Let me be honest, it’s still too lonely a place in lifestyle medicine. Oh yes, interest in lifestyle medicine is growing – virtually exponentially. But we have been marginalized – from education of health care providers to public messaging and advertising for healthy lifestyle choices versus the typical corporate food and “comfort” (inactive) lifestyle – for so long that we still have a long way to go. Some of our personal stories and challenges, not just as physicians but as human beings, mine included with a history of binge eating disorder and brink of death experience, and how they have been ameliorated with lifestyle medicine are compelling to our patients and public.

How Dr. Stancic Employed Lifestyle Changes to Overcome Chronic Illness

And such is the case with the amazing Dr. Saray Stancic, author of What’s Missing From Medicine: Six Lifestyle Changes to Overcome Chronic Illness, who gives us great insight from her professional background (in both internal medicine and infectious disease) as well as her incredible journey, medication free (well, except for lifestyle medicine which is a powerful “drug”!), with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Saray was supposed to be in a wheelchair by now – according to her physicians – more than 25 years after her initial diagnosis as a senior internal medicine resident, awakening in the middle of a long on-call evening with her legs paralyzed and having lost all sensation. But she is not only not in a wheelchair, she is very much walking and talking – walking the talk of lifestyle as medicine as convincingly as you can imagine. Get a good glimpse of this amazing person and physician in my interview below.

Then go get What’s Missing From Medicine: Six Lifestyle Changes to Overcome Chronic Illness and dive deeper! (…as you are ready, of course.) One thing Dr. Saray and I agree on wholeheartedly is the need to make changes, but only as much as you are absolutely willing and no more. Then, when ready – tweak some more. We don’t judge. We can’t. We’ve been there. Yes, we’re doctors, but more than anything, we are human, just like you. Enjoy!