Health and fitness

By JOOLS STONE
Published on 07/08/2012 19:09

MINDFULNESS may be the latest buzzword but it’s no mumbo-jumbo – mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy is endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

Based on meditation principles, it teaches you to live in the moment to handle the stresses and strains of everyday life. You can try out a taster session before signing up for the full eight-week course. Taster session: 29 July, £10; Eight-week course: 5 August, £215. mindfullybeing.co.uk

GO SUPPLEMENTAL

Us Scots have some bizarre eating habits according to a recent survey. Ice cream and chips, mayonnaise on toast, and ketchup sandwiches are just a few, while 70 per cent of us don’t think twice about eating something that’s fallen on the floor. To counteract these unappetising habits, try taking ProVen Probiotics, which can boost the immune system and help the digestion, from £4.95 on provenprobiotics.co.uk

DOZING DIET

You can now lose weight while you sleep thanks to Slimpods, a range of downloadable voice recordings developed by Harley Street experts. Using principles of hypnotherapy, they work by tapping into your unconscious mind and persuading it to make healthy food and fitness choices. There’s no dieting or willpower required – all you need is 10 minutes a day to listen to the Slimpods, which you can do while you nod off. £29.99. thinkingslimmer.com

HELP YOURSELF

If self-help generally leaves you cold, then it might be time to enrol in Alain de Botton’s School of Life. It’s just published a series of “guides for living” that offer intelligent, practical advice and insight on subjects including work, sex and money. Written by leading minds in their fields, these are grown-up self-help books that are refreshingly free of psychobabble. £4.71 from theschooloflife.com

APPY AND ’EALTHY

Good news for armchair diagnosers, all the health information you might need is on hand with the new official NHS app for Windows phones. “My NHS” links you up to NHS Choices and the Microsoft Healthvault, both of which are crammed full of content on medical conditions, medications, local hospitals and health services. It also allows you to store records for yourself and your family – handy for quick access in an emergency. Available free from NHS app for Windows phones

FITNESS

Breath-taking run

If the full Baxters Loch Ness Marathon seems like a monster run, then why not try one of its 5k or 10k challenges instead? Scotland’s biggest rural race was voted by Running World readers as one of the greatest in the country, with a loch-side setting to take what’s left of your breath away. The marathon is the culmination of the weekend-long Festival of Running, which also includes a pasta party and live music. lochnessmarathon

WATERCRESS WORKOUT

An apple a day keeps the doctor away but a bag of watercress can protect your DNA, according to a new study by Edinburgh Napier University. High-intensity exercise can cause a build-up of free radicals, which can damage DNA. But eating just 85g of watercress before a workout can raise antioxidant levels to counteract this and maximise the benefits of the exercise.

WALK THE WALK

Help Macmillan Cancer Support climb up to its £1.8million target by heading out on two “Miles for Macmillan” walks. Both start from Dreghorn on 29 July, the shorter one taking in the Castlelaw hills, and the Glencorse reservoir before returning via Bonaly, while the longer route takes you up some of the park’s highest peaks. Request a fundraising pack from the website macmillan.org.uk

FITNESS TO FIT

If you like your workout to work around you, then check out The Gym. The imaginatively-named budget gym chain prides itself on doing things differently – 24-hour, seven-day-a-week opening, no contracts, eco-friendly equipment and video-linked classes. It’s set to open a branch in the Waverley Gate building on Princes Street this September, and is offering a reduced monthly membership, from £10.99 per month, if you sign up before then. thegymgroup.com

NOW FOR THE SCIENCE BIT

Discover the science behind sport ahead of this year’s Olympics with Human Race: Inside the History of Sport Medicine. This touring exhibition explores how athletes have been trained, maintained and mended throughout the last 200 years, and how modern technologies, medicines and techniques have affected professional sports performance. Many of the exhibits are on show for the first time. The exhibition is free and runs from 21 July until 9 September at the City Art Centre and Royal Commonwealth Pool. humanrace.org.uk