Lifestyle Medicine
Lifestyle medicine is a branch of Chronic Disease Healthcare emphasizing disease prevention over curative medicine.
People tend to acquire medical practitioners for the treatment of acute problems requiring immediate attention to provide a diagnosis, and then ongoing treatment. Lifestyle Medicine challenges the concept of treating an ongoing ailment, for preventative lifestyle measures that work to change a person’s behaviours. This can include conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions, chronic musculoskeletal conditions, and mental health conditions.
Lifestyle Medicine operates on the base of 6 pillars of health:
- Diet and Nutrition
- Physical activity and health
- Smoking cessation
- Alcohol harm reduction
- Sleep and Stress
- Social connection
These pillars although seem to be straightforward in their goals, also address many societal and environmental driving factors of health and disease which include social isolation, loss of culture and identity, health inequity, and social injustice.
Lifestyle medicine is personalised treatment in which patients are assessed and guided on their health journey. Treatment can often reverse early to medium onset chronic disease by assisting patients through evidence-based lifestyle and behaviour modification.
Dr Sarah Chu provides this treatment here at The Butterfly Clinic with a Certification in Lifestyle Medicine with the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine.
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