All articles tagged with #lifestyle medicine
Menopause-related brain fog, characterized by memory and concentration issues, can be managed through lifestyle medicine focusing on sleep, physical activity, nutrition, stress management, social connection, and avoiding harmful substances. Small, consistent changes in these areas can significantly improve cognitive health and overall wellbeing during menopause.
Lifestyle medicine, a specialty within the medical field, focuses on treating chronic conditions through evidence-based lifestyle changes. Originating in 2004, it emphasizes six pillars: nutrition, physical activity, stress management, restorative sleep, social connection, and avoidance of risky substances. These interventions aim to prevent, treat, and often reverse diseases like cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
A psychiatrist specializing in psychosomatic medicine explains the links between toxic stress and biological aging, highlighting the detrimental effects of persistent high stress on health. Toxic stress can lead to accelerated aging and the onset of chronic illnesses, with research showing that it ages people in a comparable way to smoking and low socioeconomic status. Recognizing and managing stress is crucial, and lifestyle medicine approaches have shown promise in retraining dysregulated stress response systems and improving health outcomes for those with stress-related conditions.
A new study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that embracing eight distinct lifestyle factors, including healthy eating, stress management, adequate exercise, healthy sleep patterns, improving social connections, and avoiding smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, and opioid use, could add an average of 20 years to one's lifespan when starting at age 40. The study, which evaluated over 275,000 veterans, found that even adopting a few of these habits could extend life, with their effects compounding when all eight were embraced. Making small changes now can yield substantial benefits later on, with increasing exercise, quitting smoking, and embracing a healthy diet identified as having the greatest impact on longevity.
Longevity experts recommend incorporating cruciferous vegetables, dark leafy greens, fermented foods, tree nuts and seeds, dark chocolate, and legumes into your diet to promote a longer and healthier life. These foods are rich in anti-inflammatory and anti-aging nutrients, beneficial bacteria for gut health, antioxidants, and essential vitamins and minerals critical for DNA methylation and overall well-being.
While new weight-loss drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide show promise in helping people lose significant weight, they come with limitations such as high costs and potential side effects. Lifestyle medicine, which focuses on healthy habits like diet, exercise, and stress management, offers long-term benefits beyond weight loss and can be more cost-effective. Incorporating lifestyle medicine into healthcare visits and addressing cultural and policy barriers to healthy living are crucial for addressing the root causes of obesity and improving overall well-being.
Nutritionists emphasize the importance of an anti-cancer diet, which includes foods that reduce inflammation, provide fiber benefits, and offer protection from antioxidants and phytochemicals. Top cancer-fighting foods include berries, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots, tea and coffee, flaxseed, turmeric, spinach, and quinoa. Conversely, processed meats, alcohol, added sugar, ultra-processed foods, and meats cooked at high temperatures are risky foods to avoid due to their potential to increase cancer risk.
Adopting eight therapeutic lifestyle habits, including not smoking, being physically active, managing stress, eating a healthy diet, having good sleep hygiene, avoiding binge drinking, not being addicted to opioids, and having positive social relationships, can increase life expectancy by up to 24 years for men and 23 years for women, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. The study, based on data from nearly 720,000 U.S. veterans, found that those who followed all eight habits were 13 percent less likely to die during the study period. The researchers categorized these habits as "lifestyle medicine," which focuses on addressing the underlying causes of chronic diseases.