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A Prescription for Healthy Living: A Guide to Lifestyle Medicine takes an evidence-based approach to health promotion and disease prevention. Medical doctors, healthcare professionals and research scientists from a variety of backgrounds provide informed advice on how to encourage patients to take charge of their health and future. This book addresses the impact that socioeconomic and environmental factors have on the health of a population and explores the psychology of health-related behavioral change, as well as considering a variety of subject areas as diverse as nutrition, physical activity, the practice of gratitude, the adverse health impacts of loneliness and the importance of achieving a satisfactory work-life balance.
A Prescription for Healthy Living aims to encourage and inspire healthcare practitioners and public health officials to empower patients to make simple behavioral changes that will have a large and positive effect on their physical and mental wellbeing.
List of contents
Section 1. Society, Health and Behaviour
1. Social and Environmental Determinants of Health
Liza Kirtchuk and Ann Wylie 2. How Early Childhood Events Impact Upon Adult Health
Liz Forty 3. The Psychology of Health-Related Behaviour Change
Aria Campbell-Danesh
4. Health Literacy and How to Communicate Effectively with Patients to Elicit a Long-Term Behavioural Change
Sonal Shah 5. The Role of the Healthcare System in Social Prescribing
Emma LaddsSection 2. Mental Health and Wellbeing
6. The Role of Stress in Health and Disease
Athanasios Hassoulas 7. The Importance of a Good Night's Sleep
Devina Leopold and Thom Phillips 8. Gratitude: Being Thankful is Proven to Be Good for You
Sonal Shah 9. Loneliness as a Risk Factor for Chronic Disease
Sonal Shah 10. The Health Implications of Achieving a Satisfactory Work-Life Balance
Emma Short and Laura Sheldrake 11. Happiness and Health
Alka Patel 12. The Role a Mentor can Play in improving Well-Being
Nita Maha
Section 3. Physical Activity and Physical Health 13. Fit for Life: The Health Benefits of Cardiovascular Activity
Caroline Deodhar
14. Sedentary Behaviour and Adverse Health Outcomes
Emma Short 15. The Gut Microbiome
Venita Patel 16. Cigarettes: The Facts, Strategies for Smoking Cessation, e-cigarettes and Vaping
Adam Douglas and Arfa Ahmed 17. Alcohol: Its Impact on Wellbeing, Morbidity and Mortality
Hayley S. McKenzie 18. Cancer: How to Help Your Patients to Reduce Their Cancer Risk
Ailsa Sita-Lumsden 19. Lifestyle Factors and Women's Health
Alexandra J. Kermack 20. Skin Health: What Damages and Ages Skin? Evidence-Based Interventions to Maintain Healthy Skin
Lorna Jeng and Anjaly Mirchandani 21. Western Medical Acupuncture
Carolyn Rubens
Section 4. Nutrition and Healthy Eating Habits 22. Fruit and Vegetables: Prevention and Cure?
Gemma Newman 23. Macronutrients and Micronutrients
Laura Gush, Sonal Shah and Farah Gilani 24. Caffeine in Health and Disease: A Brief Overview
Emmajane Down 25. Water: How Much Should be Consumed and What are its Health Benefits?
Ekua Annobil 26. Intermittent Fasting: A Health Panacea or Just Calorie Restriction?
Ellen Fallows and Hayley S. McKenzie Concept Boxes: Mindfulness, Healthy Weight and Bone Health
Saba Jaleel, Emma Short and Claire Stansfield Conclusions and How to Access Reliable Health Information
Emma Short
About the author
Dr. Emma Short studied pre-clinical medicine at Cambridge University and clinical medicine at Oxford University. She lives in Cardiff, with her GP husband and two young daughters. She completed her basic surgical training in Devon, before moving to Wales to specialise in histopathology. She has a PhD from Cardiff University in cancer genetics: Genetic Mechanisms in Colorectal Polyposis, 2018.
Dr. Short has published extensively in the scientific literature and has an active role in medical education.She is interested in the interaction between the mind and the body, and the impact that mental wellbeing and social connections have on health. Dr. Short is a qualified meditation teacher and is a great advocate of showing kindness in all spheres of life. She loves exploring different aspects of holistic wellbeing and has diplomas in Mindful Nutrition and Shrinrin Yoku. She is a keen runner, having completed an ultramarathon, two marathons and many half-marathons, and is passionate about health-promotion and disease-prevention. She set up and runs a not-for-profit community running group in Cardiff, Sirius Running, and is a qualified personal trainer.
