Core Accreditation launch, Kernow Conference, the latest LM news and much more!
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Welcome member
In this month's Newsletter...
Headline News
BSLM launch Core Accreditation
Lifestyle Medicine in Focus:
The impact of pain meds on your gut, self-care surveys and more...
Opportunities & Courses
New Planetary Health SIG and more offers for our members!
BSLM News
Join our Social Collective film for 2023, pain management webinar and more...
Upcoming Events
Come to the 5th Kernow Conference
BSLM Learning Academy
Core Accreditation & Gut Microbiome course breakdown
NHS Weekly Newsletter
The latest from the NHS Weekly Blogs
HEADLINE NEWS
BSLM Core Accreditation launching January 10th
As part of the development of the BSLM Learning Academy, we have been building towards offering our own qualification in Lifestyle Medicine and are proud to announce that from January 2023, this will be available.
The BSLM Core Accreditation in Lifestyle Medicine will be an interactive, immersive programme which will provide learners with the attitudes and theoretical knowledge behind Lifestyle Medicine, and then build on that foundation with the practical skills to enable that theory to be used in work and personal life.
Our programme has been developed using our state-of-the-artLearning Management System and will offer users a self-paced programme with continuous assessment; helping to reinforce learning and to complement lifestyle. The programme will consist of three levels with all learners beginning their journey with the “Foundations of Lifestyle Medicine” course.
More information will be released in the lead up to the launch in January, to ensure all your questions are answered. For those that deferred from 2022, we’ll be getting in touch just before to explain how the transition will work for you.
A festive message from BSLM!
Dear friends, colleagues and members,
It's been a quite incredible year at BSLM, with so may steps up on the ladder to success (last pun I promise). The Learning Academy was launched, a Conference at Tottenham Hotspur stadium, continuous growth in membership and IBLM diploma sales, a new President and Vice President, our first Honorary Fellows, the consolidation of the HQ team, and a great financial performance in 2021/22.
Without wishing the year away too soon, 2023 promises to be just as big for BSLM, if not bigger, with the long awaited BSLM core Accreditation in Lifestyle Medicine due at the very start of the year to kick things off with a bang.
I wanted to take the opportunity to wish you all the best for the festive season, and to thank you for your support of BSLM and the Lifestyle Medicine Movement. I do hope you manage to get some rest and recouperation during the holidays, but equally I know many of you will be working, often under very trying circumstances.
For those that do celebrate, I wish you a peaceful Christmas and to all, a prosperous New Year.
Dr Fraser Quin
BSLM Executive Director
LIFESTYLE MEDICINE IN FOCUS
Are pain meds bad for your gut?
By Emily Shiffer, Medscape
Pain is how our bodies tell us something's wrong, alerting us to injury or infection and helping doctors make a diagnosis. But pain is not fun, so we often try to block it using medication.
But a surprising new study led by Harvard Medical School researchers suggests that blocking acute pain may actually lead to pain in the gut.
In the study, pain neurons in mice helped regulate the protective mucus that lines the gut, releasing more mucus in response to inflammation.
"These neurons signal to the goblet cells in the gut that make mucus," says study senior investigator Isaac Chiu, PhD, an associate professor of immunobiology at Harvard's Blavatnik Institute. "This is very important because mucus protects the gut barrier from potential harmful microbes and tissue injury."
Key Blue Zones patterns could help with physician burnout
Research shows that people who follow these 9 rules live longer and healthier
Blue Zones are places on Earth where people live significantly longer and disease-free. They reach the age of 100 ten times more often than what is the average in the United States. What makes them so special? ⬇️
HealthyLongevity.guide analyzed different studies and research and summarized them in an article. It reveals what lifestyle patterns the inhabitants of Blue Zones follow, and what habits make them different from the rest of the world.
To read the article, create a free account at HealthyLongevity.guide
Asking Women with Diabetes about Sexual Problems (AWDISP) Survey
The AWDISP survey focuses on healthcare professionals and is currently seeking participants (healthcare professionals and healthcare assistants- more information here) and will run until 1 March 2023.
AWDISP will ask approximately 300 healthcare professionals and healthcare assistants to fill out an anonymous survey about their current practice, attitudes and unmet needs when asking women with diabetes about sexual problems. The survey takes place online.
They will analyse the responses and look for themes, including suggestions for improving support for women and colleagues, if necessary.
Please participate in a 15-min, online, anonymous research survey about an important diabetes lifestyle issue.
No pain, no gain
Dr Sheena Fraser
Pain is a topic that has always interested me, possibly because I have always felt like a bit of an outsider in my views on analgesia (pain killers).
My family are a bit unusual in the way we manage pain. My parents have always argued that pain is good for us, it lets us know there is a problem and we should listen to our body and not mask this pain.
Patients to carry out health checks in their own homes
A trial aiming to make it easier and more convenient for patients to carry out important health checks and reduce pressure on GPs has been launched in Cornwall.
The trial – which is the first of its kind in England and part of the government’s plans to digitalise the existing NHS Health Check – will see patients complete an online questionnaire, use a kit to take a blood sample at home, and complete a blood pressure check at their local pharmacy or in their GP’s waiting room.
Years of NSAID may worsen Arthritis inflammation: study
Long-term use of anti-inflammatory medications for arthritis of the knee may make the condition worse, new research shows.
The study looked at the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen and naproxen and tracked knee inflammation using MRIs for 4 years.
How to use a continuous glucose monitor to your benefit
Many people have gotten very interested in how their diet affects their blood sugar levels.
As a result, continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, have gotten very popular not just among people with diabetes, but also among people who are interested in optimizing their health.
Taking care, taking control: Self-Care Attitudes 2022
PAGB’s latest report Taking care taking control: Self-care attitudes 2022 details the findings from a UK-wide survey of more than 2,000 adults.
The findings show that the public want to embrace self-care but need the tools and infrastructure to help them to do this.
Worryingly, the results show that consumers lack the confidence and knowledge to care for the most common self-treatable conditions including backaches, headaches, diarrhoea and constipation.
OPPORTUNITIES & COURSES
New Planetary Health SIG
We’d love to take this opportunity to introduce a new Special Interest Group to BSLM. Lifestyle Medicine for Planetary Health (name pending).
We’d love to include a few more Members in to this group, so if you’re currently focusing on the impact lifestyle medicine can play on the environment or in nature, we’d love you to join us. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 18th January, 9:00am, and the link can be obtained from office@bslm.org.uk
20% off first 2 years of Income Protection Plus with PG Mutual
You may not have considered it, but if you were incapacitated for an extended period, you might be unlikely to keep up with your bills, maintain your lifestyle, and look after your family.
That’s where PG Mutual comes in.
Their Income Protection Plus policy lets you enjoy life, happy in the knowledge that if you can’t work through long-term illness or injury, you could still receive a regular income to cover your bills and living expenses. Leaving you to focus on recovery.
Use the discount code ‘BSLM’ for 20% off.
30% BSLM Member Offer
HealthyLongevity.guide is building a platform for progressive healthcare professionals eager to learn more about the booming world of longevity, healthy ageing and healthy lifespan extension, and gerontology sciences. Become a longevity expert and advance your career with a 30% discount for BSLM members.
LATEST NEWS AT BSLM
Stand for Health: Take part in the BSLM 2023 Social Collective Film
Here’s the film from our most recent campaign: Lifestyle as Medicine Changemakers 2022 #1Change Social Impact Collective Film that opened the BSLM 2022 conference Thanks to all our Changemakers 2022 who took part.
Take part in our 2023 campaign, premiering at BSLM 2023 in Manchester!
Pain Management: through the lens of lifestyle medicine
Watch the latest BSLM regional meeting, with Dr Deepak Ravindran as a speaker, with Dr Adaeze Ifezulike MBE and Dr Julie Gray as hosts for the latest North East Scotland regional meeting, exploring ‘Pain Management through the lens of Lifestyle Medicine'.
If you would like to keep up with engaging Lifestyle Medicine videos, please consider subscribing to our YouTube channel so you don't miss out.
What lifestyle change will you make?
BSLM’s #1change campaign aims to encourage everyone to think of one small thing they can do to reduce the risk of chronic illness. We know that making healthy lifestyle changes isn’t always easy.
Many people face barriers to healthier living and socio-economic factors play a big role too. BSLM is here to support you, not to blame or judge you. And the good news is lifestyle medicine gives you the knowledge and tools to succeed. Lifestyle medicine is all about offering people hope – the hope that chronic, lifestyle related diseases can be prevented, treated, managed and reversed. And the best place to start is with a commitment to making #1change! As you begin your journey, BSLM is here to encourage and help you. So read on for some #1change ideas and inspiration…
5th Kernow Conference
26th Jan 2023
Join us in Cornwall for inspirational talks and interactive sessions lead by experts from the world of Lifestyle Medicine and networking opportunities!
With all the ongoing pressures the health and social care sector as well as we as individuals are facing, Lifestyle Medicine has never been more important for us personally, our society and planet.
Lifestyle Medicine acknowledges the need for action on socioeconomic determinants of health and promotes evidence-based/’evidence-informed’ lifestyle measures as well as proven techniques empowering the individual to sustain lifestyle changes to optimise wellbeing, prevent and treat disease. It focuses on the 6 pillars Sleep, Healthy Eating, Mental Wellbeing, Healthy Relationships, Physical activities and Minimising Harmful substances.
ParkRun - Events Worldwide
ParkRuns are free, weekly, community events all around the world.
Registration is completely free and only needs to be done once, whether you intend to walk, jog, run, or volunteer or do a combination of all these things! Simply complete the registration form below, print your barcode and head down to your local event.
There are 1,150 events around the country to choose from. You can find your nearest parkrun using our event map linked below!
We’d love to see you soon!
Medlife 1st International Conference
Join the Mediterranean Lifestyle Medicine Institute for their 1st ever International Conference in 2023 from June 9th - June 11th on the Greek island of Leros at Crithoni's Paradise Hotel!
BSLM 2023
It is not long now until tickets for BSLM 2023 go on sale! Make sure you get the best possible value with our super early bird tickets, launching towards the end of January. This conference is set to build on BSLM 2022's success, with more fantastic speakers providing world-class insight into all things Lifestyle Medicine.
Final information regarding the tickets will be released soon, so keep an eye out for any updates! It is important to note that if you are looking to do the Core Accreditation at BSLM, a ticket to the conference will be included in the package.
As a reminder you can still rewatch all of the BSLM 2022 conference through CrowdComms.
BSLM LEARNING ACADEMY
The Gut Microbiome for Clinicians | Course Breakdown
BSLM Learning Academy course writers, Dr's Siobhan McCormack and Sheena Fraser have spent time to provide a comprehensive breakdown on our new course educating on the gut microbiome, a fascinating and crucial part of our bodies. Check out the video above.
NHS NETWORKS
Professor David Colin-Thomé explores the meaning of general practice at scale, highlighting the importance of relationships for the future sustainability of general practice, and how to be small and local as well as larger and strategic.
Primary and community care after Covid-19 - What next?
Jo Fox outlines how estates is an enabler in delivering care, and how integrated care boards need to consider innovative solutions while considering the impact technology is having on primary and community care.
The health-hub of tomorrow: opportunities for integration and co-location in the new governance of ICBs
The blog this week is from Helen Simmonds, adviser with PCC who specialises on estates. Helen considers the opportunities that integrated care boards bring to support integration and co-ordination of care via estate planning.
Email us - office@bslm.org.uk
