LIFE LONG HEALTH

Lifestyle Medicine

Lifestyle Medicine

Are you suffering from a chronic disease such as diabetes or high blood pressure?
Feeling tired all the time, or concerned about how you’re coping as you’re getting older?

Perhaps you’re looking to lead a healthier, happier life, but feel overwhelmed by all the information that’s out there on the internet?

Or maybe you just don’t know where to start, or have tried and failed before?

Lifestyle Medicine is a revolutionary approach that can empower you to prevent, manage, and even reverse certain health conditions – through sustainable lifestyle changes.

What is Lifestyle Medicine?

At the heart of this approach are six interconnected pillars that form the foundation of your holistic well-being: nutrition, sleep, physical activity, avoiding harmful substances, mental well-being, and healthy relationships.

We know that conditions like type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease can be significantly improved through lifestyle tweaks. The good news is, that the risk of developing certain cancers (such as breast, bowel and prostate cancer) can also be positively influenced by the choices you make every day.

As we work together, we’ll carefully examine how your lifestyle is impacting your current symptoms and overall health risks, even if you’re not quite ready to make changes just yet. Our goal is to empower you to take the reins and transform your well-being.

The Six Pillars Of Lifestyle Medicine

What you eat has a huge impact on your overall health, and at Essex Private Doctors, we’re passionate about helping you make nutritious choices. We’ll emphasise the importance of minimally processed, nutrient-dense foods while minimising ultra-processed and calorie-dense items. By equipping you with the knowledge and skills to adopt healthier eating patterns tailored to your preferences, we’ll help you achieve sustainable dietary changes.

We recognise that poor diet is a key risk factor for many chronic conditions. In fact, it’s estimated that up to 11 million deaths a year globally may be linked to unhealthy eating habits – that’s one-fifth of all deaths! But the good news is, that eating well has the potential to make you feel better and improve your long-term health.

Our evidence-based approach draws on the work of researchers like Carlos Monteiro, who coined the term “ultra-processed foods.” These are highly processed items with additives and preservatives, high in salt, fat, and sugar. Studies show a link between ultra-processed food consumption and issues like depression, asthma, heart disease, and digestive problems.

To promote healthier eating, we’ll advocate for a diet rich in minimally processed foods like fruits, veggies, nuts, root vegetables, fresh meat and fish, milk, and grains. We’ll also encourage the use of substances extracted from whole foods, like oils, fats, flours, starches, and sugars – but in moderation. We’ll support a range of dietary approaches, including Mediterranean, plant-based, and lower-carb diets, while always keeping your individual preferences and circumstances in mind.

Adequate, high-quality sleep is essential for your physical and mental well-being, and at Essex Private Doctors, we understand its critical role in areas like immune function, metabolism, cognitive performance, and stress management. We’ll guide you in establishing healthy sleep habits and avoiding behaviours that can mess with your sleep quality.

Ensuring you get enough, good quality shut-eye is vital for your overall health and well-being. Sleep is essential for restoring your energy levels and giving your body a much-needed rest. It plays a key part in preventing, treating, managing, and reversing chronic conditions, and is considered one of the top factors for healthy longevity.

For adults, we recommend aiming for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. This can help build your long-term disease immunity, maintain a healthy microbiome, regulate your metabolism, and support your cognitive and mental health. On the flip side, sleep deprivation (less than 5 hours a night) can have some nasty effects, like weakening your immune system, increasing your chronic illness risk, and impairing your cognitive and emotional well-being.

Regular physical activity is a cornerstone of this approach, as it’s been shown to reduce your risk of chronic diseases, improve your mental health, and enhance your longevity. We’ll work with you to identify enjoyable and feasible ways to incorporate more movement into your daily life, recognising that small, sustainable changes can lead to long-lasting benefits.

Physical inactivity is a significant contributor to the chronic disease burden, and the World Health Organisation has identified it as the fourth leading global mortality risk factor. Your daily energy expenditure from physical activity has likely declined in recent decades, due to factors like increased motor vehicle use, labour-saving devices, and sedentary tech.

However, the evidence supporting the benefits of physical activity is overwhelming. Studies show regular exercise can lower your risk of developing conditions like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. It can also improve your cognitive function, reduce your dementia risk, and positively impact your mental health by helping to alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression.

Reducing your exposure to toxic or addictive substances, such as tobacco, excessive alcohol, and recreational drugs, is a crucial aspect of this approach. We understand that achieving positive behaviour change in this area can be particularly tricky, but we’re committed to supporting you with a compassionate, non-judgmental approach. We may draw on techniques like motivational interviewing and harm-reduction strategies to help you overcome these complex habits.

Smoking and heavy drinking are key behavioural risk factors associated with many chronic physical and mental health conditions and are among the leading causes of preventable deaths globally. Smoking kills over 5 million people worldwide each year, while excessive alcohol consumption is linked to greater risks of chronic liver disease, certain cancers, and heart disease.

At Essex Private Doctors, we acknowledge the intrinsic connection between your physical and mental health. By addressing factors like stress, purpose, and social connection, we’ll support you in cultivating resilience, improving your mood, and enhancing your overall psychological well-being. This may involve techniques like mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy, and encouraging your engagement with nature and meaningful relationships.

We recognise that your mental health is a crucial component of your overall well-being and that your lifestyle, as well as genetic, socioeconomic, and environmental factors, can all impact it. The causes of many modern mental health issues are complex and varied, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the burden, with increased loneliness, isolation, grief, and loss.

As human beings, we are inherently social creatures, and this approach recognises the profound impact of healthy relationships on both your physical and mental health. We’ll work with you to identify and nurture strong social connections, reduce your loneliness, and foster a sense of belonging within your community. This pillar aims to harness the restorative power of social support and meaningful interactions.

There’s growing evidence demonstrating a link between the quality of your social connections and various health outcomes, including obesity, heart disease, and mental health. Loneliness, in particular, has been identified as a key risk factor for depression and can have a detrimental impact on your physical health, as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or drinking at levels associated with alcoholism.

Start Your Health Journey Today

By empowering you to make gradual, sustainable changes across the six pillars, this approach can help you not only prevent and manage chronic diseases, but also enhance your overall quality of life, resilience, and personal fulfilment.

At Essex Private Doctors, we’re committed to creating a healthier, more vibrant future for our community. By embracing this holistic, evidence-based approach to lifestyle change, you can unlock the full potential of your well-being and pave the way for a more sustainable and equitable healthcare landscape.

Let’s embark on this transformative journey together.
Book an appointment today, with Dr Sara Luck, our Lifestyle Medicine Expert.