As one of Edinburgh’s few exclusive private personal training studios we’re passionate about helping our clients live healthier and happier lives.

As part of our mission to improve the health of Edinburgh’s busy professionals, we regularly recommend and promote other health-focused local businesses who offer products and services that can also help our clients.

Not only do we recommend these local businesses to our clients, but my team and I (Luke) also frequently visit these businesses ourselves to ensure we’re always looking after our own health and well-being too.

Because of this, I’ve decided to launch a ‘Healthy Living In Edinburgh‘ series of blog posts and videos.  To showcase these businesses and help spread the word about what they do so more people in Edinburgh can benefit from what they provide.

As the first blog post in this series I’ve decided to kick things off with organic foods retailer – Real Foods.

With branches in Broughton Street in the city centre and Brougham Street in the Tollcross area of the city, Real Foods specialise in providing a wide selection or organic, natural foods, health care products and health supplements.

I visit this shop most weeks (at the moment primarily to stock up on my new favourite beverage – Equinox Kombucha Tea – yum!) to take advantage of the wide range of foods and products they provide.

It’s always nice visiting the shop and discovering what new and exciting foods and products they have in store. And of course it’s always pleasant to be welcomed by the colourful range of fruits and vegetables on offer at the front door:

Inside the store there are literally thousands of products to choose from.

I’d say pretty much any healthy food product you can think of can most likely be found in Real Foods!  😀

If you’ve never been into a health foods shop before, the choice can be a little overwhelming. So here’s some of the things I regularly purchase at Real Foods, and the reason why, which may give you some ideas for your own shopping:

1. Chemical Free Cleaning And Personal Care Products

Unbeknown to many, the vast majority of well-know cleaning and personal care products we use are loaded with toxic chemicals that can be highly detrimental to our health.

The skin is the largest organ in our body and frequently exposing ourselves to these chemicals can cause an increase in toxins entering the body as they’re absorbed through the skin.

Repeated exposure to these chemicals can lead to hormone imbalances and whole host of other undesirable health concerns…

…including difficulty in losing weight – one of the primary goals we help our clients with. For this reason we continuously remind and educate our clients about reducing their exposure to these toxins/chemicals.

If you’re serious about improving your health it’s certainly worth bearing this in mind.

Real Foods have a huge selection of chemical free products available. I will often purchase the chemical free shampoo and soap, natural salt deodorant, chemical free cleaning products (the method range) and fluoride free toothpaste.

2. Organic Fruit & Vegetables

It’s no secret eating more fruit and vegetables is beneficial for our health.

The wide selection of vitamins, minerals and fibre they provide can help us improve our energy, lose weight and feel better.

Unfortunately, due to the growing demand for fruit and veg, they are now frequently grown out of season and are often sprayed with a whole host of chemical pesticides as well.

Organic, seasonal (preferably locally grown too) fruit and vegetables combat this problem.

You will benefit from a higher vitamin and mineral content and won’t be absorbing the chemicals often found in the non-organic counter-parts.

Yes, they may cost a little more than at your local supermarket, but I’d say it’s definitely worth it. Real Foods have gone to the trouble of sourcing these high quality organic fruit and vegetables, so take advantage of it!

3. Health Supplements & Protein Powders

As more people take an interest in achieving optimal health (and in combination with declining food quality), supplements are becoming more and more popular.

Unfortunately, not all supplements are created equal. Many companies are cutting corners and focusing more on profit margins than actually improving the health of their customers through their low quality (but still expensive) supplements.

Real Foods actually have a whole wall near their tills dedicated to these supplements. Here you’ll find a wide range of high quality supplement brands like Solgar, Sun Warrior and OptiBac.

Whatever supplement you’re looking for, the chances are you’ll find it here. And you can purchase in confidence knowing that the selection available are from high quality sources.

4. Fermented Food & Drinks

As I mentioned earlier, my new favourite beverage is Kombucha tea. I particularly like the Equinox brand Real Foods have available in their chilled section.

Kombucha tea isn’t traditional tea you make with a tea bag and boiling water. Rather, it’s a fermented, fizzy and chilled tea that’s full of ‘live’ bacteria.

Recently, I had a test done to assess my gut after a few digestive issues I was having. As it turns out, there was a significant imbalance of bacteria in my gut – too many bad guys and not enough good guys!

Part of re-balancing the gut bacteria involves the use of probiotics – foods, drinks and supplements that ‘top-up’ the good guys.

Kombucha tea is an example of a probiotic drink and this, along with probiotic supplements and regularly eating Sauerkraut have helped resolve those digestive issues.

Additionally, maintaining optimal gut health is so important for overall well-being, that it’s often the first thing we’ll address with new clients at the studio.

This usually involves eliminating irritant foods and may also require the aid of digestive enzymes, probiotics and amino acid nutrients as well.

So Much More…

Truthfully, this is just a very brief snippet of the vast range of products available at Real Foods.

I’ve shared my personal experience of what I shop there for, but there’s so much more to choose from.

However, there’s no need to feel overwhelmed with the vast selection.

Regardless of what you’re shopping for, I’ve always found the Real Foods team to be very pleasant and helpful.

They’re always willing to help you find what you’re looking for and answer any questions about the products.

Additionally, if there’s a long queue at the tills, the staff are always quick to open another till to keep your wait to a minimum – something busy people like me truly appreciate!

So that’s a brief introduction to Real Foods and why I always recommend our clients visit frequently. But it’s definitely best if you visit yourself if you can and see what they have on offer that can help you.

You can visit the Real Foods shops at:

Broughton Street Branch
37 Broughton St,
Edinburgh, EH1 3JU
T: +44(0)131 557 1911

Tollcross Branch
8 Brougham Street,
Edinburgh, EH3 9JH
T: +44(0)131 228 1201

Or, if you’re not local to the area they also have a webshop. Here, you can order online and have your products delivered straight to your door. For more information head over to www.realfoods.co.uk

And, if you would like to find out more about what we do and the services we provide here at Luke Bremner Fitness – personal training Edinburgh, you can book in for your complimentary consultation here. 

We’ll be back with part 2 in this series soon. We’d love to know what you think so please get in touch. Equally, if there’s any local businesses you feel we should feature in this series do let us know!