What Is Lifestyle Medicine?
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic intervention and prevention approaches to treat chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Certified lifestyle medicine practitioners at Southwest Mind & Body Care support lifestyle changes that promote wholesome behaviors that, in turn, prevent and treat chronic disease to possibly reverse its effects and encourage healthier lifestyles. Schedule a consultation with our Dallas, TX practice to learn how to change your behaviors to improve your quality of life.
What to Expect From Lifestyle Medicine
Some researchers believe lifestyle choices have a direct link to the rise of chronic diseases. The goal of lifestyle medicine is to address the root causes of diseases through effective interventions and prevention of unhealthy behaviors. Lifestyle can contribute to chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, back pain, obesity, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, arthritis, allergies, depression, kidney disease, high cholesterol, and heart failure. Our lifestyle medicine team focuses on these fundamental behaviors to promote better health:
Nutrition: Supports a predominantly whole-food, plant-based diet that is low in processed foods, added sugars, and unhealthy fats
Physical Activity: Encourages regular exercise that results in numerous health benefits ranging from better cardiovascular health to improved mental well-being
Sleep: Stresses the importance of adequate, quality sleep for overall health and well-being
Stress Management: Teaches techniques such as mindfulness, meditation, and deep-breathing exercises to manage and reduce stress
Avoidance of Risky Substances: Urges cessation of tobacco use, limiting or eliminating alcohol consumption, and avoiding recreational drugs
Social Connection: Highlights the importance of building healthy relationships for emotional and physical well-being
What Are the Benefits of Lifestyle Medicine?
While traditional medical approaches focus primarily on treating symptoms, lifestyle medicine explores the root causes of diseases, which may stem from our daily behaviors and routines. Lifestyle medicine at our Dallas, TX practice encourages altering our day-to-day activities to significantly impact our health. Some of the primary benefits of lifestyle medicine include:
- Prevention of Chronic Diseases: Many chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers, can be prevented or significantly reduced by adopting healthier lifestyle habits.
- Treatment and Reversal of Diseases: Lifestyle interventions have been shown to not only prevent but also treat and even reverse certain conditions, most notably type 2 diabetes, certain stages of heart disease, and hypertension.
- Improved Quality of Life: Adopting a healthy lifestyle can lead to increased energy, better body functioning, improved mental health, and an overall better quality of life.
- Longevity: There's evidence to suggest that those who adopt healthy lifestyle habits live longer.
- Mental Health Benefits: Changes in diet, exercise, and stress management play a significant role in mental health. For example, regular physical activity can be as effective as antidepressants for mild to moderate depression in some cases.
- Reduced Medication Dependency: Lifestyle changes can help patients reduce or eliminate medications, cutting costs and minimizing potential side effects.
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Empowering Patients
Empowering patients is a significant part of lifestyle medicine at Southwest Mind & Body Care. Patients who are educated about how their lifestyles play a part in their health become encouraged to take an active role in their own health care. When you make an informed lifestyle choice, you can often reduce or eliminate their need for medications and avoid costly medical procedures. When paired with traditional medical care, lifestyle medicine integrates the whole person – including physical, mental, social, and environmental factors – to prevent, diagnose, and treat conditions. To learn more, schedule a consultation with our team at our Dallas, TX practice today.