STEVEN'S LIFESTYLE ,BLOG : October 2015

Doctor Giles Gyer is a British trained specialist musculoskeletal Osteopath who has worked within health and fitness for over 12 years; he combines a variety of articulation and manipulation techniques alongside a variety of rehabilitation exercises within his treatments, and works with patients from office workers to professional strength and international sports athletes at his central London clinic.

Giles is a senior lecturer at www.omttraining.co.uk and teaches grade 5 / HVT Spinal Manipulation, Osteopathic Articulation and Manual Therapy techniques throughout UK and internationally to professional therapists from all over Europe, he has lectured at national conferences and has lecturered and run MasterClass training events for groups such as the NHS, MK Dons FC and Liverpool Football Club physiotherapy department.

Giles has authored two books within manual therapy, first a specialist book on dry needling and secondly on spinal articulation techniques.

Giles Gyer www.osteon.co.uk

Doctor Giles Gyer

Eight tips for looking after your body.

We are now in an age where more people are desk bound for most of the week, working long hours, glued to their iphones, laptops with a blur of thumbs as they swipe left and right and tap away, and with all this inactivity, increased postural problems, fast paced lifestyle, it can have an impact on health and well being.

Staying fit and healthy is everyone's top priority. But, because of our busy work schedules and poor lifestyle choices, we often make it the biggest challenge of our lives. If you're here to overcome this barrier, the first thing you have to understand that the path to being healthy and fit is an ongoing process and includes many elements. However, it's not something that is impossible to achieve. With a little focus on nutrition, being a bit health-conscious and doing a few exercises each day, you can easily win this challenge.

Here is how you can do this.

1. Adopt a Healthy Eating Style

The key to a healthy lifestyle is adopting a well-balanced diet that has all the nutrients for the optimal functioning of your body. According to NHS, a balanced diet means eating a wide range of foods in the right proportions, so that you can maintain a healthy body weight. However, it is also important that you are making realistic changes to your diet; otherwise, you won't be able to stick with it. Use these tips to make the right changes:

· Get as many low calorie, nutrient dense, and antioxidant rich foods into your diet as possible. These include whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, fibre, milk, nuts, and lean proteins such as chicken, turkey, fish, egg, tofu and beans.

· Drink plenty of water, as it keeps your body hydrated.

· Cut back on unhealthy foods and replace them with healthier alternatives.

· Eat less or avoid foods that are highly processed and contain unhealthy ingredients, such as saturated fats, hidden sugars, salts and artificial sweeteners.

· Try avoiding red meat or eat it only once in a week.

· Skip milk if you're lactose intolerant.

· Try cooking meals at your home.

· Do not overeat and enjoy balanced meals at regular intervals.

· Do not skip breakfast, as it helps maintain a stable blood sugar level.

2. Take Nutritional Supplements

Nutritional supplements are not essential for everyone. If you are already following a balanced diet, you do not need them. You can get all the nutrients you need from you diet. However, some people may need to take supplements.

According UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), supplements are advised to the following groups of people:

· Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, you are suggested to eat folate rich foods and a daily supplement containing 400 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid. This recommendation is applicable until the week 12 of pregnancy. Pregnant and breastfeeding women are also advised to take 10mcg of vitamin D per day.

· Older adults. With age, our bodies become less effective in absorbing certain nutrients from our daily diets. These include calcium, potassium, folic acid, omega-3, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Therefore, if you are over age 50, you are advised to take a supplement containing these nutrients.

· Children below the age of 5. If your child is not a good eater, the FSA suggests that he/she may need to take a supplement containing vitamins A, D and C. However, this advice is not applicable for those who eat a wide range of foods and have a good appetite.

· People who are vegetarian or eat no meat or fish. People in this group often lack nutrients, such as vitamin B12, iron, calcium and omega-3 fatty acids, from animal sources. If you are in this category, you are advised to take a supplement containing these elements.

· People who do not receive sufficient sunlight. Insufficient exposure to sunlight causes vitamin D deficiency. If you rarely get outdoors or spend most of your time indoors, you may need to take an additional 10mcg of vitamin D per day.

Giles Gyer treats a client www.osteon.co.uk

3. Exercise Regularly

I really do believe “Movement is medicine” and consistent regular exercise is essential for being healthy and fit, as it prevents fat gain, improves muscle strength and tone, helps with the cardiovascular system, and more importantly helps to improve mood and boosts energy. It also helps combat against a number of diseases and conditions that can be caused through inactivity or dietary issues, the NHS states that a lack of exercise can contribute significantly to issues such as,

· Coronary heart disease

· High blood pressure

· Stroke

· Metabolic syndrome (including obesity and abnormal blood cholesterol levels)

· Type 2 diabetes

Therefore, you should get rid of all the excuses for not exercising regularly and try making it a daily habit. No matter you have only 20 minutes form your hectic daily schedules, you should do it.

However, if you are really unable to manage time for an actual workout, you can use these simple tips to keep yourself physically active:

· Practice light yoga or stretching moves while watching TV or talking on the phone.

· Take regular breaks from your work and go for a short walk.

· Make fidgeting a habit while you work.

· Use the stairs instead of the lift.

· Walk or run to the nearby shops instead of driving.

· Take your kids or dog for a walk.

· Get off one bus or tube stop early and walk to your destination.

· Go out for a 10-minute walk before breakfast and after dinner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGLysRJHVX8&feature=youtu.be

4. Get Your Health Checkups

Regular health checkups are required, even if you are healthy and fit, because these tests help you find risk factors and problems before they start. Ultimately, this helps you to get better treatment, and in the end “prevention is better than cure”, when you are diagnosed early with a disease. So visit your doctor for routine health exams and tests to make sure you are not susceptible to any diseases and everything is fine and normal.

Depending on your age, ethnicity, lifestyle choices, physical activity, family medical history and smoking status, your doctor will suggest which exams and screenings you need. Although these advices vary from person to person, there are some common exams and tests that are often performed during a routine health checkup. These include:

· Total blood count (TBC) and urine tests

· Hearing and vision tests

· Tests for cholesterol level and blood pressure

· Measurement of body mass index (BMI)

· Risk assessment for diabetes (if high blood pressure or high cholesterol is already present)

· Screening for colorectal cancer (if there is a family history or age is over 50)

· Tests for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)

· Screening for breast and cervical cancer

· Screening for prostate cancer

· Checking of immunisation schedules

5. Monitor Your Weight

It's always a good practice to track your progress regularly, because this will help you to keep yourself motivated about your goals. However, do not check your weight excessively, as this may cause the opposite. So try checking your weight only once in a day.

In addition, there are many weight loss apps are now available on both Android and iOS. Check the reviews of these apps, and download the most suitable one according to your needs, so that you can track your food, connect with like-minded people and stay focused on your goals.

6. Get Enough Sleep

Getting a good night's sleep has a profound effect on your life. It benefits your health both physically and mentally. Studies suggest that getting enough sleep can strengthen memories, improve mood, enhance cognitive functions, boost sex drive and improve overall quality of life. In fact, adequate sleep allows your body the time it needs to repair and rejuvenate.

On the other hand, insufficient sleep is linked to a number of health problems, including lower testosterone levels, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, poor cognitive functions, chronic pain and obesity. So if you are not getting the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep a night, this can adversely affect your health, mood, motor skills, weight and even sex life.

7. Do Not Ignore Pain

Pain is a common condition that needs no further description. We all know what it is and how it affects our overall quality of life. What you need to know that pain is usually caused by an underlying disease or injury. In fact, it is you body's red alert, a mechanism of telling you that something is wrong. So even if your pain is mild, do not ignore or get used to it.

Pain is not inevitable; it is actually a condition that can be treated. However, if you do not want to go for the conventional treatments, you can also manage it without taking any painkillers or NSAIDs. There are a number of drug-free alternative treatments, such as osteopathy, available today that can effectively help manage your pain, injury or other issues and get you back fighting fit.

Doctor Giles Gyer on a resent trip to China -Shanghai with leading personal trainer friend and client Denise Couprie www.osteon.co.uk

8. Visit an Osteopath

Osteopathy is a whole body approach to help your nervous, circulatory and immune systems. Although it is still considered as an alternative medicine, it is by far one of the most effective ways of identifying, treating and preventing health problems related to musculoskeletal issues. Also, osteopathy is a more natural approach than conventional medicine, because it doesn't use drugs or surgical procedures.

Osteopaths focus on restoring the normal function and stability of the musculoskeletal framework, so that the body can heal by itself. In doing so, they use a variety of drug-free, non-invasive techniques to relieve muscle tension, increase joint mobility and encourage blood flow to tissues. These techniques include:

· Spinal manipulation / High-velocity thrusts

· Medical Acupuncture / Dry Needling

· Message techniques

· Stretching

· Joint Articulation

· Exercise Rehabilitation

Therefore, if you are struggling with persistent pain due to an injury or other issue, you should visit a registered osteopath. An osteopath can not only help detect and treat your problem but also give you advice on self-help, posture, stretching and other activities, in order to aid your recovery.