Lifestyle medicine
3/16/2026 by Margo Meekin
While lifestyle medicine has made recent headlines in today’s world, its main principles date back to over 2,500 years ago. Lifestyle medicine is defined by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) as “a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions, including but not limited to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity.”
Lifestyle medicine has overlapped with preventative medicine and integrative medicine, but lifestyle medicine is a unique, evidence-based practice to reduce the severity of a disease, improve disease markers and help quality of life.
These are the six pillars of lifestyle medicine used to improve health outcomes— and they can be practiced each day:
1. Nutrition: The ACLM recommends following a diet of minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. A plant-based diet low in added sugar, sodium and processed ingredients has been shown to support disease prevention, treatment and reduce risk.
2. Physical activity: Exercise and movement pack a powerful punch! Physical activity positively impacts seven of the 10 most common chronic diseases. The recommendations are 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity and two or more strength training sessions per week to build and support muscle.
3. Restorative sleep: It’s much harder to focus on the other pillars if we’re getting poor sleep. While it varies slightly from person-to-person, eight hours a night is the recommendation for most adults. Practice good sleep hygiene by limiting afternoon caffeine, reducing screen time, and setting up a bedroom environment supportive of rest and relaxation.
4. Stress management: While not all stress is bad, high levels of chronic stress negatively affect our health. Some stress-reducing techniques to try are spending time in nature, practicing meditation and mindfulness, decreasing screen time, and improving exercise, sleep and nutrition. All the pillars are connected, so improving one pillar helps the others.
5. Social connection: Positive social connections have been associated with better health outcomes. Conversely, isolation and loneliness are associated with a higher incidence of premature mortality. Call a friend, join a book club or talk to a stranger!
6. Avoidance of risky substance: The last pillar of lifestyle medicine looks at the use of alcohol, tobacco and recreational drugs. While these directly affect our health, they also affect our nutrition, stress management and sleep. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are looking for resources on stopping or using these substances in a more balanced way.
Lifestyle Medicine’s Six Pillars - Today's Dietitian Magazine
Margo Meekin is a dietetic intern at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin- Madison in dietetics and is currently completing her Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition from there too. She has an interest in clinical nutrition, specifically pediatrics and metabolic disorders.