Lifestyle Medicine is the use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic intervention—including a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social/sexual connection—as a primary modality, delivered by clinicians trained and certified in this specialty, to prevent, treat and often reverse chronic disease.
Lifestyle medicine is actually the foundation of conventional medicine. Clinical practice guidelines for the top lifestyle-related chronic diseases support lifestyle medicine as the first line of treatment, before medications.
In 1903 Thomas Edison was concerned about the healthcare of his time and stated: “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
‘Let thy food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’, often ascribed to Hippocrates (400 BC), was used to emphasize the importance of nutrition to prevent or cure disease.
The rise in chronic disease trends and related health care spending in many countries is unsustainable. Type 2 diabetes alone is a looming global pandemic with incalculable consequences.
Diseases and conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, obesity and multiple types of cancer are among the most common and costly of all health conditions—but they are also preventable. Lifestyle medicine addresses root causes by focusing on the lifestyle choices that give rise to these diseases in the first place. When implemented, lifestyle medicine can prevent, treat, and even reverse these conditions.
According to the World Health Organization, 80% of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancer could be prevented, primarily with improvements to diet and lifestyle.
Lifestyle medicine is an evidence-based approach shown to prevent and treat disease. It treats the underlying cause of disease rather than its symptoms that are too often addressed with ever-increasing quantities of pills and procedures. Because it treats causes and not just symptoms, only through lifestyle medicine can we alter the course of spiraling health care costs.
Food is Medicine. Choose predominantly whole, plant-based foods that are rich in fiber and nutrient dense. Vegetables, fruit, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Regular and consistent physical activity that can be maintained on a daily basis throughout life – walking, gardening, push ups and lunges – is an essential piece of the optimal health equation.
Stress can lead to improved health and productivity – or it can lead to anxiety, depression, obesity, immune dysfunction and more. Helping patients recognize negative stress responses, identify coping mechanisms and reduction techniques leads to improved wellbeing.
The well-documented dangers of any addictive substance use can increase risk for many cancers and heart disease. Positive behaviors that improve health include cessation of tobacco use and limiting the intake of alcohol.
Lack of or poor quality sleep can lead to a strained immune system. Identify dietary, environmental, and coping behaviors to improve sleep health.
Social connectedness is essential to emotional resiliency. Studies show that isolation is associated with increased mortality. Considering a patients home and community environment improves overall health.