Why, Lifestyle medicine (LM) is an evidence-based supplementary specialty for PCP's and specialists that emphasizes educating patients on lifestyle-based interventions for managing and eliminating chronic disease. LM may be a useful clinical approach for doctors who have patients who want (or need) more holistic care. LM involves a certification process that most physicians will find familiar, including a maintenance of certification option. Doctors must still maintain certification in their primary specialty. If you don’t know a physician who practices lifestyle medicine (LM) already, chances are you will. Founded in 2004, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ALCM) created a new board certification program and currently has more than 6,000 practicing members representing every continent. LM offers an alternative for physicians and other HCP's who’ve felt frustrated with the current healthcare system, according to two LM physicians who spoke to MD Lin x. According to the physicians interviewed for this article, the results achieved for patients and their practices speak for themselves.
LM relies on lifestyle modification as the frontline intervention for chronic diseases such as CVD, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. It’s not a standalone board certification, but a supplemental one for PCP's and specialists. “(LM) treats the underlying cause of disease rather than its symptoms that are too often addressed with ever-increasing quantities of pills and procedures,” the ALCM wrote. “Because it treats causes and not just symptoms, only through lifestyle medicine can we alter the course of spiraling health care costs.”
LM is based on six pillars:
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Nutrition—LM practitioners recommend plant-based diets including seeds, nuts, whole grains, vegetables, fruit, beans, and lentils.
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Exercise—To do daily and consistently through all stages of life.
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Stress—A double-edged sword, stress can help us achieve our goals, or it can contribute to negative mental health conditions, obesity, and a deregulated immune system. LM practitioners equip patients with stress coping mechanisms 'so' they can achieve the right stress balance.
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Substance —Specifically, tobacco cessation and reducing alcohol consumption.
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Sleep—Improving sleep with coping mechanisms, optimal environmental conditions, and diet to avoid immune system strain.
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Relationships—Assessing how a patient’s home life and interactions with (or isolation from) others contribute to their overall health.
The two LM physicians who spoke to MD Lin x said this approach closes knowledge gaps left by conventional medical training, and empowers patients to take control of their health.
Sandra Sober, MD, an endocrinologist practicing in Pittsburgh, PA, said that while research supports pharmaceutical interventions for metabolic health, many of her patients wanted other evidence-based options.
“If we only focus on using medicines to treat disease without talking about the lifestyle component, we're also limiting the efficacy of the medicine, and we're also missing a huge opportunity of engaging patients in their own care,” Sober said.
Of course, many patients know that diet, exercise, stress reduction, and better sleep are conducive to better health. What many don’t know is how to achieve these health goals sustainably.
Sober said that earlier in her career, a patient asked her for specifics on these lifestyle modifications—and she didn’t have any. LM certification equipped her to have patient-specific conversations about stress, exercise, sleep, and other personalized health topics.
“I can’t tell you how many times in those conversations that the proverbial light bulb goes off ''and'' a patient says, ‘Nobody ever explained that to me, Sober said.
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