{"id":6625,"date":"2023-03-01T22:42:51","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T22:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifestylemedicine.org\/?p=6625"},"modified":"2023-12-13T16:36:37","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T16:36:37","slug":"attendee-finds-home-at-lm2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifestylemedicine.org\/articles\/attendee-finds-home-at-lm2022\/","title":{"rendered":"First-Time Attendee Finds a Home at Lifestyle Medicine 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

First-Time Attendee Finds a Home at ACLM Annual Conference<\/h1>\n
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Dr. David Gutierrez, who embraced lifestyle medicine after his minor heart attack in 2021, was energized by the annual gathering of clinicians focused on the fast-growing medical specialty.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>

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\"Gutierrez\"<\/div><\/div>
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David Gutierrez, MD, didn\u2019t meet any other doctors from rural Louisiana at Lifestyle Medicine 2022. Franklin Parish, where he practices general surgery, ranks near the bottom of the national health rankings and lifestyle is a big reason why.<\/p>\n

Yet Dr. Gutierrez says he never felt more at home than he did at the American College of Lifestyle Medicine\u2019s (ACLM) annual conference Nov. 13-16, 2022 in Orlando, Fla. It was his first time to attend the gathering of almost 1,900 clinicians, health leaders and health innovators from some of the nation\u2019s largest health systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can feel a little lonely being the only doctor you know who sees lifestyle medicine as the future of health care and is already using it with some great patient outcomes,\u201d said Dr. Gutierrez, standing in the crowded exhibit hall of the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. \u201cBut here, everyone gets it. This is home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Gutierrez\u2019s path to Lifestyle Medicine 2022 started on cold February day in 2021 outside his home as he cut up a live oak tree toppled by an ice storm. After feeling a persistent pain in his chest, he went to the hospital where he underwent a heart catherization with stent placement and returned home with the sobering knowledge that he had suffered a minor heart attack.<\/p>\n

He already knew exactly how he would react. Before his heart incident, he had watched the documentary \u201cForks Over Knives,\u201d which presents the scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of a low-fat, whole food plant-based dietary lifestyle. In the film, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. demonstrates how the dietary pattern can achieve remission in a patient with cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt blew my mind \u2013 you can reverse that?\u201d Dr. Gutierrez said. \u201cIt went against everything I had been taught. I started looking at the research and learning about lifestyle medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>

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\"Food<\/a><\/div>
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Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic\u202flifestyle\u202finterventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions\u202fincluding,\u202fbut not limited to,\u202fcardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.\u202fLifestyle medicine certified clinicians are trained to apply\u202fevidence-based,\u202fwhole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine\u2014a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections\u2014also provides effective prevention for these conditions.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gutierrez identified an unhealthy diet and poor stress management as his most immediate health issues. He had left the hospital on multiple medications, including cholesterol and blood pressure medicine as well as anti-platelet agents. He experienced peripheral neuropathy as a side effect of the medications; his feet tingled. He set a goal to make significant lifestyle changes that would allow him to get off all those medications within a year.<\/p>\n

Dr. Gutierrez lost 60 pounds. His cholesterol is now within the normal range and his most recent blood pressure was 91 over 77, much improved from his regular measurements in the 150s over 90s prior to his heart attack. Notably, plaque on his left carotid artery reduced in size from 15 millimeters to just 8 millimeters during the past year. He achieved his goal and no longer requires prescription medications.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBefore I went predominately plant based, I would inhale more steaks than air,\u201d he said. \u201cFilet mignon was my thing, and I realize now that I used food as a way to cope with my stress. I feel great and I owe it all to lifestyle medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

His own health transformed, Dr. Gutierrez now focuses on introducing his patients to lifestyle medicine. He\u00a0joined<\/a>\u00a0ACLM and attended Lifestyle Medicine 2022 to earn continuing medical education credits to sit for the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine\u00a0certification exam<\/a>. The conference featured three and a half days of plenary and concurrent sessions, more than 120 speakers, 25 member group meetings, 12 oral research abstract presentations, as well as 17 pre- and post-conference workshops at an additional cost.<\/p>\n

High-profile sessions included former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, FASA, speaking about how to achieve health equity through lifestyle medicine and NYC Health + Hospitals leaders on implementing system-wide efforts to advance nutrition and lifestyle education for patients and health care professionals in one of the largest public healthcare systems in the country. Valuable information was also shared on payment and reimbursement strategies for lifestyle medicine. This year\u2019s conference, Lifestyle Medicine 2023, will be held Oct. 29 \u2013 Nov. 1 in Denver. Virtual attendance is also available. Registration informaton is available\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Energized and inspired, Dr. Gutierrez is eager to incorporate the skills and knowledge he gained at the conference into his practice and enhance his ability to help patients make meaningful and sustainable lifestyle behavior changes to treat chronic diseases. ACLM recently made a $22 million in-kind commitment in collaboration with the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health to provide 5.5 hours of complimentary CME coursework to 100,000 physicians and other medical professionals treating patients in areas with a high prevalence of diet-related disease, like Franklin Parish. Clinicians can sign up\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For patients who need extra convincing of the benefits of lifestyle medicine, Dr. Gutierrez sometimes shows them a picture of himself taken prior to his heart attack and asks them if they would take \u201clifestyle change advice from this guy?\u201d Most answer \u2018no\u2019 and are stunned to learn the picture is of him.<\/p>\n

Patients who commit to adopting lifestyle changes as part of their treatment plan return to appointments overjoyed with their success, he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe satisfaction I felt treating disease with surgery I now feel treating chronic disease with lifestyle medicine, only it is better and with less risk to the patient,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is why I am so excited about lifestyle medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Lifestyle Medicine 2023 is set for October 29 to November 1, 2023. Don\u2019t miss your opportunity to join like-minded colleagues at the beautiful Gaylord Rockies Resort in Denver, Colorado.\u00a0Register now.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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\"Lifestyle<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. David Gutierrez, who embraced lifestyle medicine after his minor heart attack in 2021, was energized by the annual gathering of clinicians focused on the fast-growing medical specialty. 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