| Lifestyle Can Be The Best Medicine During the previous week, I had the pleasure of an educational opportunity that charged me with energy and inspired me to seek new ways to help you, my dear patients, to feel better and lead healthier lives. For the week, I worked with leaders in the field of lifestyle medicine. Granted, some of the concepts discussed were not entirely new and often confirmed what I would have already recommended. The new part was a review of accumulating research validating that how we live can improve or worsen our “genetic destiny.” While several new ideas were presented, the best part was science-based research confirming that how we live is the medicine that holds the greatest value for most of us. Having quality peer-reviewed research is an important step in gaining acknowledgment from insurance companies that a treatment is a worthy of coverage. Unfortunately, it’s not the only requirement. Typically, a new treatment needs a strong lobbying force before the standard of care is changed. Often that lobbying force comes from the commercial interest of a company with a profit motive. As you would expect, a company that has invested billions of dollars in a new pill will relentlessly march the halls of power pulling strings for approval regardless of the marginal benefit and ridiculously high price compared with existing alternatives. In contrast, a lifestyle recommendation that cost very little and earns no profit has no financially backed lobby. We know something is fundamentally wrong when insurance companies will pay upwards of a million dollars for a therapy that could have been offered for a fraction of that cost with lifestyle medicine interventions. Fortunately, the high cost of traditional medicine is slowly forcing a reconsideration of past policies. An encouraging change is the beginning of a new medical specialty called Lifestyle Medicine. While not an entirely new idea, the formalization of this specialty now offers a certification for doctors based on peer-reviewed research that will be more difficult for insurance companies to ignore. This year, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine produced its first 200 graduates. While this is a not a large number, it is a beachhead in the advance toward a better standard of care. Next year, the number of graduates will likely double and in time the number of Board Certified Lifestyle doctors can in time have the lobbying force needed to challenge existing policies. The first hypotheses about why people following certain lifestyles live longer with better quality of life came from observations of people in what anthropologist call the Blue Zones. In these zones we find the world's longest-lived people, typically living into old age with few chronic conditions. The five Blue Zones include: • The Italian island of Sardinia • Okinawa, Japan • Loma Linda, California • Costa Rica's isolated Nicoya Peninsula • Ikaria, an isolated Greek island Unfortunately, as modern life and especially western food habits invade these regions, the health advantages of living in these zones are disappearing. While this is unfortunate, research now tells us that it’s not where you live but how you live. From research we now have evidence that the benefits found in these Blue Zones can be recreated almost anywhere by following the new evidence based science of lifestyle medicine. In America, the average adult life expectancy is about 78 years with the last 10-20 years often dominated by chronic health conditions. Fortunately, for most, a better life is achievable. No longer is it a matter of opinion that lifestyle makes a difference in the quality of life. What makes the greatest difference is a plant-based diet, moderate daily physical activity, social engagement, and avoidance of smoking. Research into genetics also points to lifestyle as the primary determinant of how genes are expressed. In effect what was once considered a consequence of our inherited genes is often a result of lifestyle choice made by our grandparents, parents or by ourselves. From research in epigenetics it has become clear that heritable changes in gene function can result from lifestyle changes and are not solely dependent on DNA sequences. In other words, just because everyone in your family tree died from heart disease does not necessarily indicate that you must have the same fate. Often the misbehaving genes just need good influences. Most encouraging from my week of study was confirmation from research that my recommendations have been largely validated and that many chronic conditions are reversible. As a thoughtful touch, the conference was made available to physicians and researchers from around the world including three distinguished researchers from Loma Linda University in California. For me, it ranked as the most educational, inspirational and transformative conference I’ve attended in many years. My challenge now is to communicate the best of lifestyle medicine in a way that inspires you to take the next step with confidence. As part of helping others learn the value of lifestyle medicine, I’m considering evening small group presentations followed by question and answer sessions. If this is something you would like to participate in, just let me know. There is more to share from the evolving science of evidence-based lifestyle medicine. Till next time, why not put Saturday morning on your schedule for a walk by the lake? Nancy Neighbors, MD Huntsville, Alabama Learn More about Lifestyle Medicine One of the best places on the web to learn more about the nutrition aspects of lifestyle medicine in easy to understand language is Dr. Michael Greger’s website at NutritionFacts.org. By browsing his site, you will learn what the latest science is saying about your favorite foods and how to make the healthiest choices for you and your family. His website features free educational videos on more than 2,000 health and nutrition topics. At his website, learn why lifestyle medicine is not only safer and cheaper but can work better by treating the cause of our growing pandemic of chronic disease. More About The American College of Lifestyle Medicine The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is more than a traditional professional association of physicians and healthcare providers. While once viewed as outside the scope of mainstream medicine, the ACLM is now widely viewed as the future of healthcare in an outcome-based system of healthcare delivery. As a mission, the association is focused on galvanizing force for change by members passionate about the urgent need to transform health and healthcare. The association promotes educational events designed to further the cause of Lifestyle Medicine. ACLM supports its members in their collective desire to promote Lifestyle Medicine as the first treatment option, as opposed to treating symptoms and consequences with increasingly expensive medications and procedures. |