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Lifestyle (Overview)
I am a strong believer in the benefits of lifestyle to treat and prevent the majority of diseases and ailments that are seen in a family doctor's office. Lifestyle factors are often equally or even more effective than medications for many health conditions (physical and mental!). It is easy for us as doctors to prescribe a pill for a problem, and often easier for a patient to take a medication than to make changes to their lifestyle. There are times medications are needed, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it is important to note that the benefits of lifestyle changes extend far beyond what a single medication could ever accomplish.
Did you know that the lifestyle factors I am going to discuss below can:
Decrease your risk of at least 13 types of cancers
Decrease your risk of death in the next 10 years by over 30%
Increase happiness, general wellbeing and mental health
Prevent, improve, and sometimes even reverse many chronic diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease, dementia, heart attack, stroke, osteoporosis, menopausal symptoms, insomnia, constipation/bowel issues, chronic pain, arthritis, and many more!
Maintain a healthy body weight, strength, muscle mass, and balance to reduce the risk of falls and catastrophic fractures later in life
Have no significant side effects or dangers.
To date, there is not a medication in the world that can accomplish all of the things listed above. There is certainly a time and a place for medications, and there is nothing wrong with using them, but using medications to specifically treat a certain aspect of heath while neglecting to address lifestyle factors is a missed opportunity to acheive incredible health benefits. For example, if someone has high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and some anxiety or depression (all very common conditions I see in my office multiple times per day), they could easily end up on a separate medication (or sometimes multiple medications) for each individual problem. This can lead to someone being on multiple daily medications. We are very privileged to have access to an amazing array of medications that are often very effective at treating and preventing many diseases. I am in no way recommending that we don't use them; they are extremely effective tools when used appropriately, but they can only address one (or at most a few) small part(s) of your health and wellbeing compared to the broad effects lifestyle can have. Even if medication is needed, the benefits of lifestyle can work synergistically so that the effects of the medication are greater and you get even more benefit, with no added risk of side effects or negative effects!
Disclaimer: The content discussed on this website is for educational (and hopefully motivational) purposes only and does not constitute direct medical advice. Please discuss any concerns or changes you would like to make to your medications or treatment/healthcare plan with your healthcare practitioner prior to starting, stopping, or altering any treatment plans.
The Four Pillars
When it comes to lifestyle and health, there are many aspects to consider, however I like to break things down into what I like to call the four pillars of physical and mental health. They are as follows:
Sleep
Diet
Exercise
Substances
The order of importance of each is variable from person to person, but I would argue that these 4 components of a persons lifestyle are like the legs of a chair. If all 4 of these pillars (chair legs) are well managed, balanced, and strong, the chair will be solid and resilient. If you have one faulty chair leg (ie poor sleep, poor diet, inadequate exercise, or misuse of substances), the chair starts to become unstable and sitting on it becomes more of a challenge (it struggles to function as a regular chair), but often is still possible. Most people can compensate or overcome sleep deprivation, physical inactivity, poor diet, and even substance misuse alone temporarily, similar to how most of us could sit on a chair missing a leg for a while, however don't think anyone would choose to stay there over a stable chair with a normal amount of legs. If 2 or 3 of the chair legs (pillars) are faulty, the chair quickly becomes unusable and there is a problem.
Diet
Sleep
Exercise
Substances
-4 pillars of good health: mental and physical
-exercise
-diet
-sleep
-substances
Additional factors (the back, cushion, and footrest for the chair)
socialization, purpose/accomplishment, community/belonging
resiliency/attitude
we should all strive to be a stable and comfortable chair, but not to spend too much time in one
Quitting Smoking
Mediterranean diet
DASH diet
Weight loss
Sun and Skin health
Screening for Diseases
Cancers: Breast, Colon, Cervix, Prostate, Lung
Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Common Conditions
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
High Cholesterol (Dyslipidemia)
Diabetes Mellitus
Obesity
Infections
Sinus Infection
Cough/Cold
COVID-19
Ear infection (otitis media)
Swimmer's ear (otitis externa)
Allergies
Eczema
Asthma