Saturday, July 11, 2009

LifeStyle Medicine vs. Preventive Medicine



According to Wikipedia Preventative Medicine is defined this way, "Preventive Medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent illness or injury, rather than curing them". "It can be contrasted not only with curative medicine, but also with public health methods (which work at the level of population health rather than individual health)".There is another type of medicine that should be considered and that is "Lifestyle Medicine". What is Lifestyle Medicine? "Lifestyle Medicine (LM) is the use of lifestyle interventions in the treatment and management of disease. Such interventions include diet (nutrition), exercise, stress management, smoking cessation, and a variety of other non-drug modalities". "A growing body of scientific evidence has demonstrated that lifestyle intervention is an essential component in the treatment of chronic disease that can be as effective as medication, but without the risks and unwanted side-effects". This definition is given by the The American College of Lifestyle Medicine. I believe that Lifesytle Medicine is the medicine that this world so desperately need right now. What do you think?