FOOD IS MEDICINE. EXERCISE IS THERAPY.
Lifestyle lifestyle lifestyle.
You’ve heard it all before… You are what you eat. Exercise for 30 minutes a day. You cant outtrain a bad diet & you can’t diet your way to fitness.
Diet and exercise are the keys to health and longevity. Like peanut better & jelly, like asthma & eczema, like burgers & fries, like depression & anxiety, they ALWAYS go together.
I am of the opinion that you can’t and shouldn’t have one without the other. Diet and exercise. AND, not OR. Both!
With the American “pill for every ill” medical mentality, it is so common to treat symptoms.
Nausea? Take zofran. (it’s really cheap in dpc)
Insulin resistant? Diabetes? Metformin for you.
Allergies? Xyzal, Zytec or Claritin. The choice is yours.
No energy? Vitamin B12 or D or both. But first check the thyroid including reverse T3 (I don’t even know what that is!)
I think, no, I KNOW we should be taking a different approach. Imagine a medical mentality of FOOD being medicine and EXERCISE used as therapy. That would be amazing. It would certainly change healthcare, change our culture, even change our world.
We can teach our patients exactly which foods have a low glycemic index. Tell them to “shop the perimeter” and how to avoid the grocery store aisles filled with ultra-processed crap. Explain to them why protein is so damn important and what the best sources are. Learn about anti-inflammatory and low histamine diets. Let Food be their Farmacy.
Exercise. One size doesn’t fit all. But exercise is for ALL.
Ever watch Dr. Mike Evan’s video, “23 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health?” (If not, you can find it here. )
I send it to EVERY patient with any chronic condition: diabetes, arthritis, osteopenia, depression… ok, so just about every patient. I can’t come up with a condition that exercise does NOT help; and I have NEVER told a patient NOT to exercise. Modify exercise? Sure, but never NOT to exercise. It helps EVERYTHING in life. Exercise is therapy for the mind, body and soul. I will die on that hill.
Here is my challenge to ALL physicians (specialist, primary care, dpc and traditional practice): Next time you evaluate a patient, before you click on the Rx tab, take time to TALK DIET & EXERCISE. Really talk. Not just a broad 1 sentence statement. Teach them something besides medication and side effects.
Food is our medicine. Exercise is our therapy.
Amy, couldn’t agree more. I know my patients keep joking that I think exercise is part of the treatment for everything, but it really is for so many different things. Very nice article and I just sent the Youtube link to my entire patient list because I thought it was awesome. Many thanks for excellent work.
Brandon Sick
Thanks Brandon. One thing my patients ( and family) hear me say over and over and over is
“There is NO substitute for a healthy lifestyle.”
Amy, I’ve had more of my patients send me thank you emails and telling me it helped motivate them than any prior email. I had sent out the sit to stand email once before that was close but your video is the top dog so far. Here’s one patient’s response that I wanted you to see:
“The video was better than great. It’s a motivator for years to come. Exercise is best medicine.
Thank you,
Eric”
Thanks again for all you do!
Brandon