An Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine

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It is never easy to feel a sense of wellness and balance but now it is more difficult. During this pandemic you may experience an increase in symptoms including pain, headaches, and insomnia and routinely the treatment is medication. But more medications lead to side effects and dependency that have nothing to do with true healing and do not treat the root cause of the problem. If you find that your blood pressure and blood sugars have recently increased, you could take more medication to get them under control, but it does not address the fact that you may be sleeping less, having more anxiety, eating more, and moving less. Lifestyle medicine “digs into the soil” and does not just treat the fact that the leaves are falling off.

 

The American Academy of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is a national medical professional association who developed the six pillars of lifestyle medicine including:

a nutrient-dense eating pattern

optimizing exercise and physical activity plans

stress management

sleep improvement

relationship building and maintaining

and decreasing unhealthy habits such as tobacco use

The organization is dedicated to working with health professionals to transform and redefine healthcare.

 

There is overwhelming research that supports the value of lifestyle medicine and although the change process is slow it is also steady. More patients and clinicians have an interest in integrative health and seeking out more wellness options. According to commonwealthhealthfund.org, despite being one of the richest countries on the world, America ranks last overall compared with six other industrialized countries—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—on measures of quality, efficiency, access to care, equity, and the ability to lead long, healthy, and productive lives.

 

Starting with an in-depth assessment, I partner with patients to create a sustainable lifestyle plan that includes regular coaching and support. Adopting new habits is a process with peaks and valleys but it is definitively possible. We do not know how long this pandemic will last and as we wait for it to end, our bodies are breaking down with stress, lack of movement and emotional eating. Now is the time to invest in your health.


References

“What Is Lifestyle Medicine.” American College of Lifestyle Medicine, ACLM, lifestylemedicine.org/What-is-Lifestyle-Medicine

Commonwealthhealthfund.com

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