Men's Health UK October 2021

MURALI DORAISWAMY BRAIN SCIENTIST In our neuroscientist’s guide to the brain, Doraiswamy helps you realise the potential of your mind p138 LEE AMICO NUTRITION COACH Certified nutritionist and coach Amico helps discern which supps are worthy of a spot in your stack. Separate the whey from the chaff on p92 KAI LENNY CHAMPION SURFER Watersports champion Lenny is a master of multiple disciplines. But before he hits the waves, he hones his strength on land. Here’s how p28 MOHAMMAD UZ-ZAMAN FINANCIAL ADVISOR Bitcoin, ethereum… if you’ve got crypto FOMO, let Uz-Zaman tip you off on where your ‘money’ is best deployed p40 ZACK GEORGE CROSSFIT LEGEND Want to nail your pull-up game? Britain’s Fittest Man and CrossFit champ George shares insider tips to raise your (chest to the) bar p121 HARRISON POPE PSYCHIATRIST The Harvard Medical School professor has investigated steroids for decades. Could users be giving…

I was reminded this morning that it’s 10 years to the day, give or take, since I was appointed editor of Men’s Health. Not only does that mean I’ve written more of these dispatches than I care to remember, it also gifts me a convenient theme on which to base this month’s letter. So here, addressed to my younger, greener, less-weathered self, and in timehonoured magazine style, are the 15 things I have learned over a decade in the chair running the most popular health and fitness title in the world. 01 There will be a near future in which men cease to prep for cover shoots by opting for a spray tan up top and stonewash denim down below. In fact, not only will it become frowned upon, people who…

Back in the early 2010s, a highly inadvisable internet dare game called ‘The Cinnamon Challenge’ tasked participants with swallowing a tablespoon of the dry spice. (Spoiler: they couldn’t.) With a number of embarrassing videos still circulating, we’d imagine most wish that they could just forget it ever happened. Which, according to the latest science, is ironic… A study by researchers in Taiwan and China found that supplementing your diet with cinnamon could have impressive benefits to your working memory. When people with high blood glucose levels – a common, memory-impairing issue in men over the age of 40 – were surveyed on their diets, those who reported consuming cinnamon regularly were shown to have sharper powers of recall in tests. Cinnamon contains compounds that improve insulin sensitivity, which inhibits the inflammatory processes…

1. ANALOGUE GAMING Games such as cards, chess or even crosswords and other puzzles can lead to greater brain volume and strengthen existing brain structures. 11. CUT SOME RUG Dance to improve your brain processing speed. The combo of cognitive, physical and social activity increases the amount of white brain matter. 111. SWALLOW A THESAURUS Building your vocabulary improves your cognitive reserves, the brain’s capacity to compensate for the loss of its function as we age. WORDS: WESLEY DOYLE I PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN MATTHEWS, GETTY I DIGITAL MANIPULATION: SCRATCHINPOST.CO.UK | ILLUSTRATIONS: ANDREA MANZATI AT SYNERGY ART…

Already revered as a total-body exercise, the dumbbell clean and press recruits all of your major muscle groups for a head-to-toe pump. By working in an added ‘contralateral’ element, the move will fire up even more of your core, improving your stability and balance. ‘Adapting the basic move to bring the weight across your body increases rotational strength,’ says MH fitness editor Andrew Tracey. ‘This has functional everyday benefits, as well as being transferable across a range of sports.’ Think swinging a golf club, throwing a right hook or lifting up your kid. Unilateral training (working each side of your body separately) can help to iron out muscle imbalances by preventing you overusing your dominant side. ‘Plus, training in different planes is always a good idea,’ says Tracey; consider this an antidote to…

01 CARB THE HABIT We’ve nothing against spiralised veg, but proper, satiating pasta has been wrongly sidelined by the low-carb crowd. Science says so: a study in Frontiers In Nutrition found that people who eat more pasta tend to have a better overall nutrient intake, and further research in BMJ Open linked a pasta habit to a healthier body weight. Each of these portioncontrolled, carb-laden dishes comes nutritionist-approved, offering hefty helpings of muscle-building protein, useful vitamins and surprising new worlds of flavour. A BEEF SQUASH THE BASE: ♦ Butternut squash noodles, 200g THE SAUCE: ♦ Marinara sauce, 5tbsp, warmed♦ Fresh thyme, 1tsp♦ Smoked paprika, ½tsp THE TOPPINGS: ♦ Lean minced beef, 110g, cooked♦ Mushrooms, handful, sautéed♦ Chives, 1tbsp, chopped 02 PASTA YOUR BEST Not all noodles should be prepped the same way. Wheat-based varieties need to be drained after cooking but…