Lifestyle Medicine 101: An Introduction - American College of Lifestyle Medicine
As an internist and cardiologist one of my main professional activities is prescribing the right drug for the right condition to get the outcome desired. Most commonly this is the prevention of a heart attack or management of heart failure to prevent hospitalization or death. But these interventions do not necessary cause someone to feel or live better. Can lifestyle changes work like a medicine, or even better?
Our show this week features an exclusive interview with Dr. John Kelly, founder and past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. His biography is fascinating from the college website:
After a successful career in computing that included serving as IT Director for BCBS in Virginia, Dr. John Kelly wanted to help change the practice of medicine so it would treat the causes of disease and not merely palliate the symptoms. Starting in 1993 at 45 years of age he went back to finish his college studies, majoring in biochemistry and molecular biology, and then in medicine and epidemiology, graduating with honors. He was Board-certified in General Preventive Medicine in 2004 and as a Lifestyle Medicine Specialist in 2018. He received the AMA Foundation Excellence in Medicine award as the founding President of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine as a Young Physician in 2004. Since then, he has practiced as a LM Specialist in residential and outpatient LM settings, including telehealth; authored courses in LM including the official ACLM Board Review Course and the Reversing Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance course; established LM training programs and trained and mentored multiple LM physician leaders serving around the globe.
Here is some information about the field of Lifestyle Medicine:
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Lifestyle medicine certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections—also provides effective prevention for these conditions. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the medical professional society for physicians and other professionals dedicated to clinical and worksite practice of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable health care system.
We covered three of the six pillars on this interview: diet, fitness, and sleep. I think this program has something for all of us to take home into our daily practice of lifestyle as form of self-therapy. For the medical professions in the audience, Dr. Kelly gives us a lot to think about the importance of brief advice and follow up using lifestyle change as a treatment modality.
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