The principles of lifestyle medicine

 I've shared the turnaround in my own life and the management of my chronic illness through the principles of lifestyle medicine. I credit these changes as the simplest, most direct, and most profound actions for my health and well-being that I have ever undertaken. 

When I support the adoption of these changes in my patients, colleagues, friends, and family—and now with the readers of this book—I feel a sense of overwhelming pride and hope. On the difficult days, when I become overwhelmed by the amount of work we have yet to do in the fields of public health, medical education, and health care, I remember one of my favorite stories of societal transformation, which took place over many years in North Karelia, Finland. In the 1960s, the Finnish people became aware that cardiovascular disease was running rampant and that Finland had the highest rate of coronary heart disease mortality in the world. How did this come to be? 

After World War II, living standards improved dramatically in Finland, and the dairy industry in particular flourished. Once limited by low production and high cost, people suddenly had the means to eat more dairy products, and consumption skyrocketed. Due to a shorter growing season and less investment in production, fruit and vegetable agriculture did not keep pace. The Finnish diet became rich in butter, cream, whole milk, and cheese, which amounted to a large percentage of saturated fat. Additionally, Finnish veterans returning from the war had picked up a terrible tobacco habit. At its peak, 60 percent of the men were smokers. 

These factors both played a huge role in Finland's climbing cardiovascular deaths. In response to this, the Finnish government initiated the North Karelia Project in the 1970s, a vast campaign to inform the public and change the behaviors that were related to heart disease deaths. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and TV were flooded with health-related topics. Health-care professionals and the general community took part in seminars about healthy habits Synthetic Gloves. Locals volunteered to hand out leaflets in their villages. Food service workers in schools, hospitals, and cafeterias received new training.

 Things did not change overnight, but the Finns kept going. The government published dietary guidelines and held a national cholesterol consensus meeting in 1989. 

Women's organizations held “longevity” or “healthy” parties, where volunteers would give a talk on healthy lifestyle behaviors like not smoking, cutting salt intake, and adding more vegetables to one's diet. During these parties they would share cooking demos and serve healthier, plant-based meals. Knowing the Finnish people would not readily give up their beloved sausages, government officials convinced local sausage-making businesses to reduce salt and replace pork fat with local mushrooms as a filler.

 Business leaders were reluctant to do so at first, but they found that when they tried out these new recipes their sales improved. The Finns also realized that they needed to increase consumption of fruit, but imports were pricey. North Karelians only ate the berries that grew locally in the summer months. So the government helped set up ways to freeze and distribute these berries throughout the year TPE gloves. The resulting boost in fruit sales encouraged dairy farmers to section off part of their land to grow more berries.