Lifestyle medicine is a powerful tool that more and more medical professionals are “prescribing” for their patients to live healthier, higher quality lives. This month we are featuring five of the many advantages of implementing lifestyle medicine practices, and how this implementation can provide drastic positive improvement for all lives.
1. Prevent, Halt, & Reverse Chronic Diseases
Research has proven time and again that significant lifestyle changes, in alignment with the principles of lifestyle medicine, can prevent, halt, and reverse common chronic diseases including:
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Obesity
- Heart Disease
At the core of these chronic diseases and many others is inflammation. Chronic inflammation can become detrimental and life-threatening, which is why proper intervention in the form of lifestyle medicine is critical. With Pivio, emphasis is on the adoption of the six pillars of lifestyle medicine to help participants target this dangerous inflammation. Doing so can reverse the negative effects of inflammation in the body and ultimately reverse many chronic diseases.
2. Improve Health Biomarkers
Through the adoption of lifestyle medicine practices, individuals can also see positive changes in their health biomarkers. These biomarkers can include:
- Triglycerides
- Fasting Plasma Glucose
- Total Cholesterol
- LDL Cholesterol
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Body Mass Index
For Pivio participants implementing the six pillars of lifestyle medicine, average results of these biomarkers after 30 days of intervention were:
- Triglycerides: 44.1% decline
- Fasting Plasma Glucose: 19.9% decline
- Total Cholesterol: 19.8% decline
- LDL Cholesterol: 16.1% decline
- Metabolic Syndrome: 10.4% decline
- Body Mass Index: 3.2% decline
These significant results further prove the advantages and effectiveness of adopting lifestyle medicine practices.
3. Learn How to Take Control of Health & Well-Being
An interesting advantage of implementing lifestyle medicine practices is receiving invaluable knowledge on how to best take control of health and well-being. For Pivio participants, an ecosystem of education and support resources are provided to serve as guidance through the journey. A few of these many resources include:
- Group sessions facilitated by trained and certified health coaches
- User-friendly web application serving as hub and guide throughout the program
- Cookbook and online meal planner with 2,000+ healthy, nutritious recipes
- Supplemental materials:
- 12 core program videos
- 18+ explainer videos
- 10+ behavior change videos
- 60+ fact sheets
Empowering and equipping participants with this knowledge helps them to stay on the path to self-improvement, offering education and support along the way.
4. Lengthen Life-Expectancy
By implementing lifestyle medicine practices and preventing, halting, and reversing chronic diseases, individuals in turn have the opportunity to increase their life-expectancy.
An article by Dr. Michael Parkinson, Senior Medical Director at UPMC, titled “They Don’t Come As Pills, But Try These 6 Underprescribed Lifestyle Medicines For A Better, Longer, Life” emphasizes this point. The article recommends adhering to the below principles, also outlined in Pivio, to increase life-expectancy:
- Eating in alignment with whole-food, plant-based nutrition
- Participating in regular physical activity
- Prioritizing restorative sleep
- Focusing on stress management
- Minimizing and reducing risky substances
- Maintaining positive social connections
5. Increase Quality of Life
Along with lengthened life-expectancy, Pivio participants often share how much the adoption of lifestyle medicine principles has increased their quality of life. A few recent participants share their experiences:
“I would recommend Pivio to anybody. You have the opportunity to feel better, lose weight, and change your life. The Pivio program changed my life tremendously. I believe it is a great option for anyone who wants to get healthier – whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, or some other chronic disease. Pivio can bring happiness back to your life like it has for me.”
—Rick
“After beginning the Pivio program, I feel empowered. I feel like I’ve been given the tools to start my new life. In 3 weeks I lost 10 pounds and continue to lose more weight as I maintain the journey at home. This has become my lifestyle, and I am very happy with it.”
—Tonya
“Learning about how plant-based foods are so healthy for the heart and how it helps to fight inflammation was absolutely amazing. I always thought that so many different health conditions were hereditary, but I learned they really are not – we can take control of our lives. This was an amazing experience and journey with to wonderful, dedicated mentors who poured their heart and soul into the program. I am so happy that I participated in Pivio – it’s changed my life.”
—Craig
Now is the time to implement lifestyle medicine principles and see the incredible positive impacts. Learn more about Pivio today to get started on the transformative path to a better, healthier self.