You may be surprised to learn that nutritional supplements vary significantly in quality and effectiveness. Even products with the same brand name may have very different results varying from some positive effects to no effect or, in some cases, harmful effects.Formulations are often thrown together using ingredients which have had lots of media attention, in an attempt to fill a demand and make some money at your expense. No thought goes into what nutrients are combined with what minerals or what enzymes.The fact is, you can’t simply cram a bunch of popular, high profile nutrients together in a pill and expect them to be of any benefit to your health. Without proper formulation, supplements will not have the nutritional cofactors and phytonutrients your body requires. As a result, your body will not recognize and absorb the nutrients and they will (hopefully) pass through your system with no benefit. I say hopefully because, in some instances, they will actually do more harm than good.Now you are thinking, “How can nutritional supplements harm me?” Read on and I will explain.To ensure nutrition is delivered to the cells of your body, it is necessary that each nutritional supplement contains a formulation specifically matched with quality whole food ingredients. In other words, each product contains the necessary enzymes, minerals and co-factors in the exact balance that is found in nature.This “delivery system” should:

Deliver the nutrients to the blood stream quickly,

Ensure the highest absorption possible,

Provide minerals and co-factors which promote optimum enzyme activity,

Guarantee that the nutrients are delivered to the cells of your body and

Support your body’s natural absorption processes.
What happens if the supplements I take do not have a delivery system?Coordinated enzymes and minerals must be present for nutrients to reach the cells of your body. As a result, certain minerals and co-factors are required in order for enzyme activity to occur. If they are not available, enzyme activity “robs” your body’s nutrient stores to make up the shortfall. Over a long period of time your health may suffer and in some cases, the effects may be irreversible.What is meant by the term “cellular nutrition”? Do the cells in my body actually eat? Yes! In a manner of speaking, they do eat.In 1942, the nutritionist Victor Lindlahr published “You Are What You Eat: how to win and keep health with diet”. (The phrase is actually much older but it appears that this publication is what brought it into the public consciousness) Since that time we have been obsessed with the notion that if we eat a well balanced diet we will ensure good heath and vitality.However, in recent history, nutritionists have discovered that it is not necessarily the nutrition we consume but the nutrition that is delivered to and absorbed by our cells that determines our health. This is why it’s important to ensure that each cell not only receives the nutrients it needs but receives it in a format that is recognizable and easy to absorb (eat).What can stop supplements from reaching my cells?If a nutritional supplement does not have the right molecular structure they may not be able to make the journey through the stomach and into the blood stream.Sometimes this can be a good thing. “Vitamin C from ascorbic acid” (have you seen this phrase on labels?), for example, contains only a fraction of the whole vitamin C. If this fractionated nutrient were to get through, the rest of the co-factors would have to be obtained so that it can be utilized. This “robs” your body of vital reserves and may result in unfavorable health conditions in the future.What happens when vitamins and minerals are not absorbed?When vitamins, minerals and herbs are not absorbed they can get into areas of your body where their presence will cause problems. Iron in your liver, for example, can cause liver damage because your body is unable to dispose of it. Other vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, D, E and K can cause similar problems in other organs.So, to answer the question posed at the beginning of this article…… Are Nutritional Supplements a Waste of Money?They can be if they do not include a strategy that ensures Cellular Nutrition Guaranteed but ….If your supplements incorporate a good strategy for Cellular Delivery along with:

100% all-natural raw materials that Obey the Laws of Nature,

Nutrition that fulfill your body’s needs not market trends,

A holistic formulation that does not interrupt or interfere with the harmony and balance of the natural functioning of your body and

Nutrition from whole food complexes (example: whole food vitamin) not fractionated or synthetic sources,
You will be surprised at the fantastic results you can achieve.”Guaranteed Cellular Delivery” – What a concept!

Background

Police funding has risen by £4.8 billion and 77 per cent (39 per cent in real terms) since 1997. However the days where forces have enjoyed such levels of funding are over.

Chief Constables and senior management recognize that the annual cycle of looking for efficiencies year-on-year is not sustainable, and will not address the cash shortfall in years to come.
Facing slower funding growth and real cash deficits in their budgets, the Police Service must adopt innovative strategies which generate the productivity and efficiency gains needed to deliver high quality policing to the public.

The step-change in performance required to meet this challenge will only be achieved if the police service fully embraces effective resource management and makes efficient and productive use of its technology, partnerships and people.

The finance function has an essential role to play in addressing these challenges and supporting Forces’ objectives economically and efficiently.

Challenge

Police Forces tend to nurture a divisional and departmental culture rather than a corporate one, with individual procurement activities that do not exploit economies of scale. This is in part the result of over a decade of devolving functions from the center to the.divisions.

In order to reduce costs, improve efficiency and mitigate against the threat of “top down” mandatory, centrally-driven initiatives, Police Forces need to set up a corporate back office and induce behavioral change. This change must involve compliance with a corporate culture rather than a series of silos running through the organization.

Developing a Best in Class Finance Function

Traditionally finance functions within Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with only limited support for management information and business decision support. With a renewed focus on efficiencies, there is now a pressing need for finance departments to transform in order to add greater value to the force but with minimal costs.

1) Aligning to Force Strategy

As Police Forces need finance to function, it is imperative that finance and operations are closely aligned. This collaboration can be very powerful and help deliver significant improvements to a Force, but in order to achieve this model, there are many barriers to overcome. Finance Directors must look at whether their Force is ready for this collaboration, but more importantly, they must consider whether the Force itself can survive without it.

Finance requires a clear vision that centers around its role as a balanced business partner. However to achieve this vision a huge effort is required from the bottom up to understand the significant complexity in underlying systems and processes and to devise a way forward that can work for that particular organization.

The success of any change management program is dependent on its execution. Change is difficult and costly to execute correctly, and often, Police Forces lack the relevant experience to achieve such change. Although finance directors are required to hold appropriate professional qualifications (as opposed to being former police officers as was the case a few years ago) many have progressed within the Public Sector with limited opportunities for learning from and interaction with best in class methodologies. In addition cultural issues around self-preservation can present barriers to change.

Whilst it is relatively easy to get the message of finance transformation across, securing commitment to embark on bold change can be tough. Business cases often lack the quality required to drive through change and even where they are of exceptional quality senior police officers often lack the commercial awareness to trust them.

2) Supporting Force Decisions

Many Finance Directors are keen to develop their finance functions. The challenge they face is convincing the rest of the Force that the finance function can add value – by devoting more time and effort to financial analysis and providing senior management with the tools to understand the financial implications of major strategic decisions.

Maintaining Financial Controls and Managing Risk

Sarbanes Oxley, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Basel II and Individual Capital Assessments (ICA) have all put financial controls and reporting under the spotlight in the private sector. This in turn is increasing the spotlight on financial controls in the public sector.

A ‘Best in Class’ Police Force finance function will not just have the minimum controls to meet the regulatory requirements but will evaluate how the legislation and regulations that the finance function are required to comply with, can be leveraged to provide value to the organization. Providing strategic information that will enable the force to meet its objectives is a key task for a leading finance function.

3) Value to the Force

The drive for development over the last decade or so, has moved decision making to the Divisions and has led to an increase in costs in the finance function. Through utilizing a number of initiatives in a program of transformation, a Force can leverage up to 40% of savings on the cost of finance together with improving the responsiveness of finance teams and the quality of financial information. These initiatives include:

Centralization

By centralizing the finance function, a Police Force can create centers of excellence where industry best practice can be developed and shared. This will not only re-empower the department, creating greater independence and objectivity in assessing projects and performance, but also lead to more consistent management information and a higher degree of control. A Police Force can also develop a business partner group to act as strategic liaisons to departments and divisions. The business partners would, for example, advise on how the departmental and divisional commanders can meet the budget in future months instead of merely advising that the budget has been missed for the previous month.

With the mundane number crunching being performed in a shared service center, finance professionals will find they now have time to act as business partners to divisions and departments and focus on the strategic issues.

The cultural impact on the departments and divisional commanders should not be underestimated. Commanders will be concerned that:

o Their budgets will be centralized
o Workloads would increase
o There will be limited access to finance individuals
o There will not be on site support

However, if the centralized shared service center is designed appropriately none of the above should apply. In fact from centralization under a best practice model, leaders should accrue the following benefits:

o Strategic advice provided by business partners
o Increased flexibility
o Improved management information
o Faster transactions
o Reduced number of unresolved queries
o Greater clarity on service and cost of provision
o Forum for finance to be strategically aligned to the needs of the Force

A Force that moves from a de-centralized to a centralized system should try and ensure that the finance function does not lose touch with the Chief Constable and Divisional Commanders. Forces need to have a robust business case for finance transformation combined with a governance structure that spans operational, tactical and strategic requirements. There is a risk that potential benefits of implementing such a change may not be realized if the program is not carefully managed. Investment is needed to create a successful centralized finance function. Typically the future potential benefits of greater visibility and control, consistent processes, standardized management information, economies of scale, long-term cost savings and an empowered group of proud finance professionals, should outweigh those initial costs.

To reduce the commercial, operational and capability risks, the finance functions can be completely outsourced or partially outsourced to third parties. This will provide guaranteed cost benefits and may provide the opportunity to leverage relationships with vendors that provide best practice processes.

Process Efficiencies

Typically for Police Forces the focus on development has developed a silo based culture with disparate processes. As a result significant opportunities exist for standardization and simplification of processes which provide scalability, reduce manual effort and deliver business benefit. From simply rationalizing processes, a force can typically accrue a 40% reduction in the number of processes. An example of this is the use of electronic bank statements instead of using the manual bank statement for bank reconciliation and accounts receivable processes. This would save considerable effort that is involved in analyzing the data, moving the data onto different spreadsheet and inputting the data into the financial systems.

Organizations that possess a silo operating model tend to have significant inefficiencies and duplication in their processes, for example in HR and Payroll. This is largely due to the teams involved meeting their own goals but not aligning to the corporate objectives of an organization. Police Forces have a number of independent teams that are reliant on one another for data with finance in departments, divisions and headquarters sending and receiving information from each other as well as from the rest of the Force. The silo model leads to ineffective data being received by the teams that then have to carry out additional work to obtain the information required.

Whilst the argument for development has been well made in the context of moving decision making closer to operational service delivery, the added cost in terms of resources, duplication and misaligned processes has rarely featured in the debate. In the current financial climate these costs need to be recognized.

Culture

Within transactional processes, a leading finance function will set up targets for staff members on a daily basis. This target setting is an element of the metric based culture that leading finance functions develop. If the appropriate metrics of productivity and quality are applied and when these targets are challenging but not impossible, this is proven to result in improvements to productivity and quality.

A ‘Best in Class’ finance function in Police Forces will have a service focused culture, with the primary objectives of providing a high level of satisfaction for its customers (departments, divisions, employees & suppliers). A ‘Best in Class’ finance function will measure customer satisfaction on a timely basis through a metric based approach. This will be combined with a team wide focus on process improvement, with process owners, that will not necessarily be the team leads, owning force-wide improvement to each of the finance processes.

Organizational Improvements

Organizational structures within Police Forces are typically made up of supervisors leading teams of one to four team members. Through centralizing and consolidating the finance function, an opportunity exists to increase the span of control to best practice levels of 6 to 8 team members to one team lead / supervisor. By adjusting the organizational structure and increasing the span of control, Police Forces can accrue significant cashable benefit from a reduction in the number of team leads and team leads can accrue better management experience from managing larger teams.

Technology Enabled Improvements

There are a significant number of technology improvements that a Police Force could implement to help develop a ‘Best in Class’ finance function.

These include:

A) Scanning and workflow

Through adopting a scanning and workflow solution to replace manual processes, improved visibility, transparency and efficiencies can be reaped.

B) Call logging, tracking and workflow tool

Police Forces generally have a number of individuals responding to internal and supplier queries. These queries are neither logged nor tracked. The consequence of this is dual:

o Queries consume considerable effort within a particular finance team. There is a high risk of duplicated effort from the lack of logging of queries. For example, a query could be responded to for 30 minutes by person A in the finance team. Due to this query not being logged, if the individual that raised the query called up again and spoke to a different person then just for one additional question, this could take up to 20 minutes to ensure that the background was appropriately explained.

o Queries can have numerous interfaces with the business. An unresolved query can be responded against by up to four separate teams with considerable delay in providing a clear answer for the supplier.

The implementation of a call logging, tracking and workflow tool to document, measure and close internal and supplier queries combined with the set up of a central queries team, would significantly reduce the effort involved in responding to queries within the finance departments and divisions, as well as within the actual divisions and departments, and procurement.

C) Database solution

Throughout finance departments there are a significant number of spreadsheets utilized prior to input into the financial system. There is a tendency to transfer information manually from one spreadsheet to another to meet the needs of different teams.

Replacing the spreadsheets with a database solution would rationalize the number of inputs and lead to effort savings for the front line Police Officers as well as Police Staff.

D) Customize reports

In obtaining management information from the financial systems, police staff run a series of reports, import these into excel, use lookups to match the data and implement pivots to illustrate the data as required. There is significant manual effort that is involved in carrying out this work. Through customizing reports the outputs from the financial system can be set up to provide the data in the formats required through the click of a button. This would have the benefit of reduced effort and improved motivation for team members that previously carried out these mundane tasks.

In designing, procuring and implementing new technology enabling tools, a Police Force will face a number of challenges including investment approval; IT capacity; capability; and procurement.

These challenges can be mitigated through partnering with a third party service company with whom the investment can be shared, the skills can be provided and the procurement cycle can be minimized.

Conclusion

It is clear that cultural, process and technology change is required if police forces are to deliver both sustainable efficiencies and high quality services. In an environment where for the first time forces face real cash deficits and face having to reduce police officer and support staff numbers whilst maintaining current performance levels the current finance delivery models requires new thinking.

While there a number of barriers to be overcome in achieving a best in class finance function, it won’t be long before such a decision becomes mandatory. Those who are ahead of the curve will inevitably find themselves in a stronger position.

Whether you are exercising to improve your health, a professional athlete or a bodybuilder, the sports nutrition plays a vital role in optimizing beneficial effects of physical activity. Choosing a right nutrition can result in injury prevention, improved performance, and recovery.According to Thomas Edison, “The doctor of future will no longer treat human frame with drugs, rather will prevent and cure disease with nutrition”.In order to support your goals and health, different nutrition professionals offer a number of services. Moreover, these nutrition can range from a daily food diary, to comprehensive nutrition and food plan for competitions and training.Here we will explore the importance of sports nutrition, and how a sports nutritionist can support our training regime. Also, they covered supplements and nutrients that are frequently included in the dietary program of athletes. We will discuss these things in details.The importance of sports nutritionConsuming balanced food and drink is very important for us all. However, people that are actively participating in sport on a routine basis should know that it can also affect their performance. For instance, athletes, may require more calories compared to average people.Those who are athletes, or even people that make up their mind to start exercising on a daily basis, should not let a good nutrition plan fall down on their list of priorities.Sports performance and the energyProtein, carbohydrates, and fats all provide our body with fuel to maintain the energy. Furthermore, carbohydrates are a primary fuel used by our working muscles. The adequate intake is necessary for preventing muscle fatigue. You are advised to monitor the fat intake, but do not completely remove it from the diet.Fats provide fatty acids in our body that can be used an energy source – especially if your exercise sessions last more than an hour. These fats also provide the building blocks for hormones as well as formation of cell walls.Proteins can be used as an energy source and they are critical for building new muscle tissues. People that are taking part in resistance training, their body will require additional protein.Weight managementEating well is very important to maintain a healthy weight. So, if you are trying to lose weight, strictly reducing fat, calorie intake or protein can have a negative impact on your performance. Meanwhile, it can also rigorously harm your body.Some specific and useful foods that you should be a part of the diet for the optimum sports nutrition include:· Whole grains· Vegetables· Fruit· Healthy fats.· Hydration, and· Sources of lean protein as well as low-fat dairy productsStaying hydrated is of utmost importance, especially when you are taking part in any sport. The inadequate fluid intake can lead to dehydration. It also affects the performance, and could be dangerous for health as well.Although dehydration can occur in any activity, it is very prevalent when exercising in humid and hot conditions. The perfect thing for re-hydration is water, but it is advised to use sports drinks with electrolytes, for those who are engaged in the physical activity for longer than an hour.After the eventYou are highly advised to avoid neglecting your nutritional needs, if you have had to walk the last half-mile of your run due to fatigue or even the things have not gone according to your plan in your game. No matter what the result is, it should be your priority.Footballers, casual runners, athletes, and others typically do not consume enough fluids when they take part in different events, or trainings. So, it is very important to restore the balance after every event. The water is perfect for rehydration.How sports nutrition professionals can help?The major aim of a dietitian or sports nutritionist is to create a nutrition plan for the training needs of different clients. The plans will incorporate hydration and food. It does not matter whether you are training for professional events or exercising casually, sports nutrition is very integral to performance.Such a strategy can also help to:· Enhance recovery.· Promote good health· Increase energy levels· Help manage weight· Develop growth and body composition· Improve concentrationIn order to create an effective nutrition strategy, sports nutrition professionals should always assess not just your diet and training, but also day-to-day habits, lifestyle, supplements and whether you are taking any medication. Nutrition professionals should also support as well as be able to analyze you with your short-term and long-term goals.NutrientsCarbohydratesThe 2 key forms of carbohydrates are, 1. Starchy or complex, and 2. Simple sugars.Complex carbohydrates, are also known as the starches, and they include grains such as pasta, rice and bread. Just like simple sugars, some complex carbohydrates are better than others. Processed refined grains like, white flour and white rice are less favorable because the fiber and nutrients are removed.Rather, nutritionists recommend that where possible, people should opt for unrefined grains that are still packed full of minerals, fiber and vitamins.Whereas, the simple sugars can be found in refined products and provide a sweet taste. These are naturally found in fruits, vegetables and milk products.We can also add them to our foods using honey, white or brown sugar, maple syrup and molasses, etc. Although all types of sugars that we eat are used by our body in the same way, but it is highly suggested to get simple sugars from foods that are rich in sugars naturally because such foods also contain important nutrients and fiber.FatsIt is an essential component of every diet because it is a great source of energy as well as helps our body to absorb nutrients.Although fats are very important, but we should still monitor the quantity of intake. Using a lot of fats could result in excess weight gain and in increased risks of severe health concerns.The saturated fats can easily be found in different animal products as well as processed foods like, chips, meat and dairy products. Such fat type is not considered to be healthy for the human heart and is thought to raise bad (LDL) cholesterol levels.Avocados, nuts, oily fish and olives are rich in unsaturated fats. Such fats are considered to be healthy for our heart and can work to raise good (HDL) cholesterol levels as well as lower the LDL cholesterol levels.ProteinEvery cell of our body contains it and due to this reason protein is important for helping to repair and build tissues. Proteins are also used to make hormones, enzymes and a number of additional body chemicals. Furthermore, proteins are very crucial for forming the building blocks of bones, blood, cartilage, skin and muscles.Some of the most common protein foods include fish, meat, eggs, nuts, soya products, seeds and pulses.SupplementsDifferent bodybuilders, sportsmen and athletes use supplements to boost their performance, recovery and strength. Supplements are available in a number of forms ranging from minerals and multivitamins through to creatine, protein and many other ‘ergogenic’ aids.You are advised to ensure that your diet is balanced, healthy and suits your sport, before opting to take any form of supplement. It is also advised to consult a registered nutritionist or an accredited sports dietician before if you have decided to take additional nutrients in supplemental form. These experts can assess your suitability for a particular supplement.Some common sports supplements include the following:CreatineIt is a high-energy compound which helps to provide and store energy. It is produced within our body, and is naturally available in meat and fish. It can also be taken in the form of supplements.In order to increase muscle strength, creatine is used by sportsmen and athletes as a dietary supplement. It is intended to boost performance during frequent, high-intensity exercise and also help you train for longer.Whey proteinA natural protein which is naturally present in milk, and contains very little carbohydrate, lactose or fat. It is considered a naturally complete protein, which means whey is made up of all essential amino acids that are required in our average daily diet.Also housing the perfect combination of amino acids, this protein also contains branch chain of amino acids (BCAAs) that are the 1st ones to be used while intense training. Whey provides our body with these amino acids and in turn they assist with rebuilding and repairing lean muscle tissue.Whey protein is extremely easy to digest so it can provide instant nourishment to our muscles and can absorb quickly.Energy drinksIt is extremely important to stay well hydrated during training and exercise. Even a little amount of dehydration could be detrimental to your performance levels. Although, drinking water is considered a good way to keep ourselves hydrated during exercise. Still, some bodybuilders and athletes opt for energy drinks, especially people that undertake endurance events like long distance running.A number of energy drinks consist of sodium and other electrolytes that encourage drinking and help us to stimulate thirst. They also enhance our body’s ability to hold the water. Furthermore, carbohydrates contained in many energy drinks and can provide us with extra energy which may be needed in the latter stages of training.This article is reviewed by an experienced dietitian, and is provided for general information purposes only. People having trouble with their dietary plans are advised to consult specialists.