated mindset. Let’s take a look at some of these exercises. Starting with push-ups, pull-ups, and dips, these old-school exercises force the individual to lift about 60 per cent of their body weight, targeting the chest, triceps, and core. Next, are the squats, lunges, and step-ups. Benefiting the lower body, these workouts are directed towards the hips, hamstrings, and glutes. Another classic is the burpees and jumping jacks, and they are entirely body routines as they exercise your arms, legs and even cardio. The final exercises that too many training professionals are considered the best for burning belly fat are the plank and sit-ups. When aiming toward maximizing your body strength, daily workouts are recommended. Starting by stretching out and focusing on cardio, then working any muscle strengthening exercises as listed above is a great everyday work out routine.

In conclusion, even though living a good and healthy lifestyle can seem complicated at first. Having support from a health coach that guides you into your unique requirements towards a long-term sustainable way of living can be a life-changing push that many of us need.