The Optimise Health Blog

© Topnews In I saw Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff on the BBC breakfast this morning ( I never watch TV over breakfast) but I am between jobs, doing some temporary work from home and enjoying my baby girl growing up. Flintoff revealed that even star sportsmen and hardmen like Vinnie Jones suffer from depression and mental health problems and around 1 in 10 admit to this. See his recent Sun article here In reality around 1 in 4 of the general population - myself included - suffer from some form of mental problems, ranging from mild seasonal depression to anxiety or more extreme psychoses and psychological phobias which can seriously affect performance. My family has a long history of bipolar disorder or manic depression/mania which is inherited through my Grandfathers line on my fathers side.  Everyone in subsequent generations after him have been affected to a greater or lesser extent and have both highs and lows but also moments of brilliance. In every generation since m...

Image © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited Physical preparation for sustainable exercise activity is key to maintaining and improving your physical health. True fitness is a good balance combining stability, power, stamina/cardio, flexibility and strength. Your exercise goals should include elements of all these areas to keep you on track. If you miss out on one key area its not long before you come unstuck or injured. See the rest of the Guardian article  on physical prep and take a look at my previous post on how to make a start with achievable steps in physical goals. Dr Ben Sinclair Linked In Profile http://www.twitter.com/#!/search/menshealthtips About Sinclair Health Ltd

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...

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...

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...