Lifestyle Medicine: Best Practices

By Gautham Gondy, MD

Loudoun Internal & Lifestyle Medicine LLC

. https://www.drgondy.com

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Lifestyle Medicine: Best Practices

Lifestyle practices and health habits are the most important determinants of positive health outcomes.

Lifestyle medicine’s main emphasis is to identify the underlying lifestyle related risk factors for diseases. To treat chronic disease prescribing and following up on lifestyle changes, and to ensure patients understand the impact that these changes have on their medical conditions.

The focus is on evidence based optimal nutrition, stress management, sleep, and physical activity. It encourages active patient participation, guides, and supports positive behavior changes and uses medications as a supplement to therapeutic lifestyle changes.

The six ways to take control of your health using lifestyle medicine are as follows:

• Nutrition – 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.
• Exercise – regular and consistent physical activity that can be maintained daily is an essential piece of the optimal health equation.
• Stress – help recognize negative stress responses, identifying coping mechanism and reduction techniques leads to improved well-being.
• Relationships – social connectedness is essential to emotional resiliency. Studies show isolation is associated with increased mortality.
• Sleep – lack of, or poor-quality sleep can lead to a strained immune system. Identify dietary, environmental, and coping behaviors to improve sleep health.
• Substance Abuse – 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.

For more information on Lifestyle Medicine, please visit the lifestylemedicine.org webpage.