Letter from the President August 2019

“Five Lifestyle Changes We Should Make”

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) stated if we did five things we could decrease the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease by 60%. What an amazing statement! For years, we have been told medication may slow the process but until now there was no indication we could minimize the incidence of dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease.

The JAMA article analyzed the data of 196,383 UK adults age 60 and older and found that those who didn’t smoke, exercised regularly, maintained a healthy diet, drank alcohol in moderation, and engaged in mentally stimulating activities had a 60 percent reduced risk of dementia compared to those who did just one or none of these things. These five lifestyle habits can lower Alzheimer’s risk even if a person is genetically predisposed to dementia.

Lifestyle medicine presents a new approach to the prevention and treatment of many chronic illnesses. A number of modifiable behaviors are responsible for many premature and preventable deaths. For example, being overweight or obese shortens life expectancy. Half of all long-term tobacco smokers will die prematurely from a disease related to smoking.

The modifiable behaviors are in three main categories. First, there are lifestyle risk factors. These include tobacco smoking, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol consumption. A small amount of alcohol may actually help prevent diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Second, there are dietary risk factors such as high salt intake and low intake of fruits and vegetables. Third, there are metabolic risk factors that shorten life expectancy by increasing a person’s chance of developing cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes. Metabolic risk factors include having high blood pressure or elevated blood cholesterol, and being overweight.

What is lifestyle medicine? It is an evidence-based approach to assisting individuals and families to adopt and sustain behaviors that can improve health and quality of life. This includes applying environmental, behavioral, and motivational principles to the management of lifestyle-related health problems. To date, twenty-four diseases have been identified as being addressable in this manner.

Ultimately, the biggest factor in determining our longevity is our lifestyle. A comprehensive new study from the Harvard School of Public Health, published in the journal Circulation, has stated the five habits are guaranteed to add an extra 12.1 years for men and an extra 14 years for the women, based on the health records of 44,354 men and 78,865 women. Those who maintained these habits were found to be 82% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease and 65% less likely to die from cancer than those who didn’t, so they’re crucial to a long life.

Interestingly, even though the importance of a healthy lifestyle has been well-publicized, only a small percentage of people in the United States adhere to these practices that could likely save them from having to live with a chronic illness. Awareness is merely the first step, the next thing required is to take action to implement a healthy lifestyle.

Lifestyle medicine coaches are trained to assist the process of making lifestyle changes which address the hesitation we all have in making lifestyle changes. Yet, making these changes is what is needed and the changes must be sustained to be effective.

I have listed five things – cessation of tobacco, exercise, healthy diet, alcohol in moderation, and mentally stimulating activity. I believe one more practice is vitally important and that is spirituality. The importance of having a well-balanced life that includes the spiritual dimension is something our Institute for Spirituality and Health has promoted for 65 years. One of our mottos is that “faith and meaning impacts health and healing.”

This is why I would say not five, but six things can help minimize the incidence of chronic illness. The sixth thing is the spiritual dimension of our lives. Holistic medicine is meant to include the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.

In the Christian tradition, the body is said to be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Whatever your beliefs may be, taking care of our bodies is a spiritual task and one that only you can do. No one can do this for us, not even our physicians.

In future editions of our monthly newsletter I will share my understanding of spirituality and how it encompasses all of life, what it means to be fully human. For now, embrace a healthy lifestyle, and your brain and body will say “thank you.”

John K. Graham, MD, DMin President & CEO
Institute for Spirituality and Health