Lifestyle Medicine
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic health conditions. Lifestyle medicine certified clinicians and other health care professionals are trained to apply evidence-based, whole person, prescriptive lifestyle mindset and habit changes to treat chronic diseases. When these changes are applied consistently and intensively, conditions are often completely reversed.
Medications and other interventions are considered transitional, with the ultimate goal being to help you learn to establish sustainable lifestyle habits that heal your body so that meds can be phased down/out, setting you up for sustained wellbeing.
There are six pillars of lifestyle medicine, which, when combined, offer holistic sustained wellbeing.
The 6 Lifestyle Pillars
1
Plant-Centric Eating
What we eat either harms or heals us. When it's healing us / keeping us healthy, we call this CULINARY MEDICINE!
Extensive scientific evidence supports the use of a whole-food, predominantly plant-centric diet as a fundamental strategy for preventing chronic disease, and for treatment and possible cure from chronic conditions.
Our goal is to show you how delicious this way of eating is, and give you the skills and knowledge to procure, prepare and nourish your way to optimal health! Plant-centric eating is nutrient-dense, rich in fiber and antioxidants, and predominantly consists of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and pulses / legumes.
2
Physical Activity
Consistent physical activity combats the negative effects of sedentary behavior. Developing a love for movement through all stages of life is essential for overall health and resilience.
Our goal is to help you find movement modalities you will enjoy doing on a regular basis that cover four different pivots: CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE (for a strong heart and healthy blood vessels), WEIGHT/RESISTANCE training (to keep your muscles strong), MOBILITY training (to optimize your flexibility and range of motion) and BALANCE (to prevent you from falling).
3
Stress Management
Stress can be either positive or negative. Positive stress motivates us to engage and deal with the situation at hand, but negative stress, especially when it's chronic, can lead to anxiety, depression, obesity, immune disfunction and more.
Our goal is to help you recognize your stress responses and teach you coping mechanisms / reduction techniques that will lead to improved mental / emotional wellbeing.
4
Avoidance of Risky Substances
Tobacco, illegal drugs, alcohol, and chemicals used on our bodies / around our homes can all contribute to chronic diseases, and misuse / excessive use can even lead to death.
Our goal is to provide avoidance strategies, or safe usage guidance, or various treatment options that will help you break addictive habits and restore you to optimal wellbeing.
5
Restorative Sleep
Sleep is not an optional lifestyle luxury, or a sign of laziness. Sleep is a non-negotiable biological necessity. Poor sleep hygiene causes and exacerbates disease.
Our goal is to help you establish consistent, optimal sleeping habits that enable your body to complete essential biological processes that enable optimal wellbeing.
6
Social Connection
Positive social connections and relationships affect physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.
Our goal is to help you get connected with social networks that foster/enable a healthy LIFESTYLE, and also strengthen other relationships so you can thrive.
Everything's Connected
When we change one pillar, we influence another. Just small changes in one area can help another area move forward.... and conversely, a setback in one area will often negatively influence another.
EXAMPLES
When we're adequately EXERCISED it contributes to better SLEEP.
When we have good SOCIAL CONNECTION with co-workers it lowers our STRESS levels at work.
When we manage our STRESS effectively we are less likely to go to FOOD for comfort.
When we stay up late to PARTY WITH FRIENDS we can't get enough SLEEP before work the next day.
We often SMOKE/DRINK more when we are STRESSED, making it harder to quit.
When we EAT a poor diet it promotes disease, which negatively impacts all the other pillars (SLEEP, STRESS, SOCIAL CONNECTION, RISKY SUBSTANCES and PHYSICAL ACTIVITY).
The ultimate goal is to establish balance across all six pillars.
The Foundational Pillar
FOOD is the foundational pillar. Get that one right and it will naturally drive progress in the other pillars.
EXAMPLES
When you stop eating at least 3 hours before bed you'll SLEEP better.
Eating more plants will heal your body - you'll start to feel better and be more motivated to EXERCISE.
When you're healthier as a result of improved food habits, you'll respect and care for your body more, lowering the possibility you'll venture into RISKY SUBSTANCES.
When you dump diets in favor of sustainable food habits you'll lower your STRESS.
Your new food tribe will bring with it new SOCIAL CONNECTIONS that foster healthier behaviors/activities, leading to a sustainable lifestyle of wellbeing.
Reactive Care vs Root Cause Care
Our current care model focuses on detection of chronic diseases that have become established, and then uses pills, potions and procedures to manage them. This is REACTIVE CARE, not preventive care. More often than not, health continues to decline with age.
Lifestyle Medicine focuses on ROOT CAUSE / PROACTIVE / PREVENTIVE CARE - teaching, enabling and supporting lifestyle behaviors that prevent problems from even starting, and monitoring to catch/fix things before they erupt into bigger medical issues that require medications/procedures..... thus enabling sustained vibrant, med-free health. Health span and Lifespan remain equal.
Your Doctor
There's a good chance your doctor may not be aware of Lifestyle Medicine, or doesn't apply it when working with you.
Make sure you understand WHAT'S GOING ON, and WHY partnering with a physician who has taken the extra 2 years of training and become board certified in LIFESTYLE MEDICINE is a good strategy to have.
Review this SHORT PRESENTATION (5 minutes) to learn more.
Moving Medicine Forward
Moving Medicine Forward (MMF) is a non profit organization that recognizes the power of food and lifestyle to either harm or heal, and is seeking to change the medical school education system, which (as you learned from the short presentation noted above) currently omits applied nutrition / lifestyle science from its curriculum.
Moving Medicine Forward's MEDICAL SCHOOL NUTRITION EDUCATION INITATIVE is bringing the revolutionary ideas of disease reversal through plant-based nutrition & lifestyle medicine to medical schools across the country.
Click HERE to learn more.
Join us for a discussion!
Come and join us for an interactive discussion about LIFESTYLE MEDICINE!
Bring your questions!
Sessions are very organic: we may explore a perspective, watch a short video and then discuss, do a Q&A session, or just have an open discussion on whatever it is you want to talk about. Goal is to help you to see your food/health world differently - so you can become empowered to regain autonomy over your wellbeing.
Sessions are FREE, and are offered weekly via Zoom: Wednesdays, 5pm CST - 1hr.
give a body what it needs and it will take care of itself