The Optimise Health Blog

Why Movember? Because in 2010 there were over 40,000 UK men diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and over 10,000 men died of prostate cancer. Thats more UK fathers husbands sons and brothers than have been killed in action since the second world war. Why Movember? Because we need to unite behind a memorable and distinctive cause to help raise awareness of issues around Men's Health. Growing a moustache is hard to miss and kicks off many helpful chats about mens health - especially if people are used to you being clean shaven! Men are not the best at proactive approach to men's health and neither is the human race - on average around 70% of cancer research funding is used towards breast cancer research - now awareness is high and most of us know know breast cancer is a killer disease with good prognosis if caught early. Prostate and testicular cancer can also be treated successfully if identified early and dealt with appropriately. But still we don't have a good diagnos...

I had surgery for malignant melanoma on April 18th 2012. I don't normally remember dates but as this was the first general anaesthetic and the first time I had ever had significant surgery I remember the day and the events leading up to it very clearly. I spent the next 8 weeks off work willing my leg wound to close up and heal which it has now done and all the bizzare nerve jolts and tingling sensations have ended. This is a relief as a jolting leg can be quite embarrassing and disruptive when you're trying to work or talking to a client! My leg finally healed leaving an impressive war wound for which I have invented many stories in case I don't want to go into the "you survived cancer, i'm so proud of you have a medal" conversation. After the op everyone kept telling me how well I looked, to which I replied that I had only had a lump of dodgy flesh removed from my leg and groin, it was not an illness but disease prevention for the future and that I w...

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 who told us it was OK to drink diet coke till it came out of our ears? Well unsurprisingly soft drinks manufacturers were the main culprits for mainstreaming fizzy pop into our homes and lives with their agenda of increased sales and profits at the expense of our health. Their marketing created iconic links between: Coke and Football / Father Christmas, Basketball with PepsiMax and 7UP/Sprite; Lucozade with any sport; finally Dr Peppers with general craziness! Recent research in the US has linked cola, pop and other fizzy drinks containing artificial sweeteners like Aspartame to a higher risk of developing diabetes, obesity, heart disease and high blood pressure amongst other ailments. On one level you should stop the pop to reduce unnecessary calories and caffeine and save your teeth. On another you should stop drinking stuff containing sweeteners becuase of aforementioned risks. On another - WHY DO YOU NEED TO DRINK IT ANYWAY? When I work an Emergency GP night shift I w...

So you want to lose weight? I keep advising people to become more active - but how can you fit this in to daily life? We have become a nation of workaholics which creates problems for fitting in active lifestyle around the demands of work. But did you know that you're 15% more productive at work on a day that you exercise* before work? (* I.E. >20mins out of breath) Some interesting research was recently published from Holland (ok so the land of the bicycle is very flat but hence a good place to do research on the subject of cycling) showing that employees who cycled to work took less sick days on average than other employees. More benefits of cycling to work! So how about putting in some cycling to get you to work? Start thinking about how you might cycle all or part of your route to work if thats your thing - its a great cardio workout and will provide your exercise requirements and make you more efficient; it may also save you time sat in traffic and you will cer...

So you want to lose weight. What is one of the hardest things about this? Being hungry of course. If you're used to eating a large volume of food your body will still crave it when you reduce the portion sizes you are eating; even though you fill up on a pint of water before each meal you will soon feel hungry again. So when you get hungry between your smaller portion meals what do you do? After exercising, drinking more water, distracting yourself (boredom or stress often provokes hunger) you should find a food you can fill up on which won't break the calorie bank. I chose carrots because they are easily available, cheap, tasty ( I like them fresh+raw from the fridge or better the allotment) and they have few calories compared to beer, cake, biscuits, bread, sweets or other things I might reach for. Carrots also have the added bonus of giving you a healthy skin tone which when surveyed makes your skin look more healthy than a tan or fake tan! You can...

Something I always look at with men who want to lose weight is backup planning for situations in which the good intentions fall down. You might have the best diet in the world at home with the support of your partner and family. Your daily routine might be fantastically healthy including cycling to work, eating healthy snacks, 5 a day and drinking plenty of water, going to the gym on the way home and eating a healthy dinner. However when men hit the road this lifestyle plan is sucked out of the window on take-off. Why is travel so hard and how can we rein in this area of our lifestyle? Many of us travel for work, some for leisure. How can we maintain a good lifestyle in this complex challenging and fluid arena? There are so many threats to your usual lifestyle when on the road - your timetable will change, your timezone may alter, your sleep habits may be affected, you need to be productive and alert while travelling, boredom and stress kick in when on the road and guess wh...

Mediterranean diet for heart health - MayoClinic.com Here is more info on a diet that might be right for you - have a read because it is so much more than just eating gallons of olive oil on your salad! Happy Sunday! Dr Ben Sinclair Sinclair Health Limited https://www.optimiseclinic.co.uk Twitter: @menshealthtips Linked In: http://ow.ly/5iykm

Is your bread making you ill? How 2011's loaves are bad for you | Mail Online Everyone tells you to give up carbs. Well we do eat alot of bread in the UK /Western diet - bread and potatoes and pasta are really our staples. Bread has changed over the years and now contains many additives which may not be so good for you. Have a read of the link article above to find out more. My advice? Don't eat too much bread or rely on it as your only source of carbs - eat potatoe, rice, pasta, coucous, oats etc so you vary your diet and in the right proportions shown in the healthy eating plate post below, matched only by the same volume of vegetables and fruit in your daily intake. White bread is especially bad and you'd be surprised how much pure refined sugar actually goes into making it- try making it or look at a recipe. Go for granary or wholemeal with seeds - it contains more fibre and is more nutritious; best of all bake your own at the weekend with a bread make...

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 ...

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...