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Home » New York to provide lifestyle medicine training to all health professionals

New York to provide lifestyle medicine training to all health professionals

by Team@Lotus
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by Team@Lotus

New York City and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) have announced a new partnership to provide every City healthcare practitioner with free introductory training in nutrition and lifestyle medicine, enabling them to integrate evidence-based content into their clinical practice to treat certain health conditions.

An initiative of Mayor Eric Admas, the $44 million investment from ACLM will fund up to 200,000 doctors, nurses, dieticians  and other health workers on how to use “lifestyle medicine” in their practice.

On the campaign trail and since taking office last year, Adams has frequently talked about the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle.

“A plant-based diet restored my eyesight, put my Type 2 diabetes into remission, and helped save my life,” Adams said in a statement earlier in December.

“Once again, we’re setting the standard for the rest of the nation, giving practitioners new tools to combat chronic disease and health disparities and investing in a healthier city for generations to come,” Adams said.

The training entails five and a half hours of online coursework. Topics include an introduction to “Food as Medicine.”

Lifestyle medicine focuses on boosting physical and mental health through nutrition, stress management and other areas. Four out of five diagnoses of type-2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke are preventable through lifestyle “interventions”, a Stanford University report noted.

Along with the city’s publicly run hospital system, the new program will work with 19 major health care institutions, from BronxCare Health System to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Northwell Health.

“ACLM is proud to make this investment in expanding the knowledge of health professionals in New York City and ultimately in better health for its citizens,” stated Cate Collings, former president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, based in St. Louis, adding, “Treating the root cause of chronic disease in this country, and especially lifestyle-related chronic disease health disparities, will positively change the trajectory of both quality of life and health costs,”

Adams’ office noted chronic health conditions are rampant across the U.S., where six in 10 adults have at least one chronic ailment as per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health initiatives like serving vegan meals at city schools on Fridays have become a hallmark of the Adams administration.

6 Pillars of Lifestyle Medicine

1.Nutrition

Evidence supports the use of a whole food, plant-predominant diet to prevent, treat and reverse chronic illness.

2.Physical Activity

Regular, consistent physical activity is an important part of overall health and resiliency.

3.Stress Management

Managing negative stress can lessen anxiety, depression and immune dysfunction and leads to improved well-being.

4.Restorative Sleep

Improving sleep quality can improve attention span, mood, insulin resistance and can reduce hunger, sluggishness and more.

5.Social Connection

Positive social connections have beneficial effects on physical, mental and emotional health.

6.Avoidance of Risky Substances

Use of tobacco and excessive alcohol consumption have been shown to increase risk of chronic diseases and death. 

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