You might already be familiar with the power of functional medicine, but less familiar with the term Lifestyle Medicine. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine defines Lifestyle Medicine as “The use of evidence based lifestyle therapeutic intervention which includes a whole food, plant predominate eating pattern, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, the avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connection as a primary modality, delivered by clinicians trained and certified in this specialty, to prevent, treat, and often reverse disease”.
In short, Lifestyle Medicine is the science-supported use of good living practices to avoid disease, treat disease and improve overall health.
Lifestyle Medicine has taken a more center stage position in the last decade due to the failings of our current mainstream medical system. Our current medical system of surgeries and pharmaceuticals is a modern miracle when it comes to acute disease care, but it is an epic failure when it comes to the management and prevention of chronic disease.
Acute disease is characterized as coming on rapidly with distinct symptoms that require immediate short term care after which the condition resolves. Examples of acute disease include traumas and infections.
Chronic disease is defined as having a condition that lasts a year or more and requires ongoing medical management to keep symptoms at bay. Examples of these are diabetes and heart disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6 in 10 Americans live with at least one chronic disease. Chronic disease is the leading cause of death and disability as well as the leading driver of exploding health care costs.
What Causes Chronic Disease?
According to the World Health Organization, “The causes (risk factors) of chronic disease are well-established and well known. A small subset of common risk factors are responsible for most of the main chronic diseases. These risk factors are modifiable and the same in men and women: unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use.”
In short, the majority of chronic diseases have a common denominator: lifestyle choices.
In sync with Functional Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine is defined as a “root cause” based approach that looks at the whole person with focus on educating, motivating, and coaching patients to achieve behavioral changes that move them along the continuum of optimal health. These two approaches are closely aligned and complement each other perfectly.
Our mission at Kare Health & Wellness is to provide effective testing, translations and treatments of chronic conditions that were written off in the traditional healthcare system. By looking deeper into our patients’ health and their LIFE, we can certainly begin to identify ways to overcome their ailments and conditions.
If you’re interested in knowing more about Kare Health & Wellness or the modality of Lifestyle Medicine, please connect with our New Patient Coordinators. We’d be more than happy to provide information and direction to begin your journey towards better health and wellness.
