The Optimise Health Blog

Forest Sunrise ©Ben Sinclair 2012 I've been looking into the Japanese practise of  Forest Bathing  which is a fascinating therapeutic activity. This is when individuals spend deliberate mindful time in the forest while allowing the environment to have effects on the body and senses.  A session of forest bathing may be made up of:  - seeing green trees and plants, taking time to note natural activity around you - touching the plants and trees, connecting to the ground - hearing wildlife and listening to sounds of the environment - breathing the air and noting the aromas given off by the trees and plants. My personal journey into integrated well-being began with a stress related illness (shingles and post-viral fatigue) during my A-levels. Ever since then I have been aware of the need to build activities into my life to improve well-being and combat the negative effects of stress. See my theory of integrated health here . View of t...

 Here in the UK many still practise the Christian tradition of Lent: the discipline of giving something up to consider living simply, frequently a food item and for health benefit. The idea is to mimic the 40 day fast undertaken by Jesus in the wilderness, when he was tested by the devil and tempted to prove he was ready to start his mission. In England we start by making pancakes on Shrove Tuesday - to use up the sweet stuff in the larder so we are not tempted to eat it again for the duration of lent and to fuel the fast. Today the focus may be more about the challenge of reining in appetite or curbing bad habits like smoking or eating treats to excess and less about Christs' 40 days and nights in the desert being stalked by satan. Interestingly most ancient traditions held in them the concept of feasts: I.E. celebrating a particular event or time of year with a party and food. This meant eating special luxuries or taking pleasure in rarer foods or harvest time...

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...