I missed out on our weekly blog last week.  The reason was LM2020.  This is a big event in the field of Lifestyle Medicine.  It was the yearly conference of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.   Of course, most live congress events have had to be postponed because of Covid-19, but as in so many other fields, on-line virtual meetings have taken their place.  This was no exception.  For those of us living on the other side of the world, the opportunity to attend such an important event from the comfort of our own homes was too much to miss.  The cost savings implications of not having to fly half-way around the world, hotel bookings, transport, and also important – loss of earnings while away – all made this virtual event attractive. The meetings were attended by almost 2000 participants, including from around 50 different countries.  This made for some challenges with the time-zone differences – we were 6 hours ahead of the Eastern USA where the event took place.  Thankfully due to modern technology, all the events were recorded and available for later play back.  This made note-taking easier, but also increased the time spent listening to the presentations. It was great to listen to some of the Lifestyle Medicine giants – people like Dr Dean Ornish, Dr T Colin Campbell, Dr Caldwell Esselstyn. The opening discussion was hosted by Dr David Katz, himself an articulate proponent of lifestyle medicine, and a former president of the College.  These are all senior gentlemen, but although some are already in their nineties, their clarity of mind and enthusiasm for life is inspirational. A wide spectrum of topics was presented, covering such fields as Alzheimer’s disease, metabolic syndrome, community culinary medicine, implementation of lifestyle medicine in clinical practice and all the different models, practical assessment of lifestyle health, sleep health, virtual consultation and health provision using internet technology, social isolation and its effect on health, and reimbursement for lifestyle medicine (unfortunately only relevant for practitioners in the USA).  I was not able to attend all the meetings – there was just too much information for one small brain to comprehend. One of the most amazing and inspirational presentations was by a Dr Ed Tori who spoke on influencers – his talk could be addressed just as easily to teachers, parents – in fact to anyone who interacts with others.  We are all influencers in some way or other.  Perhaps I will share some thoughts on this subject based on his talk in a future article. It is great to belong to a movement that not only has a good foundation in solid science, but also offers so much hope to people suffering from so many unnecessary but ubiquitous (all too common) illnesses.  It is possible to reverse such conditions as diabetes, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, early cancers – in up to 80% of people, with the right approach and support. Thankfully there is a growing tide of change happening in the world, as more and more doctors, but also laypeople, are recognising that the traditional medical approach alone is flawed.  There has to be a comprehensive approach – including reversing many of the lifestyle behaviours that brought on those illnesses in the first place. Exciting things are happening.  Watch this space. David Glass

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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