Lifestyle Medicine

The UCSD Supervised Lifestyle and Integrative Medicine (SLIM) Program for the treatment of obesity is a virtual SMA program that has a curriculum based on USPSTF recommendations for intensive lifestyle change and meets the requirements of ITLC outlined in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine position statement on ITLC.

It is run by the UC San Diego Center for Integrative Medicine, and in-person assessment visits take place at the UC San Diego Center for Weight Management. The program consists of 12 visits, covering all six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine. There are 2 pre-intervention visits for initial assessments and tailored recommendations and 2 follow-up assessments.

This study supports patients undergoing gastrointestinal cancer surgery with a comprehensive integrative care plan. The program includes services before and after surgery and is led by UC San Diego experts in mindfulness, dietetics, and exercise physiology.

This study explored an Integrative Nutrition program for reducing symptoms of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). The objective of this prospective single center study is to test a whole-food, plant-based diet with special attention to certain foods for patients with LPR. Eligible patients included adults aged 18 to 89 years old with 8 weeks or more of laryngeal symptoms (dysphonia/voice hoarseness, throat clearing, sore throat, globus, cough, mucus in throat), that were suspected to have potential LPR and receiving concurrent clinical speech therapy at UC San Diego Health.  Assessments were conducted before and after an 8-week intervention including in-depth evaluation, dietary counseling, educational materials, with customized meal plans and recipes. The study activities also include completing online assessments.  

The goal of the study was multi-faceted: to develop and test a dietary intervention based on an anti-inflammatory, whole-food-based diet pattern using continuous feedback from early psychosis patients and their families, evaluate the feasibility, satisfaction, and adherence of a 5-week diet intervention, and explore whether the intervention effects weight, metabolic parameters, biomarkers, symptoms of psychosis, and overall well-being. The intervention included individualized dietary counseling, diet education, meal plans, and recipes.