The Optimise Health Blog

3 Steps to a Cancer-Proof Body | Men's Health News This research backs up my resolve to lose weight and reduce my risk of cancer and heart disease, and live a long and healthy life.

So you decide to weigh in. Maybe not in the village hall with all the female weight watchers crowd, but in the privacy of your bathroom. How do you weigh yourself accurately? 10 pence in a machine on the seafront used to give you a few minutes looking at the view with a telescope or a ride on one of those old fashioned weighing machines with a big dial. These days scales are pretty accurate if on a hard surface and can include electronic measure of your body fat and even work out your BMI. Bear in mind fat percentage is calculated by measuring electrical impedance through your skin so if your feet are wet it might get skewed! Also if your upper body is not involved with hand sensors then you are only measuring how much fat you have in your legs and bum! As you may know I am not a big fan of BMI (it tells me I am overweight at BMI 28) as it is not helpful as a measure for individuals or some racial groups or body types as a true measure of what a healthy weight should be. It ...

So you're eating breakfast and starting the energy "boiler" on a fast burn every morning. The boiler needs regular stoking to keep burning at this pace, with stimulation from regular exercise alongside regular food and fluid intake to keep the fires burning. In the old days when men worked the land they might eat up to four times a day without getting fat because they were constantly exercising in daily life, walking to work, hefting loads and digging etc. These days we have to trick our sedentary bodies into running at a higher metabolic rate by eating smaller portions, more often, while catching exercise where we can. So have smaller meals and healthy snacks imbetween with fluids, while increaseing exercise. A days food/fluid intake might look like this: 0730 get up drink 1 pint cold water 0745 eat small bowl of low sugar muesli and drink black coffee or tea 0800 cycle to work 1100 eat a banana and drink more water 1300 eat a sandwich and drink pint o...

Men: Do You Need a Health Tune-Up Web MD is an excellent resource for info on many mens health related subjects- check out this link to the US site with many topics covered; the Uk site is also helpful. Dr Ben Sinclair Sinclair Health Limited 07403110640 https://www.optimiseclinic.co.uk Twitter: @menshealthtips Linked In: http://ow.ly/5iykm

It seems your mum was right about one thing - breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Imagine your body metabolism is like a boiler. You light the boiler first thing in the day and it burns more energy throughout the whole 24 hours, supplying the body with what it needs. If you don't eat breakfast you don't light the boiler - your body remains in "starvation mode" and you will only start burning energy when your energy levels slump having used up all readily available glycogen stores in your muscles -these are broken down into sugar for the bloodstream to the brain and other essential organs. When your energy slumps you crave sugar fast and reach for the wrong snack at elevensies. If your body is in starvation it immediately saves all energy intake in the form of fat because it is uncertain when the next meal will come. Now you don't have to eat half a pig and ten eggs to light the boiler - just some slow release carbs in bread or cereal (get...

So you drink stuff through the day. How much of it contains sugar or caffeine? How much pure water do you drink? So why do we need so much water? Because our body cells are made up of 98% water. Its the stuff of life. Often your brain gets confused between dehydration / thirst and hunger/ appetite. If you want to kickstart your metabolism to lose weight drink a pint of cold water on waking. Then drink a pint BEFORE every meal - you will be surprised to find you eat less as your thirst is slaked and your true appetite remains. Initially you may pee more, but the kidneys soon get used to it. If your wee is yelllow you are chronically dehydrated, so drink water till the wee is clear - as they say at LIVESTRONG.COM - KEEP IT CLEAR. You should aim to drink 2-3 L of water or around 6 pints a day, more if working in heat or a physical occupation. Any less than this and you're into tension headaches, mood swings, poor concentration, energy slumps and overeating to slake y...

So are you up to the challenge? This one launched at The CVM Gathering 2011 #TG2011 today where 36 guys and counting stepped up to commit to lose weight by Christmas. This next challenge is to help us guys get the belly fat off - we want to reduce our waist at the widest point breathing out, so we are healthier, have lower risk of heart disease and cancer and can live to see our grandkids grow up. The challenge is to #BEATTHEBELLY and lose a stone in 6 months by Christmas 2011. The longer timeframe means that this is aimed to be a sustained change, not a crash diet! Regular tips on how to do this will follow in the blog - feel free to comment and give feedback on your experience and if you have any other tips to share please let all of us know -we need all the help we can get. So follow on twitter #BEATTHEBELLY or follow this blog and to accept the challenge send an email to me at info@sinclairhealth.co.uk Good luck and lets hope we are all a little more trim come Chr...

Barefoot running has become a recent trend following documentaries, books and studies suggesting man was born to run without trainers (duh!) landing on the forefoot, not the heel. So shoe manufacturers responded with barefoot shoes - slimline shoes to protect the foot while maintaining the correct structure of the foot, designed to shock absorb for many miles. Click above to read more info on how to try these shoes..carefully! I just started running again 15 years after a slipped lumbar disc. So far I can run in trainers but i imagine running barefoot on the beach. i'll keep you posted as to the transition. P.S. That's not me in the picture, I run with straighter feet... and have less of a tan! Dr Ben Sinclair Sinclair Health Limited 07403110640 https://www.optimiseclinic.co.uk Twitter: @menshealthtips Linked In: http://ow.ly/5iykm

Maintaining Your Health is like Maintaining Your Car This article has alot of good advice for men on how to maintain health. It uses a great analogy for men helping us see the body as a machine. The thinking behind this is great, but alot of men even wait for the garage to call them in for a service, not the other way round! Again this is an article written by a well meaning women, but we need methods that are designed by men for men. Get checked or start asking questions if the article prompted any concerns. Dr Ben Sinclair Sinclair Health Limited 07403110640 https://www.optimiseclinic.co.uk Twitter: @menshealthtips Linked In: http://ow.ly/5iykm

4 Steps to Developing Health Habits This is an article with sensible advice on how to start getting healthier in the exercise department. Further in depth exercise regimens for people starting from scratch can be found here Dr Ben Sinclair Sinclair Health Limited 07403110640 https://www.optimiseclinic.co.uk Twitter: @menshealthtips Linked In: http://ow.ly/5iykm

Why are men notoriously difficult to engage in their health and wellbeing? | Opinion | Nursing Times This is an interesting article from a womans point of view, we need more from a mans point of view! Its all very well to quote the stats at us but it doesnt help us to get what we need. So guys please comment below as to why we are not good at this... because we know we are not!  I went to my own GP last year and behaved like a typical guy not wanting to cause bother...after waiting around a year with a neck problem and a knee problem that were getting worse.. so why didnt I go? answers below.. Dr Ben SinclairSinclair Health Limited07403110640https://www.optimiseclinic.co.ukTwitter: @menshealthtipsLinked In: http://ow.ly/5iykm

The Integrated Health Pyramid Copyright   Sinclair Health Limited 2011 Back in Medical School in 1998 I had a strange dream one night and woke up with this image of a blue equilateral pyramid in my mind. I wrote it down and discussed it with my friend now a GP Dr Michael Bazlinton. I nicknamed this diagram the Integrated Health Pyramid and it underpins my practise. Back then I often talked to colleagues about what used to be called holistic medicine - treating the person and the physical problem, not just seeking disease but aiming to balance all areas of life to create positive wellbeing which in turn underpins good health. I had a vision of a multidisciplinary clinic with all the services required for integrated health under one roof revolving around a primary care base. My dream clinic would comprise of General Practise, visiting medical specialties, Osteopathy and Acupuncture for physical conditions, with internal referrals to Mental Health in the form of Ps...

Men traditionally dont like going to the doctors. We dont like admitting a problem or that we need help and we will try anything else first to avoid a visit to the doc.  From the 20's onwards any physical or mental symptoms generally should be taken seriously.  When we are younger we need to suck up abit of pain, but as we age we need regular checkups to maintain the body we inhabit. For example on average men take 10 years to come forward and get diagnosed with diabetes compared to women.  That means ten years of suffering symptoms such as weight gain, fatigue, erectile dysfunction and urinary frequency in silence.  It also means ten years of damage to the heart and organs and years off your life which could be avoided. Our comprehensive health checks screen for serious disease symptoms and signs with an online assessment backed up with clinical tests with a doctor at your workplace. A stress busting lifestyle review is central to the Whole Man Health C...

So you decide to go to see the GP. You arrive and get an imaginary gold medal for trying to get through the front door, past the scary receptionist and surviving the cacophony of the kids, toys, coughs and old ladies in the waiting room. Your name is called and you go in, sit down and say " I don't want to bother you, but I just wanted to ask you to have a look at my ear" knowing full well you have a secret list of 3 other things; you really need to check out the GP and make sure you can trust them with your secret list. The GP looks in your ear, says you have wax and gives you an excellent 8 minute advice session about ear hygiene and wax treatment.  Then he ushers you towards the door "very nice to meet you.."- but "hang on" you think, " I haven't got out my secret list yet"! As you near the door you blurt out - "There are a few other things..." but you're too late, the GP has other patients to see and is already r...

This is my all time hero, Bill Young. He obtained this position for a few reasons: At 96 my Grampa was the last surviving member of the Triple Crown winning Scotland Rugby Team of 1938 . He met king George VI and was a living legend. He was a doctor and went to Kenya as a missionary during WW II, surviving torpedo attacks on the long sea voyage, stitching tribal warriors scalps back on and running a hospital in a remote mountainous area for many years. I wanted to become a doctor because of his stories of adventure serving faithfully in the roles he was called to, from wing forward to father, from missionary to mentor. I encourage men everywhere to step up like my Grampa and become living legends: to be inspirational role models to sons, fathers, brothers and boys everywhere; but specifically in the area of their health. Us men are especially bad at getting things checked at the doctors. We think that big boys don't cry and try to ignore symptoms in the hop...