Can Diet And Exercise Replace Your Meds?
If there is one thing that I am 100% certain of, it is that diet and exercise is the best way to live a happy and healthy life. Not only does it protect you from many diseases, but it can also help you get off some medications.
Many doctors are now prescribing exercise instead of medications.
“There’s definitely a disconnect when it comes to prescribing physical activity,” says Dr. Sallis, a family physician at Kaiser Permanente and founder of Exercise Is Medicine (EIM), an initiative launched by the American Council of Sports Medicine that works to elevate the role that healthcare providers play in promoting physical activity.
“Doctors are able to refer an obese patient to a specialist for bariatric surgery but not to a fitness professional. That doesn’t make sense to me. Doctors are required to talk to patients about their diet and smoking but not exercise.”
The amount of time allotted to each doctor’s visit is a factor, and so is traditional doctor training, says Susan Yungblut, director of EIM Canada. “Many of the physicians who are practicing weren’t taught about exercise in medical school,” she adds. “Unless they have a personal interest in exercise, it might not be high on their agendas.”
“This overlooks the most significant benefits of exercise, which are not just weight loss but also cardiovascular fitness, cancer prevention, and overall health,” says Dr. Zentner, a Vancouver-based specialist in internal medicine and obesity and medical director of Live Well, a group of medical-based exercise clinics.
“This is one of the biggest misconceptions of our times. People start going to the gym and become demoralized when the scale doesn’t move. Meanwhile, they aren’t seeing the health benefits happening, mentally and physically.”
“We’ve had patients come off their blood pressure medications, stop taking insulin and go off antidepressants,” says Sara Hodson, president and founder of Live Well Exercise Clinic, “We’ll have a client with a blood pressure of 140/90, but by the end of a 60-minute session, their blood pressure will be normal and stay that way for 24 hours. We have people with diabetes whose blood sugars stabilize over time. These are numbers, and they don’t lie.”
Diet and exercise is not only beneficial for physical ailments but also works wonders for mental issues as well. Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood. And you don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits.
Studies show that exercise can treat mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressant medication—but without the side-effects, of course. As one example, a recent study done by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%. In addition to relieving depression symptoms, research also shows that maintaining an exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing.
Diet and exercise are not only good for you physically and mentally, but will also make you look and feel younger, and who doesn’t want that.
Important: Don’t take it upon yourself to stop taking your medications, make sure you talk to your doctor about it first.
