The best medicine is lifestyle medicine, and here’s why...

Today we think of medicine as pharmaceuticals and radiation, but the best medicine is lifestyle medicine” Dr Ross Walker, cardiologist.

Lifestyle medicine is making healthy lifestyle choices day after day. It’s about taking responsibility back from external suppliers to fix our health issues with a symptom-relieving pill (complete with side effects) and taking responsibility for our own health through what we eat, drink, breathe and apply topically and how we move, sleep and think. Lifestyle medicine is also called preventative medicine because the whole point is to lead a lifestyle that prevents us from getting chronically ill in the first place. Lifestyle medicine is also known as epigenetics because our lifestyle choices cause our genes to express themselves, for better or for worse. Our hard-coded genes are only responsible for a SMALL fraction of our health (time to stop blaming your parents for all your health issues!), whereas our lifestyle choices account for the vast majority of our health. As the saying goes “Our hardcoded genes load the gun, but epigenetics (our lifestyle choices) pull the trigger".

The 8 key lifestyle choices (what I call the 8 foundations or pillars of health) are your safest (and cheapest) insurance policy against illness and disease (with no side effects other than vibrant health and happiness):

1. FOOD AS MEDICINE: Eat a nutrient-dense omnivorous wholefoods diet and ditch all processed and refined food especially refined sugar, refined grains and industrial seed oils.

2. HYDRATION AS MEDICINE: ditch tap water (full of heavy metals, fluoride and chlorine) and whether you're owning or rent invest in a reverse osmosis water filter from The Water Shop (contact 02 94581111) or a whole-of-house system from Complete Home Filtration (contact Craig on 0413 484 469). Mention my name for a discount.

3. MOVEMENT AS MEDICINE: engage in 1 hour of conscious movement a day including some cardio that makes you sweat, fascia release, stretching, strength training, and walking.

4. SLEEP AS MEDICINE: 7+ hours a night with the wifi turned off at modem and mobile phones in aeroplane mode. Ditch electric alarm clocks and baby monitors as these emit the highest EMFs.

5. BREATH AS MEDICINE: breathe in and out through the nose deeply and ditch all artificial fragrances, scented candles, reeds and non-therapeutic grade oils. Click here to learn more about my essential oils brand of choice and contact me to connect you.

6. POSITIVE MINDSET AS MEDICINE: learn to default to a positive mindset, manage stress and observe your reaction to external events. When feeling anxious, take a big-picture perspective and anchor back to the present moment. Apply calming oils and sit with the discomfort until it dissolves rather than avoiding or escaping it with busyness, intoxicants or other distractions.

7. FUN, PLAY & CONNECTION AS MEDICINE: cultivate a deep loving connection with yourself and others. Find a like-minded tribe. Do what sets your soul on fire (what the Japanese call Ikigai or the French call raison d’etre).

8. NATURE AS MEDICINE: spend as much time outdoors in the sunshine and ensure your indoor environment is low tox as possible by kicking the toxic chemicals with more natural versions. Contact me to help you start or deepen your low-tox journey and I can send you a 15-minute introductory video to learn more.

I go through each of these in detail in my one on one health coaching sessions(concentrating on nutrition and hydration as I call these the low-hanging fruit) and in my Food as Medicine Digital Package.

As you can see, there’s no one pill, panacea or cure for illness and disease. It’s all the hundreds of little things that you do (or don’t do) day after day that add up over time to create a solid bedrock or foundation of vibrant health.

Love  Soulla xx