Lifestyle Medicine is a specialty that encourages therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to prevent and reverse psychiatric and medical conditions. Conventional wisdom has long suggested that modifications in diet, exercise and sleep positively impact physical and mental health. More recently, science has confirmed these anecdotal observations, providing authoritative evidence that application of certain lifestyle interventions helps manage symptoms of depression, anxiety, and improves quality of life.  

Lifestyle Medicine accepts the same pathophysiology of the cause of disease as conventional medicine, yet differs in focus and utilization. While traditional medicine focuses on treating medical and psychological illness with medications and physical interventions, Lifestyle Medicine prescribes daily changes in physical activity, eating patterns and self care to address common physical and mental health problems.  Oftentimes, lifestyle medicine is used in conjunction with conventional medicine for optimal treatment outcomes. 

While research shows that implementation of non-pharmacological strategies dramatically improves physical and  mental health, as a consumer it can be impossible  to disentangle evidence based interventions from the latest health fad. Furthermore, many of us struggle with how to prioritize which recommendations would be most impactful, and how to practically incorporate healthy habits in our daily lives. A consultation with a Lifestyle Medicine expert will identify the aspects of your physical and mental health most amenable to lifestyle modifications, and tailor a program that is accessible and applicable to your daily life. Your work with a Lifestyle Medicine clinician might include prescriptive changes such as  a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, personalized fitness recommendations,, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections, that when used consistently, often reverse psychiatric and medical disorders.