What is Lifestyle Medicine?
Poor lifestyle choices like dietary patterns, physical inactivity, tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, and psychosocial factors (e.g., chronic stress and lack of social support and community) contribute to chronic disease and mental health issues. Lifestyle medicine is a branch of medicine dealing with research, prevention, treatment, and reversal of diseases caused by lifestyle factors such as nutrition, physical inactivity, and chronic stress.
Lifestyle medicine focuses on treating the whole person, addressing the root causes of health problems, and focusing on preventative health care by educating and motivating patients to change personal habits and behaviors. Practitioners focus on the use of a whole-food, plant-predominant dietary lifestyle, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection.
Lifestyle medicine focuses on treating the whole person, addressing the root causes of health problems, and focusing on preventative health care by educating and motivating patients to change personal habits and behaviors. Practitioners focus on the use of a whole-food, plant-predominant dietary lifestyle, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection.
The evidence that the body will heal itself when the factors that cause disease are removed is clear. Conditions such as cardiovascular disease and autoimmune illness that were once thought to be irreversible have been reversed by lifestyle interventions. A lifestyle medicine physician uses medical training to motivate and support healthy behavior change as well as help patients modify their medications as their health improves. The physician works to identify a patient’s readiness to change and provides a path of appropriate lifestyle interventions. The physician’s support may also include coaching and supporting patients by showing them how to cook healthy food at home, add an appropriate exercise routine to their day, or develop a mindfulness or meditation practice.
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How do you know if you are experiencing problems that might be caused by food sensitivities or intolerances? Your medical symptoms can be triggered by a wide range of issues so it’s important to narrow down on the problems and identify what’s causing them. Take our fast, easy quiz to find out more!