One has only to sit on a bench in a shopping mall, or under a beach umbrella and observe the mass of humanity around to realise there is a disaster brewing in South Africa, as well as most of the Western world – a disaster in terms of complications of diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, obesity and cancer.
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And yet, medical specialists have known for decades that up to 80% of conditions that cause premature deaths and disease can be prevented or even reversed by relatively simple interventions.
Imagine if you saw a headline on CNN or BBC that a new medicine had been discovered that could prevent or reverse diabetes, and at the same time, prevent and reverse the progression of heart disease, reduce weight, reduce painful joints associated with arthritis and significantly reduce the incidence of common cancers.
On top of that those that used it would feel full of energy and vitality, and prolong life by up to 10 years – not just surviving, but really living. In spite of all these amazing benefits, there were very few side effects – in fact it was safe for children as well as octogenarians, and could even be used by those with advanced heart disease and renal failure. Would you not be one of the first to rush down to the chemist to order this medicine?
Well the good news is there is such a therapy – but it is not found in the pharmacy, but rather in the supermarket or fresh produce store; together with places where enjoyable exercise is practised, and even in your home where loving support from family is obtained.
Generally, these interventions are not often mentioned by your doctor, because doctors have not been trained in lifestyle medicine, and doctors are generally too busy to take time to discuss your diet or exercise regime or sleep patterns, or your addictive behaviours.
This is where lifestyle medicine comes into play. In various countries around the world, the speciality of Lifestyle Medicine has become established – as much of a specialty as internal medicine, orthopaedics, paediatrics or cardio-thoracic surgery.
There is so much on-going research, as well as multiple wellness centres that provide coaching and sometime in-house practical interventions to change the course of so-called lifestyle diseases.
Often there are dramatic results of these interventions – angina symptoms abate within weeks; insulin requirements fall within days; arthritic pains subside within a few days; mass and size diminish progressively; general well-being and sleep patterns improve dramatically within months.
Over the next few months, this column will introduce you to well-established principles of lifestyle intervention that can truly give you freedom from the inexorable path to physical debility and premature death. These are not based on whims and fads, but sound scientific research and huge population studies.
Dave Glass
MBChB, FCOG(SA)
Dr David Glass graduated from UCT in 1975. He spent the next 12 years working at a mission hospital in Lesotho, where much of his work involved health education and interventions to improve health, aside from the normal busy clinical work of an under-resourced mission hospital.
He returned to UCT in 1990 to specialise in obstetrics/gynaecology and then moved to the South Coast where he had the privilege of, amongst other things, ushering 7000 babies into the world. He no longer delivers babies but is still very clinically active in gynaecology.
An old passion, preventive health care, has now replaced the obstetrics side of his work. He is eager to share insights he has gathered over the years on how to prevent and reverse so many of the modern scourges of lifestyle – obesity, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, common cancers, etc.
He is a family man, with a supportive wife, and two grown children, and four beautiful grandchildren. His hobbies include walking, cycling, vegetable gardening, bird-watching, travelling and writing. He is active in community health outreach and deeply involved in church activities. He enjoys teaching and sharing information.
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