The 6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine

The first pillar of lifestyle medicine involves physical activity. This does not have to mean formal exercise. Just incorporating more movement and less sitting into our lives has a range of health benefits. Being inactive is associated with higher risk of chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, depression and diabetes.

If you would like to increase your physical activity, if you can’t seem to find the effort to go to the gym or you have a specific exercise goal such as running a 10k, climbing to Everest base camp or simply playing football with your mates, then we can work through a process to help you achieve that goal.

A healthy diet can benefit us in many different ways, from lowering our risk of depression and breast cancer to reversing a diabetes and prediabetes diagnosis. Over 50% of UK adults daily energy intake is now taken up with ultra processed foods (and over 66% for adolescents) which have been associated with depression, asthma, gastrointestinal diseases and heart disease.

The Mediterranean diet has consistently been voted the best overall diet in terms of health benefits. This diet promotes an abundance of plants, legumes, nuts and seeds with minimal fish and lean meat. I promote a food first approach to nutrition focusing on what you can eat, rather than what you can’t eat and choosing food over supplements where possible.

Poor sleep can be caused by a number of issues such as anxiety, pain, menopause, stress, apnoea etc. We all want a good night’s sleep and one bad night can be annoying but we recover quickly. Consistent poor sleep is associated with a number of health problems such as cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression and stroke. It also lowers our sense of well being and can interfere with our appetite.

If sleep is one of your main issues, then we can work together to try and look at the reasons for this and what we can do to change the sleep patterns.

Social connection is arguably the most important pillar of lifestyle medicine and also one of the most influential regarding behaviour change. We rely on our loved ones and social networks for support and accountability. When we are trying to make changes, it's crucial to have people on our side as having support and encouragement from our immediate circle can make a huge difference in us sticking to a goal or habit.

Loneliness has been associated with increased risk of developing a number of diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and cognitive impairment. Social connection on the other hand has a protective benefit to our health. Being socially connected can increase our odds of survival by 50%.

One of my main tasks as a health coach is to help you utilitse the social connections you already have and help you foster new relationships if necessary. I will also personally champion you to reach your goals and achieve the things you want.

Stress is a huge contributor to ill health and is linked to a number of chronic conditions and illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, autoimmune disorders. It can be very difficult to make lasting changes and have any clarity about what we might want to change when we are suffering with extreme stress.

Working together to enhance mental well-being, I can help you gain the tools to manage the stresses of life, seek purpose and appreciation whilst changing the aspects that no longer serve you.

Smoking is the second leading risk factor for death from any cause worldwide (cardiovascular disease is the leading cause globally).

Alcohol use maybe fully under control and no issue at all, or it may be impairing our decision making and lead to unwanted behaviours and disrupted sleep and the consequences of this.

Excessive screen usage, addiction to our phones, binge watching television – any behaviour that we regularly engage in, but that we don’t like or has a negative impact on our ability to function in the world can be defined as harmful.

If a harmful behaviour is getting in the way of achieving your goals, then we can address this and examine why it is occurring and what service it is providing. Only in understanding the why, can we change the how.