Empowerment.
That’s the word that comes to mind when I think of Lifestyle Medicine. As a neurologist that works mainly with people with neurodegenerative diseases (like Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease), empowerment is an extremely valuable word. Lifestyle Medicine, although not a cure for these neurodegenerative diseases, can be life changing. It offers hope and actionable change, both of which are known to improve quality of life, well-being and overall health.
My journey to becoming a Lifestyle Medicine physician and an advocate for plant forward eating came after I had been in clinical practice for eight years. I attended a conference that highlighted the importance of plant forward eating habits in treating many medical conditions. Even at that conference, however, the importance of these changes were never talked about in relation to any neurologic conditions. Being curious, I delved deeper into the importance of lifestyle changes on brain health.
My first stop was to become certified in Culinary Medicine. Combining my love for food and cooking, with evidence-based medicine, I knew Culinary Medicine was a great fit for me. I have enjoyed teaching people how to incorporate more plants and whole foods into their diets and showing them how to actually cook with these ingredients. I have seen first-hand how this has helped people feel better, becoming more empowered while dealing with diseases that take away so much. Helping people change their eating habits also comes hand in hand with making changes in other aspects of their lives – like incorporating more movement. In the world of brain health, movement has been consistently shown to be one of the most important factors to increasing longevity, and decreasing the burden of neurodegenerative diseases.
An article that was published in the June 7 edition of Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy1 showed through a randomized, controlled clinical trial that aggressive lifestyle interventions actually improved cognition and function in patients with early dementia. The interventions included a minimally processed plant-based diet, moderate aerobic activity and strength training as well as instruction in stress reduction and mindfulness practices. After 20 weeks, 71% of the patients in the intervention group showed improvement or no change in cognitive scores while 68% in the control group showed worsening. No one in the control group showed improvement. This was a small study, and further research is still needed, but this provides hope that factors which are within our control may actually be able to provide some meaningful and functional improvement in people who have early signs of cognitive impairment.
I love the idea that in a field where often times all we can do is acknowledge that a condition could get worse, we can now offer interventions that give hope and empowerment. Lifestyle medicine is not just a fad, but is offering real world, evidence-based changes for medical conditions in every system of the body – including the brain.
It’s exciting to know that we have the ability to actively affect how our bodies age. That is why I am starting a Lifestyle Medicine practice in Santa Barbara, specifically focused on improving the brain-health of my patients. We can be proactive and influence our health and lives, with more plants, more movement, and more intention, both today and for the future. And THAT is true empowerment.
1. Alzheimers Res Ther. 2024 Jun 7;16(1):122. doi: 10.1186/s13195-024-01482-z.
Erin Presant, DO, CCMS is board-certified in Neurology, fellowship trained in Movement Disorders and is a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist through the American College of Culinary Medicine. Dr. Presant has practiced Neurology and Movement Disorders at UCLA as well through her own practice. She is currently pursuing her board certification in Lifestyle Medicine and working on establishing a Lifestyle Medicine clinic for Neurology patients and their families in Santa Barbara.
