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Dear member,
The countdown to this year’s annual British Society of Lifestyle Medicine conference continues.
We hope you can join us - either in person at Edinburgh ICC between September 2-4 or online via our virtual conference offering.
If you’ve not already booked your ticket for BSLM2021, head to our website to see the full speaker line up.
The BSLM office team recently visited the EICC and it promises to be the perfect venue for this our fifth anniversary conference.
Covid restrictions and infection prevention measures will of course be at the forefront of our minds as we plan and organise the conference.
We want you to enjoy our conference safely and comfortably, and we will be working hard to ensure everything we do is in line with Scottish Government rules and guidelines.
Please get in touch with the BSLM office with your ideas for news and content for the newsletter.
BSLM2021 is the culmination of a busy year for our society which has focused on supporting you, our members, to keep learning during these challenging times - to build your knowledge of lifestyle medicine and achieve real benefits in your clinical practice.
We hope you have been enjoying our monthly webinar series - and in our newsletter, as always we have updates on the next member events as well as other CPD and learning opportunities.
Our colleagues at the Group Consultations programme have another webinar planned this month, 29th July on virtual group consultations, and we have the latest news on our plans for a new Learning Academy.
Thanks for your continued support and as always please get in touch with your ideas for news and content.
We hope you can join us for the next BSLM webinar which takes place on Tuesday, July 20th at 7pm.
The session is free to BSLM members and this month we will be covering the microbiome with our guest speakers Sheena Fraser and Despina Marselou.
Sheena, who is a GP based in Glasgow and also a BSLM diplomate, will be sharing her passion for microbiome science including the latest research. It’s no exaggeration to say Sheena’s enthusiasm for this topic has changed not only the way she practises but also the way she lives her life. Sheena will cover everything you need to know about microbiome science - including what it is and why you need to know about it!
Joining Sheena will be expert in clinical nutrition and immunology Despina Marselou who will be sharing her expertise on the microbiome and nutrition.
Despina is a dietician specialising in auto-immunity and inflammation and her talk will look at the full range of dietary approaches - including low carb, ketogenic, and high fibre, including the Mediterranean and plant-based diets, and will draw on the latest research to explore which is the best for the effective maintenance of good gut health - and supporting immunity.
Despina will also share a number of real-life clinical case studies where patients managed to reduce their auto-immunity symptoms by adopting plant-based nutrition and lifestyle techniques.
Find our more and sign up for the webinar on the BSLM website.
Learning Academy and LMS latest
Plans for the new BSLM Learning Academy are progressing well including the implementation of our new Learning Management System (LMS).
The chosen platform, Brightspace/D2L, will provide us with a high end, flexible system to deliver engaging and informative lifestyle medicine courses for learners.
The team is busy building the new system, as well as developing our first courses including “An Introduction to Lifestyle Medicine” and a course around the microbiome.
We received an amazing response from associates who were interested in providing content for the LMS and we will be contacting people shortly to discuss how they can become involved in the creation of content.
Ellen Fallows and Andrew Howie look forward to meeting you at the conference to answer your questions about the Academy and demonstrate the LMS.
Our plan is to have the Academy ready to launch in September.
Are you looking for a new lifestyle medicine career?
BSLM is here to support GPs, other clinicians and a broad range of health professionals to take their lifestyle medicine career to the next level.
We want you to have the skills and knowledge to progress within your profession or to make a switch in career.
With this in mind we are planning a future information and learning event which will focus on supporting you to develop your career in lifestyle medicine.
If you are a BSLM member who has made a successful career switch in the world of lifestyle medicine we would love to hear from you. As we plan the event, we are looking for members who can share their career development experiences with others - and offer advice and guidance.
Please get in touch with the BSLM office if you would like to get involved.
Virtual Group Consultations webinar
The Group Consultations team are back this month with another webinar looking at how you can run virtual sessions for patients.
BSLM chairman Rob Lawson will be chairing the next free virtual group consultations webinar on July 29th.
Guest speakers this month include Dr Sui Wong, consultant neurologist and neuro ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, who will be offering advice on making the transition from face to face to Virtual Group Consultations. She will be joined by Dr Beth Frates, Lifestyle Wellness Coach and Harvard University teacher with a talk on wellness group interventions.
Jason Parker, Lead for Long Term Conditions at NHS Harrow CCG will be discussing how to use VGCs to deliver a whole system approach for diabetes; while Prof Rob Donovan, Adjunct Professor at the School of Human Sciences at the University of Western Australia, will be setting out his ‘Act-Belong-Commit' approach to keeping mentally healthy using lifestyle medicine.
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The BSLM values specialist expertise to guide the work of our Society. As part of this, our Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are building the evidence-based lifestyle medicine resource we need to support our members and the wider public. We’re currently looking for additional members for the Physical Activity SIG – please get in touch with the office if you're interesyed
BSLM Latest News
Three billion people cannot afford a healthy diet
Three billion people around the world cannot afford a healthy diet - with healthy diets more than four times as expensive as basic, calorie-sufficient diets.
That’s the conclusion of an article by Our World in Data Head of Research Hannnah Ritchie this month, which argues that billions of people are suffering from “hidden hunger” - micronutrient deficiencies such as too little iron, calcium, vitamin-A or iodine.
Read the full article on the Our World in Data website.
Report offers food for thought
The publication of part 2 of the National Food Strategy this week has made an important contribution to the debate about healthy eating in the UK.
Proposals include a new tax on products containing high levels of salt and sugar, as well as suggestions GPs should prescribe fruit and vegetables to patients.
BSLM’s Nutrition Special Interest Group is currently preparing a response to the report which we hope to share with you shortly.
We welcome your views on the report – are its proposals the best way to ensure more people can access affordable, healthy food and to reduce consumption of processed foods?
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of the Food Foundation has said the UK’s food environment is “failing to deliver diets which are just, healthy or sustainable” ahead of the publication of its annual Broken Plate report.
The foundation’s report into the state of our current food system addresses the challenges facing the UK in ensuring everyone can access a healthy and sustainable diet.
Doctors and Nurses needed for nutrition study
A research team at the University of Westminster is appealing for doctors and nurses to contribute to a study exploring the impact of workplace nutrition on health and wellbeing.
Participants are needed to take part in an interview where they will be asked about their eating habits and health behaviours at work.
Contact Kiu Sum, Doctoral Researcher at the University of Westminster for more information via k.sum@my.westminster.ac.uk
Find our more about the study on the University of Westminster website
Deepak lifts the lid on long covid and lifestyle medicine
Our member and diplomate Dr Deepak Ravindran has recorded a video interview for BSLM on his experience of supporting patients with long covid.
In the interview, Deepak, who also chairs BSLM’s Pain Special Interest Group, lifts the lid on what covid is, what the symptoms are, and what lifestyle risk factors may be at play.
He also shares his advice for health professionals on possible interventions which can help patients to manage their long covid - and the good news is lifestyle medicine can play a big part. You can watch the video on youtube.
You can watch the first part of Deepak's interview on our youtube channel.
Deepak’s Long Covid clinic in Berkshire is also due to make an appearance on the BBC’s One Show in the coming weeks. We will keep you posted on a broadcast date via our social media channels.
Practice Nurses and reversing Type 2 Diabetes
“General practice nurses are uniquely placed to talk about a brighter future for people with type 2 diabetes, and starting this conversation is likely to be so much more rewarding than focusing only on our current monitor and medicate approach.”
Read more from BSLM trustee Dr Ellen Fallows in an article she originally wrote this year for Practice Nurse Journal …
Ellen argues it is time for practice nurses to lead the way when it comes to helping patients achieve remission from type 2 diabetes.
Study looks at diet's role in gut microbiome health
What part might diet play in modulating our gut microbiome - and in turn our immune system? It’s a critical question and one which researchers for the Journal Cell have been grappling with.
The recent study explored how two microbiota-targeted dietary interventions, plant-based fibre and fermented foods, influence the human microbiome and immune system in healthy adults.
You can read the full study at cell.com
Bowel Cancer patients benefit from exercise
The World Cancer Research Fund has announced two new studies which show that low-to-moderate activity levels can significantly improve quality of life after bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the fourth most common cancer in the UK - and WCRF estimates that 54% of bowel cancer cases are preventable due to lifestyle factors, which include: eating too much red and processed meat, not eating enough foods containing fibre or wholegrains, being overweight or obese, not doing enough physical activity, drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco.
Meanwhile, eating healthily, living an active life and maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce the risk of 12 types of cancer, say WCRF.
Read more about the two studies on the WCRF website.
The Covid 19 and lifestyle nexus. Settling the debate?
Does the classification of disease into communicable and non-communicable definitions hold water in our post-COVID world? On the back of last year’s controversy surrounding an RCGP conference, which referred to COVID-19 as a “lifestyle disease”, three researchers have weighed into the debate.
The RCGP later apologised for the conference title, but now a journal article for the US National Centre for Biotechnology Information has attempted to “settle the debate” about where the nexus lies between COVID-19 and lifestyle. The authors, Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy, Sohaila Cheema and Ravinder Mamtani, argue that the “close proximity” of communicable disease to non-communicable diseases make such a dichotomy unhelpful.
The report concludes: “The debate should be not whether COVID-19 is a lifestyle-related disease or not, but rather how and what can be done to promote healthy lifestyles as an integrated package of healthcare delivery to effectively counter both communicable and NCDs in a holistic manner.”
Read the article for yourself and decide if the debate has indeed been settled!
NHS Networks: Weekly News Stories
Advertising rules to help tackle childhood obesity
The government has announced new advertising rules for unhealthy foods aimed at reducing childhood obesity. The changes mean a new 9pm watershed will be introduced for advertisements of foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
Research shows two million people may have had long Covid
Over two million people in England are thought to have had one or more Covid-19 symptoms lasting at least 12 weeks according to one of the largest studies of the virus funded by the government.
Young people with cancer struggle to access mental health services
A report by the Teenage Cancer Trust says young people with cancer are unable to access specialist mental health support in parts of the UK, putting them at risk of lifelong trauma.
Tackling health inequalities: a framework for allied health professionals
The King’s Fund has worked with allied health professionals (AHPs) to develop a framework for tackling health inequalities.The framework aims to support AHPs to do whatever they can – large or small – to tackle health inequalities. It also includes examples of AHP-led work already under way across England.
Reset Your Health
Until May 5th 2022 Online
Reset Your Health is an informative and individualised online programme which equips the user with evidence-based nutritional advice and the practical skills they need to eat healthy. Using a detailed ingredient-based algorithm RYH provides recipes personalised to an individual’s food preferences, dietary requirements and health conditions helping reverse health conditions caused by lifestyle.
Afternoon Tea with Docs
Every Sunday at 5pm Online on Zoom
Join Dr Linda Mizun and Dr Erica Lin every Sunday for relaxed and educational health and lifestyle medicine discussion aimed at health professionals and the general public. This month's session share's a screening of Code Blue and on 25th July, BSLM Director Dr Sue Kennelly highlights the empowering role of lifestyle medicine after a cancer diagnosis
Lifestyle Medicine in Clinical Practice
Until January 1st 2022 Online
Online Digital CPD Course 2. Accredited for 10 CPD hours by BSLM. This course has been created for busy NHS clinicians to enable them to practice evidence- based Lifestyle Medicine with their patients. CPD which is inspiring and will help you to feel more fulfilled in your own career.
The Future of Healthcare is Lifestyle Medicine
Until July 31st 2021 Online
This digital modular course provided by online CPD provider Inspired Medics is aimed at GPs looking to use lifestyle medicine in their consultations with patients.
