Have you ever heard of Lifestyle Medicine?

Unfortunately, we are in the midst of another global pandemic in terms of poor health and an increase in lifestyle-related chronic diseases. This is at a time when as a population, we are sicker than ever but due to the internet and social media we are also overloaded with information and unfortunately, a lot of this information can be misleading or even false. 

Why Lifestyle Medine?

Lifestyle medicine is full of evidence-based information to help people lead happier and healthier lives by making improvements in the six areas described below (also known as the 6 pillars of lifestyle medicine):

• Healthy Eating: Food is becoming more processed, and labels seem to have more and more ingredients. A new diet seems to come out every day, but we are as unhealthy as ever. Eating less processed foods and introducing more plant-based foods are important. The quality of our food is also important. There is evidence for different eating healthy styles that suit each individual’s needs.
• Physical Activity: As technology increases and we work from home physical activity has decreased. This decrease not only affects our physical health but our mental health as well. Physical activity is not just about exercise but also about the amount we move day to day
• Sleep: The increase in the use of technology and the intake of caffeine are some of the factors that have decreased the quality of our sleep. Sleep is important for our bodies and minds to function properly. 
• Mental Well-being: For example, stress and anxiety can have a big effect on health. This  includes influencing the lifestyle choices we make and can also affect our body such as altering our blood pressure and affecting levels of certain hormones in our body
• Healthy Relationships: As the current pandemic has shown, isolation and loneliness can have a significant impact on our health. Human beings need social connections to thrive
• Minimising harmful substances and behaviours: This includes stopping smoking and addictive behaviours (not just drugs but phones as well) and lowering alcohol levels

Take each area and rank yourself out of 10. A score of 10/10 means that there is nothing more you could do to improve in this area. A score of 0 means that there is a lot of work to do! Then just take the area with the lowest score and write down what is working in that area as well as what is not working and see what you can do to improve this score. To help with this, each area will be looked at in a bit more detail so keep an eye out on our social media platforms for more information. By the end of the year, we will have health coaching and lifestyle medicine consultations available to help further.

Lifestyle medicine is not complementary medicine, alternative medicine or functional medicine. It is based on scientific evidence. It can be used to complement conventional medicine, or it can be used alone to help improve health and chronic diseases. The British Society of Lifestyle Medicine (bslm.org.uk) is also a great resource if you would like more information.

THANK YOU

Thank you for dedicating your time to learning about lifestyle medicine through our article; understanding such a critical aspect of health is indeed essential. We’re here to provide you with the information you need. We invite you to explore our diverse collection of Blogs posts for more insightful perspectives on topics that matter to you. From in-depth articles on health and wellness to enlightening pieces on current global issues, we strive to bring you content that informs, inspires, and engages.