This is not new. We have known definitively, for nearly three decades, that lifestyle decisions strongly correlate to the presence or absence of disease. Paying attention to what we eat, how much we move, how well we sleep, and our stress levels can lead to longer, healthier, and better quality lives. Research has identified that the choices we make have a powerful impact on turning on and off genes that cause and prevent diseases. With increasing evidence that chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes can be both prevented and reversed, there is still hope for those of us who have not always made the best choices.

A thought-provoking discussion is bubbling in the medical community about the role and responsibility of physicians to bring lifestyle medicine into their practices. Is a physician falling short of their Hippocratic Oath when treating the symptoms of disease rather than the root cause? Could the personal belief of physicians that people will never change their lifestyle be putting some patients at risk of harm? Measures of physician quality, designed to determine if care is being provided in accordance with evidence-based standards, often look to testing and prescribing. Will the therapeutic use of lifestyle modifications to treat disease cause physicians to appear less effective?

In an aging society with high rates of chronic illness, medical spending twice that of most nations, and too much physician burnout, lifestyle medicine may be a silver bullet. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), a fairly new medical specialty society, happens to be located in Chesterfield, Missouri. They grew by 400% in 2018, confirming that physicians are turning to lifestyle science for therapeutic interventions. BHC staff met with a few ACLM leaders last week. Their enthusiasm for the role of physicians in supporting patients to live a healthier, better quality life was palpable. Lifestyle medicine may also be a cure for the profession. Grateful for the opportunity to truly help their patients find a cure, ACLM’s doctors seemed immune to the job dissatisfaction that so many providers claim to feel. Little else holds as much promise for chronically ill patients, physicians losing their joy, and a nation in physical and financial crisis.

ACLM leader, Dr. James Loomis, will share his personal and professional transformation during the BHC's April 10th Spring Forum. Please join us.

Warm regards,

Louise Probst

BHC Executive Director