RETHINK THAT RESOLUTION

Admit it. You were one of millions of people who woke up on January 1 with the best of intentions: Get to the gym, go to barre, hit the Pilates studio, fill-in-the-blank. Let’s be honest, life gets in the way. There’s already enough pressure in our lives, so no need to add more. Resolutions can feel like an all-or-nothing proposition, and most people ditch them by February.

Let’s rethink the whole equation. Sleep. Spend time with friends. Limit scrolling, and instead, close your eyes and breathe slowly. Does this sound more doable? Good. Those are three major things you can do to improve your health. Yes, major. They represent a newer wellness practice called lifestyle medicine.

Lifestyle medicine (LM) puts lifestyle change as the foundation of health care—using evidence-based therapeutic interventions to prevent, treat and even reverse diseases by replacing unhealthy behaviors with positive ones. While components of lifestyle medicine are incorporated in other types of medicine, LM practitioners see it as the first treatment option for many patients, prioritizing healthy behaviors to prevent, treat and reverse chronic illness.

Many consider lifestyle medicine to be where medicine is headed: shifting from sick care to well care, reactive to proactive. It comprises six pillars or ways, as shown in the illustration on this page.

“What it takes to improve our overall wellness is just some time and movement,” says Dr. Jeffrey Damaschke, an associate professor and chair of the Lifestyle Medicine Department at Rosalind Franklin University (RFU) of Medicine and Science. He challenges people to “perform at least 150 minutes per week of aerobic activity. This would mean 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity at least five times per week. Moderate physical activity would be anything that makes your heart beat faster and includes brisk walking, water aerobics, riding a bike, dancing, doubles tennis, pushing a lawn mower or hiking.” Moving more and sitting less—even just a little—can really improve your physical and mental health.

That’s just one pillar. Here’s another: “Eating more whole, minimally processed plant foods is a great way to achieve a nutrient-rich diet while minimizing excess calories, added sugar, processed fats and potentially harmful substances that could contribute to increased risk of chronic and degenerative diseases,” says Dr. Melissa Bernstein, associate professor and chair of RFU’s Department of Nutrition. She adds that good nutrition can combat chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, gastrointestinal conditions, cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Think about some of these pillars: Sleep, movement, friends, food. Lifestyle medicine is shifting the way people think about and implement wellness and health care. There’s no need to make (or break) a resolution. It’s just a lifestyle, and it can change everything.

Lifestyle medicine programs are just one way Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science is solving tomorrow’s health care challenges today for the people and communities they serve. Learn more at rosalindfranklin.edu.

Sponsored content provided by Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.