Lifestyle Medicine and Longevity Science

Hi all! It’s been awhile 🙂 I’m here today with a few updates and to discuss a new path for this newsletter. I’m excited!

Since we last chatted, I embarked on an educational journey to become Lifestyle Medicine certified. 30 hours of CME + a case study + an amazing conference in Orlando + a 4 hour exam (it had been a long time since I’ve seen a Prometric Testing Center!) = board certification in Lifestyle Medicine. I’m pumped. I’ll dig into details throughout future posts, but here is the TL;DR.

There are 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine:

• Whole food, plant-based predominant eating pattern

• Physical activity

• Restorative sleep

• Stress Management

• Social Connection

• Avoidance of Risky Substances.

Lifestyle medicine uses these pillars to prevent and treat chronic medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, and obesity. We apply these 6 pillars in a prescriptive fashion, using an evidence-based, whole person approach.

It’s been an amazing journey thus far. The LM2024 conference was inspiring to say the least. The entire menu followed a whole-food plant based plan - breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. It was delicious. I realized at the end of the conference, out of all the lectures I attended, there was not a single mention of medication or drug pharmacology. NOT A SINGLE ONE. So refreshing.

I’ve also been reading about a different approach to medicine and primary care over the past year. Peter Attia defines it best as “Medicine 3.0”. In his book Outlive, he explains how our current state, Medicine 2.0, is very reactive. This is why we feel like we are putting out fires ALL DAY LONG as primary care docs. Here’s a medicine for this, a therapist for that, another medicine for this, physical therapy for that. Ad nauseam. Medicine 3.0 takes a proactive approach. How can we get out in front of all of these health problems and shift toward preventing them all together? I highly recommend his book. It is chock full of science, data and real world recommendations.

My Lifestyle Medicine certification blends right in with Attia’s teachings. Sure, there are differences but the basics remain - if we can help patients' optimize nutrition, movement, sleep, and emotional health, we can really change their lives.

That leads me to now. How can I take what I’m learning and put it into practice in the real world? How can I slowly incorporate Medicine 3.0 and the pillars of Lifestyle Medicine into my busy clinic? Honestly, I’m still figuring this out. In the meantime, I want to start sharing what I’m learning in the fields of lifestyle medicine and longevity, both with fellow docs and patients. I want to talk about advanced lipid testing, DEXA scans, VO2 max testing. I want to read and share opinions about how to treat and prevent metabolic dysfunction - even before the A1c hits 5.7. I want to dig into the nutritional science - the details absent from our medication school curriculums. I’m ready to dive into the intricacies of sleep hygiene and circadian rhythm. Let’s learn together!

I’m hoping to use this newsletter as a platform to share what I’m reading about, thinking about and learning about in the longevity and preventative health space. Stay tuned - more to come.

In wellness,

Ashley