A belated Happy New Year to all of our wonderful Members! A fantastic start to the year so far - take a peek to see our lifestyle medicine updates for 2024!
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January 2024
Welcome member to
Your home of lifestyle medicine news
To kick things off, a belated Happy New Year! We're so delighted to begin 2024 off to a wonderful start with all of our members.
We've been back in your inbox already this month with lots of events, updates, Conference launch, and now with another month of BSLM to share.
We do apologise for this Newsletter coming out a bit later this month. Once you start scrolling, you'll see why!
Below is your guide to all things Lifestyle Medicine this month, insight into January at BSLM and also what's in store come February time!
In this month's Newsletter...
HEADLINE NEWS
BSLM 2024 is HERE!
We're so delighted to invite you to our 8th Annual Conference this year!
With Dr Rob Lawson
“For one reason or another the prevalence of chronic disease has increased markedly over the last few decades. You will have your thoughts and there will be studies out there which may inform your opinion. Additionally, healthy life expectancy is stalling or in retreat. Children born today may well have a lesser healthy life expectancy than their parents. This rather depressing outlook is not inevitable and indeed our approach through the discipline of Lifestyle Medicine gives us plenty of reasons for optimism.
One of the manifestations of BSLM’s optimism is the annual conference which attracts so many inspiring and well-regarded national and international speakers who underline the art and the science of protecting and managing the health of all our citizens. And of course, your enthusiastic presence makes it a fabulous annual gathering. This year in yet another fabulous venue, The Glasshouse in Newcastle.
Possibly, while we move towards life expectancies above the age of 95, and while substantially compressing morbidity may require significant scientific breakthroughs, the improvement in health and increases in life expectancy can be achieved with appropriate lifestyle support and policy changes which reduce socioeconomic disparities thus allowing us to flourish at all stages of our lifespan. As individual practitioners we have witnessed some extraordinary outcomes – these need to be replicated widely and our conferences provide the environment to learn, debate, gain confidence and deliver.
Our line-up of speakers is amazing yet again so all will be revealed in due course. You are guaranteed to enjoy your BSLM conference experience.
On behalf of the BSLM (and European LM Council) Trustees, officers and staff I look forward to welcoming you to our Conference number 8. It will be a privilege as always.”
-Dr Rob Lawson, FRCGP FBSLM Dip IBLM, BSLM Chair, ELMC President, Member Executive Council World LM Organisation, MLMI Vice President
Our Theme for 2024
This year our conference theme is “Start Well, Live Well, Age Well”, meaning that at every stage of life, children, adults and the elderly should have the tools for optimum health and promoting healthy ageing. This is reflected through the variety of engaging sessions planned, with each one providing unique insight into these topical aspects of lifestyle medicine.
With a 3-day programme, you can join in on physical activity sessions learn new transferrable skills, whilst taking in our comprehensive speaker programme, which will be released closer to the date, including esteemed and household names amongst the healthcare community. BSLM 2024 is great way to share knowledge on the growing Lifestyle Medicine approach that is the future of healthcare system throughout the world. And connect with a like-minded community passionate about making a sustainable shift in health-span.
We can’t wait to invite you to explore, take in and enjoy, these three full days of Lifestyle Medicine and all it has to offer!
Have a peek at what's in store for 2024!
GALA DINNER TICKETS
Grab your Gala Dinner Tickets here too!
Tickets are £95 and can be purchased from the link below - they go quickly, so make sure you grab yours soon!
Join us at our annual Gala Dinner. Unwind and connect in a room full of likeminded individuals. With healthy food, entertainment and Fellowship Ceremony, we hope it’s an event to remember at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead.
LIFESTYLE MEDICINE IN FOCUS
Some noteworthy Lifestyle Medicine features within the recent news in Britain.
The Lifestyle Medicine Journal: New Releases!
It's been a busy month for our Lifestyle Medicine Journal Editor-In-Chief, and BSLM Director for Science and Research, Prof Fraser Birrell and below researchers and writers, as this month's seen quite a lot of activity!
On the 20th of January, The behaviour change technique: Profile of a multimodal lifestyle intervention was released, and following that on the 23rd of January Community initiatives for well-being in the United Kingdom and their role in developing social capital and addressing loneliness: A scoping review was released too.
Haven't seen the newest releases? Take a look below!
Red January was an initiative and campaign rolled out to keep us active in January, known as one of the hardest months of the year.
Were you participating? We were! All of our updates are on our social media accounts. We congratulate you on getting through!
Aquatics and Swimming programme now available for all!
The Aquatic Activity and Swimming for Health elearning programme is now universally available for everyone to access within health and social care settings.
Previously it was just available for colleagues with an NHS email address but, thanks to an upgrade in functionality, it can now be accessed by all.
The resource, developed in partnership with Swim England, Aquatic Therapy Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (ATACP) and the University of Nottingham, raises awareness of the benefits of aquatic activity on health and wellbeing and will enhance learners’ confidence in identifying patients who would benefit most.
Have a look at the Programme to take part.
NICE draft PDA on depression
New Blog Release!
A big thank you to Gavin Routledge for our most recent blog post on De-Medicalising Lower Back Pain.
A fantastic read that goes into detail about how prevalent in patients lower back pain is. Sometimes it's easy to overlook, and this graph shows us how much attention we should be paying!
As you've probably seen on our social media recently, NHS England had commissioned NICE to produce some decision support tools (aka PDAs) including one on depression.
They were looking get some peer review data for the project. The survey was sent out on the 25th of this month, and final submissions are closing on 15th of February. If you want to take part, please click the link!
Other Lifestyle Medicine News and Events
Holland and Barrett: Having aches while trying to be more active over Jan? Our joints, bones, & muscles at different ages.
You might only think about your joints, bones, and muscles when an ache pops up. But you use them all your life, so it’s worth taking care of them early! Which ties well into our conference theme.
Have a peek at some helpful tips from Holland and Barrett on Join health and care.
Yakult: The Gut Health Habit Tracker
Download this fantastic resource for Health Care Professionals below!
LATEST NEWS AT BSLM
Introducing Our Newest Member of the Office Team..
Hello, I'm Rachel Cox, the new Communities Officer in the BSLM team!
"I am really looking forward to working in the world of Lifestyle Medicine and learning more about the evidence behind healthy lifestyle practices from the wealth of knowledge in the BSLM. My background is in medical anthropology and community engagement in the health and social care sector. I am also a yoga teacher in my spare time, so I am passionate about empowering people with the knowledge and skills to try to stay well.
My first project with the BSLM will be working on Live Well East Lothian, scoping what makes the charity a success and identifying opportunities to grow the offering locally and nationally. I'll be joining in with some of the exercise classes over the coming weeks to get a good understanding of them!
I look forward to meeting some of you at this year's conference."
We are so delighted to welcome Rachel into the team and all the fantastic work she'll be doing looking for opportunities to grow Lifestyle Medicine centred community-based projects such as Live Well!
Live Well was previously called East Lothian Cardiac-Pulmonary Rehab Group and was founded by Dr Rob Lawson, our Chairman.
It's so important that Lifestyle Medicine principles come to life in communities across the country to support those who need it. We hope that we will hear from Rachel more regularly on any updates she has for Live Well too.
BSLM 2023 Picture Gallery Available!
With all the buzz around BSLM24 already, don't forget to check the gallery for your debut!
The pictures from BSLM 2023 have been released and are now available on our website. We are more than excited to share with you the fun we had last year. See if you can spot yourself!
BSLM are at IPM 2024 Congress
We are exhibiting at IPM 2024, if you can make it we'd love for you to say hello!
For members, we also have a discount code for tickets. This is available further down in our exclusive Member's section of this Newsletter
Featured Podcasts
As you'll know we have some fantastic podcasts on our radar. Podcasts are a great way of getting all the latest insights and information on Lifestyle Medicine or not.
Recommended Listening for the Month:
#414. Why you can't stop eating Processed Foods: Dr Chris Van-Tulleken
Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
We know we did just feature Dr Rangan Chatterjee's podcast in last months newsletter, however this one is also equally important to the Lifestyle Medicine Community!
With BSLM mentioned in their discussion, the podcast explores the very important topic, and often avoided flash point, of the balance between the public health/population interventions and individual lifestyle medicine type support.
Both agree on the podcast that both are needed. That's what we wanted to hear!
Our Podcasts
The Microbiome Medics Newest Release:
Ep.13 - The Kombucha Conversation: Uncovering the mysteries of Kombucha and Gut Health
The Movement Prescription Podcast Newest Release:
Ep.15 - A Heart for Movement: a Conversation with Cardiologist Dr Edney Boston-Griffiths
Every time one of the podcasts above are released we'll be updating the newsletter so keep an eye out for updates here too for your monthly listening fix!
Wild-ness Retreats
We're aligning with the work they do.
We've made connections with Wild-ness Retreats as we believe they're doing great work through their activities, foster a great approach and ethos.
You'll have seen our December post about the January Wild-Ness Retreat offerings - they look fantastic!
However if you've missed the dates for this month, not to worry. They will also be offering other dates in May and November for Health Care Professionals.
So what is Wild-ness all about?
We'll let them explain:
WHAT IS WILD-NESS?
Wild-Ness is a collective of accredited health and wellbeing professionals, creatives, and people with lived experience of recovery, living amongst the mountains and glens of Loch Ness. Our unifying purpose is to support you in creating the best life you can within the parameters that you have.
WHAT DOES WILD-NESS DO?
Whether you are a health professional starting to burnout, someone with ongoing health concerns or a visitor to the area that would like to experience “The Wild Way to Wellness”, we will embolden you to take control of your health, through events that blend the science of lifestyle medicine with ancient wellbeing practices and creative flow activities.
HOW WILL I BENEFIT?
Wild-Ness is different things to different people. For some it is a coach who supports them in their quest for personal development. For others it is a safe and supportive space to reconnect with themselves. We will support you to make informed choices through expert medical knowledge, provide experiences to immerse you in nature and creativity and embolden you to grow and flourish.
We can't wait to work alongside them in the future! Don't forget to check out their website or contact for further info on their upcoming ventures.
Overcoming MS
A little update from them if you haven't seen it already:
Introducing the new collaborative space for healthcare professionals interested in lifestyle medicine and MS!
"Overcoming MS is delighted to be launching a new online space in the Overcoming MS platform - the Live Well Hub - for any healthcare professional who supports lifestyle medicine in the management of MS. This is a space for likeminded individuals working in healthcare to come together, ask questions, share tips and best practice. You will be able to access research updates, events and downloadable resources – all aimed to help you deliver the best support possible for your patients with MS.
We already offer Circles of support across the globe as safe places where people living with MS can come together to learn more about the Overcoming MS Program and support each other. By creating this new Circle, specifically for healthcare professionals across the health sector including those in clinical and community settings, we can help you to help people with MS to get the information they need about managing their symptoms and disease progression, ultimately living healthier lives with their MS.
Join today! Download the app by searching for 'Live Well Hub - Overcoming MS' in your app store or through your browser."
Best wishes,
The Overcoming MS Team
Culinary Medicine is a fantastic group of talented individuals, and their course is still worth taking - even if the January Flash Sale is over - as they will be a big part of BSLM 2024!
Get your chef hat on and give it a try in advance of September - even Prue Leith Recommends!
FEATURED BSLM EVENTS
Head to the dedicated BSLM events page for the full list of upcoming events
Our Monthly Webinar for February is coming soon...
..here's a sneak peek to keep you going!
Join us on the 20th February 2024 @ 7pm
Thanks for joining us in January!
We are so glad you managed to join us on the day! If you didn't manage to make it, not to worry. We will release this one, including the Breathworks practice, so you can join in!
We hope that you can enjoy it as much as you did first time round on the replay.
The Webinar recording is still to be released, once this is up we will happy notify you so you can watch back the fantastic content.
Other Events
Schedule the below in your diary for Feb & Beyond!
2024 Nordic Obesity Meeting
1–3 February 2024, Helsinki, Finland.
Campaign to End Loneliness International Conference
Thu 8 Feb 2024 @ 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM GMT, Online
Join largest online loneliness conference as we celebrate the people and organisations from across the world who are making a difference.
Sleep Charity's Sleep for all Sleep Conference
23rd & 24th February @ Holiday Inn, High Rd, Warmsworth, Doncaster, DN4 9UX
LM In Practice Seminar - BSLM Event!
Thur 29th February, 2024 @ 9am-4pm, Online via Zoom
This seminar aims to share real life examples of how our passionate healthcare professionals are finding ways to include and deliver lifestyle change as medicine. For Members and Non members too, to bring us all together.
We have two fantastic, and well known faces, in the BSLM community hosting some of the sessions, along with of course a lot of practical that you can get stuck into!
Tickets are going fast so make sure you secure yours - if you're not able to watch it live, not to worry as we're recording the event too to watch back at your convenience.
Miriam Maisel presents Stress Management - Webinar
March 6th 2024
This will be an Webinar event hosted by BSLM to learn more about the Stress Management Training with Dr Miriam Maisel. We will keep you posted on any updates on this event.
Cardio Renal Metabolic (CVRMUK) Annual Meeting
Tues 26th March 2024 @ 8.30am 4.45pm, The Kings Fund, London, W1G 0AN
Our own Dr Varun Anand will be a speaker at this fantastic event. If you're local to London, it's a must-go!
IPM 2024
6-8th June 2024 @ QEII Centre, Westminster, London UK
Integrative & Personalised Medicine Congress 2024
Members of the BSLM can register to attend the conference at the discounted 'members rate', see the members section for details. Conference prices start from £149 and workshop & exhibition prices start from just £25 per day.
Learning Academy
Our first ever Microbiome Mondays Kicked off!
With the Microbiome Medics
This month we had our first ever Microbiome Monday on our Social Media channels. We hope you enjoyed the factoids from Dr Sheena Fraser and Dr Siobhan McCormack - well-known for not only their Microbiome Medics podcast.
Want to get ahead of the curve before the next podcast release? Or fancy being in-the-know before February's Microbiome Monday?
The Learning Academy course, The Gut Microbiome For Clinicians is perfect to arm you with the tools to prepare for not only for their direct releases, but utilising in your daily practice, knowledge about your own body and gut, and how to make the most of your knowledge through lifestyle!
Have a look-out for our Microbiome Mondays by following us!
Core Accreditation and BSLM24
We have so much to show you at BSLM 2024, why not start your journey today to join fellow Trailblazers at conference?
NHS NETWORKS
Top News Stories in January
Improving healthcare for people with severe mental illness
Family hubs open
Health inequalities, lives cut short
End of life care in the community
Email us - office@bslm.org.uk
