Hippocrates defended 25 centuries ago, “Let your food be your medicine and your medicine your food.” Still today there is that belief that many diseases can heal themselves with certain healthy habits. Surprisingly, according to a survey by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, 40% of Americans think that the cancer can only be cured with alternative medicine, that is, without chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy or surgery.
Alternative Medicine and Lifestyle: It is not the same
In our modern society there is a tendency to use alternative treatments to traditional medicine based on the ‘natural’. But there is a bit of confusion between what the alternative medicine and what is lifestyle medicine or ‘lifestyle medicine’. Alternative medicine consists of recommending therapeutic methods or techniques that are not within the industry conventional treatments that we do in traditional medicine and that, unlike this, has the advantage of not having it side effects apparently. Here we can find acupuncture, detoxification treatments through fasting or specific diets, certain herbs, homeopathic remedies, vitamin supplements, etc.
What is ‘lifestyle medicine’?
This type of lifestyle-based medicine, which is very fashionable all over the world, is based on take care of our habits: diet, exercise, sleep, the way we relate, the way we take care of our mind, our exposure to certain toxic, and so on. Many chronic pathologies (diabetes, obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, depressive or anxious images, etc.) can be prevented and even cured simply by taking care of our habits. This not only assumes an improvement in our quality of life, but also an improvement huge drop in health expenditure. And more and more clinical studies show the effectiveness of teaching these habits.
You have to trust science
The pandemic has clearly demonstrated this. In less than a year it has been possible to create a safe and effective vaccine against this pandemic using the scientific method of clinical trials. Now it needs to be manufactured, distributed and administering to the world’s population, but that’s another matter that no longer depends on scientists. Israel, which has already vaccinated nearly half the population, has dropped to 0.015% of infections after the second dose of the vaccine.
The problem with alternative medicine is the lack of scientific evidence
I personally am against drugs that do not meet scientific criteria based on the correct diagnosis and treatment that have been shown to be effective through clinical trials. That’s the problem with alternative medicine: lack of scientific evidence. In medicine, ‘things went well for me’ are not worth it. Patients need to understand that if any of these alternative methods worked well, traditional medicine would demonstrate it and quickly absorb it therapeutic arsenal.
I remember a patient who came for a consultation with a mouth ulcer and had it months in herbal treatment, mindfulness and special diets. We performed a biopsy and it was one Cancer oral. If I have a previous diagnosis, this patient would have been saved.
How do you know if what they promise is not true?
Hence, lifestyle medicine can be one great addition for traditional medicine. But watch out! In this complementary and alternative medicines to the traditional there are very opportunistic. Therefore, the American Cancer Society recommends that patients consider the following Warning signs to detect these scams:
- Suspicion of advertising claims against serious illnesses that are difficult to treat with traditional medicine (vitiligo, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.).
- Suspicion of treatments that only have benefits and have no side effects. Even herbs and vitamins can have side effects. I’ll talk about this in a next post.
- Suspicion of those promoting seizures versus established treatments of traditional medicine (examples in dermatology are Roacuan for acne or cortisone for dermatitis).
- Suspicion of treatments that can only be performed in one clinicespecially when you are inside countries with more relaxed legislation. If the treatment really works, there will be more clinics that can offer it.
- Suspicion of personal stories. What has happened to a person can have many causes, including a spontaneous improvement in the disease itself. Trust the medicine based on clinical studies performed on many patients.
- Check if these treatments are published in scientific magazines of prestige after being judged by other expert scientists in the field. In many cases, what appears in social networks, books and the media is alone marketing strategies.
A great addition
This practice-based or ‘lifestyle medicine’ should not replace traditional medicine, but can be a great supplement. Take care of your diet, exercise, sleep well, manage stress, take care of the mind and learning to interact with others are habits that will help us live longer and better.
Traditional doctors must be trained in how pass on these healthy habits to our patients, but it is true that we often don’t have the training or time to do it. On the other hand, physicians need to be informed by our patients of any additional treatment they are performing as it can sometimes be there contraindications. I remember a patient who bled a lot during surgery skin cancer and it turned out that she was taking a lot of it antioxidants to prevent aging, which can alter a person’s clotting ability.
The skin and the mind, incredibly related
This lifestyle medicine attaches particular importance to the relationship between body and soul. As I wrote in a previous post, there is a fascinating relationship between them skin and mind. Many skin diseases (eczema, alopecia, psoriasis, etc.) deteriorate with certain moods. On the contrary, many skin conditions (vitiligo, angiomas, acne) can cause anxiety, depression as well lack of self-esteem. In fact, skin cells and neurons come from the same embryonic cells.
The Mayo Clinic Example
I remember the hall of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. When one enters the lobby of the main building (Golda Building), in a studied attempt to create a good first impressionOne is in a double height room, open, bright and with a large piano. I was amazed that patients were constantly approaching and they spontaneously played the piano and occasionally a bit spontaneous to sing. I once witnessed an opera singer, a cancer patient in the clinic, who began to sing in the lobby while a nurse spontaneously joined him at the piano. People, including myself, watched the scene with wet eyes. They defend that at the Mayo Clinic art promotes healing (They call it Art & Healing). It’s another way to take care of the mind, especially in stressful situations like living from an illness.
Basically, the lifestyle-based medicine (‘lifestyle medicine’) it is not an alternative to traditional medicine, but one addition to the health needs required by new times. Appreciating what we eat, how we approach our physical activity, mind / body connections, how we interact, how we deal with stress, what toxins we are exposed to and how we nourish our mind can help us improve our quality of life, prevent diseases and get old better.
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Sometimes doctors do not have the appropriate training or resources to deal with these changes in patients’ lifestyle. Trying to introduce these healthy habits would be one priority in every health system, and it is the foundation of true preventive medicine. Covid-19 has cruelly shown us the importance of having good personal health certain infections. In addition, promoting these healthy habits would save a huge cost to the system as this type of drug is not only effective but also it’s not expensive. Perhaps the revolution in medicine is to return to its roots. The real personalized medicine of the future should be based on sitting next to the patient, listening to him, educating him and motivating him to eat well and perform regular physical activity, to sleep well, not to be exposed to certain toxins and to maintain an adequate social relationship. We live in times when it is a priority to maintain a balance between our mind and our body to cope emotional wounds of this pandemic.