Dr Ivana's website

[00:58] How Ivana became a physician

The world has conditioned us to choose convenience and excess at the expense of our lifestyles and environment. Chronic conditions then arise from our consistently wrong choices. Even in medicine, people tend to look for an easy fix to their health problems. When prescriptions don’t work as desired, we seek alternative treatments that may not be scientifically sound.

Lifestyle medicine is all about treating patients holistically with evidence-based interventions. Practitioners work with all kinds of patients to help prevent diseases; and in some cases, even reverse chronic conditions. Once patients are ready to make changes to their lifestyle, doctors empower them to create individualised plans that can be implemented in their personal lives.

Currently, the healthcare system is too fast-paced. Fifteen-minute health appointments are not enough to be able to truly assess a patient’s condition. In reality, few things are easily fixed in such a short amount of time. Slow medicine is the future, with a focus on integrated and comprehensive care.

Interested about lifestyle medicine? Book a complimentary consultation with Dr. Ivana on her website. Don’t forget to follow the Health Network Podcast on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. If you liked this episode, do leave us a review and share it with your friends!

Dr. Marcus Matear talks to Lifestyle Medicine GP Dr. Malcolm Mackay who has 30 years of experience in medical practice and his wife Jenny Cameron, a research librarian, nutritionist, and life coach. In this episode, they advocate for whole-foods diet and discuss tips on how to prevent health problems and reversing lifestyle diseases.

[02:05] How Malcolm became a Lifestyle Medicine GP

The challenge in Lifestyle Medicine is changing patients’ behaviours and habits. One of the things that came out of Dr. Malcolm’s practice is the concept of behaviour change— how to help people to make changes in their lifestyle and sustain them in the long term. Aside from medical assessments, dietary changes could greatly change and reverse medical conditions but this also depends on what patients want to achieve, where they are in their health journey, and how much they can change or are willing to.

Dr. Malcolm and Jenny both advocate for healthy lifestyle changes and a whole-foods, plant-based diet to help reduce or reverse ailments and diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, and iron-deficiency. However, Dr. Malcolm admits that Lifestyle Medicine isn’t as integrated enough with different fields of healthcare and hopes for a more “teamwork” approach which integrates fields such as physical education and mental health.

For Dr. Malcolm, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own science. With so many diets popping up everywhere, Dr. Malcolm advises to find diets that suit the needs of a patient’s mechanism and medical condition. He believes that aside from medicinal solutions, the future of medicine lies in making lifestyle changes and lifestyle medicine. Jenny also hopes that the evidence of whole-foods, plant-based nutrition becomes more widely known among health professionals.

https://drmalcolmmackay.com.au/

https://melbournelifestylemedicine.com.au/

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Dr. Marcus Matear talks to Alexandra Minichiello, a physiotherapist from Port Melbourne who has done continued training in Clinical Pilates, Dry Needling, Cancer Rehabilitation, and Vestibular Rehabilitation. She has worked in private practice settings across New Zealand and Australia since 2009. In this episode, they talk about Alexandra’s different fields of specialty, her holistic approach to physiotherapy, and tips to improve workplace ergonomics.

[00:47] How Alexandra become a physiotherapist

Physiotherapists help patients maximise their mobility through a variety of techniques like dry needling, massages, and exercise. The actual treatment plan will vary for each person. It’s more beneficial for physiotherapists to work with doctors, psychologists, dieticians, and other healthcare professionals in order to provide a well-rounded program.

By looking at a person’s chair, table, and body position, you can assess if his/her workplace has good or bad ergonomics. A standing desk is useful to some degree, but what ultimately helps is when you change positions frequently. Alternate between standing and sitting. Walk around and sneak in stretches when you can. Now that the majority of people work from home, it’s easier to implement lasting changes to their behaviour or environment. If something is troubling you, it’s always best to consult with a physiotherapist who can tailor a personalised program for you.

Got questions about physiotherapy? Shoot Alexandra an e-mail at [email protected].

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Tips to prevent severe cumulative trauma, back, neck, and muscle pain

so you sit for 20-30min and get up to move

May be hard for dentists/physio, etc other ways

2. Exercise:

3. Ergonomics: 

Sleep: On your side generally, Car: ergonomics can be assessed by physio

Office ergonomics: How to sit: not slouch, what chairs are more ergonomic, assessment with physio to work out best ergonomic aids i.e chair, desk, wrist support etc

4. See your physio,

c) Alleviating acute muscle pain: massage, dry needling, etc

Dr. Marcus Matear talks to Astrid Southey, a psychotherapist in Melbourne. Trained in holistic counselling, she uses a multitude of tools to help her patients deal with depression, anxiety, trauma, and relationship issues. In this episode, they talk about what hypnosis is and how it works with counselling. Astrid also shares practical mindfulness techniques and breathing exercises that you can use at any time.

[01:30] How Astrid became a psychotherapist

[03:24] Relationship and couples counselling

[06:05] Hypnotherapy to quit smoking

[08:04] Do patients need to believe in hypnotherapy for it to work?

[10:08] How to address phobia

[12:01] Attachment theory, CBT, and other tools

[15:25] Recognising when patients are ready to seek help

[18:01] Relaxation and breathing techniques

[25:02] Building a mindfulness habit

[30:22] Positive visualisations and gratitude

Working out relationship issues involve counselling and psychotherapy. Patients may have a certain pattern that they’re not aware of. Sometimes these unhealthy issues stem from how they formed attachments during childhood. It may be necessary to examine past experiences to understand how individuals interact and form connections.

Hypnotherapy is particularly useful in getting people to quite smoking. In a relaxed trance-like state, patients have access to their subconscious resources to help them kick the vice for good. It’s also helpful if they’ve tried to quit smoking before. Even if past efforts failed, each new attempt will have an increased chance of success.

To deal with overwhelm, focus on the breath. Inhaling and exhaling slowly through the nose should help calm you down. Counting exercises, meditation, and mindfulness apps are good grounding practices. Spend a few minutes each day to build a mindfulness habit. The benefits have long been proven through physiological, psychological, and behavioural changes.

For more information about Astrid’s services, visit http://counselling.melbourne 

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Dr. Marcus Matear talks to Dr. Katy Theodore who works in policy, advocacy and health promotion at the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch (ADAVB) and before that at Victoria's leading public dental agency,  Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV). In this episode, they talk about what value-based healthcare is, the importance of integrated medical records, and how clinicians can encourage healthy lifestyle changes in patients.

[01:06] How Katy became a dentist

[02:21] Public and private practice

[04:13] Katy’s transition into healthcare research and policy

[07:31] System of public dental funding

[11:47] Value-based healthcare model

[14:39] Patient’s readiness to change

[18:15] Shared introductory session

[21:28] Changing the criteria of public dental funding

[27:22] Improved patient care through integrated medical records

[35:29] How to encourage preventive health behaviors

[44:40] The Nudge Effect

[50:52] Current application of value-based systems in dental public health

[54:55] Data will be essential to move forward

Dr. Katy has practiced in both private and public sectors as a dentist. In both settings, she found that there was too much focus on procedures instead of preventive measures. She came to work for DHSV and the ADAVB to transform dental public healthcare to a value-based system that prioritizes outcomes instead of treatments. A value-based model favors a more holistic approach to healthcare. This means that more effort needs to go into education, integration of medical records, and data collection.

To help prevent health issues in patients, we must take a non-judgmental approach. Everyone has different challenges and it’s important to be understanding of that. Share information and encourage the patient to make small, incremental lifestyle changes. These little wins can help them feel empowered and can change their self-defeating beliefs.

Find out how you can access your health information by visiting www.myhealthrecord.gov.au. For further reading, check out Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein.

Don’t forget to follow the Health Network Podcast on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. If you liked this episode, do leave us a review and share it with your friends!

Dr. Marcus Matear talks to Kerry Barnard, a hypnotherapist and NLP practitioner in Bendigo, Australia. With 30 years of experience in the field, Kerry has helped her clients solve a variety of lifestyle problems such as smoking, overeating, anxiety, and stress. She empowers her clients to unlock the potential of the unconscious mind through coaching and hypnosis. In this episode, they talk about changing bad habits, managing stress, and dealing with phobia.

[01:45] How Kerry became a hypnotherapist

[03:11] The power of words in Neuro-linguistic Programming

[05:31] The conscious and the unconscious mind

[10:17] Replacing bad habits with better habits

[16:02] Empowering patients through panic attacks and anxiety

[23:12] Hypnosis reinforces new strategies and habits

[24:58] Dental anxiety and phobia

[28:37] Practice through visualization techniques

[33:20] Kerry’s sessions and programs

[36:15] Individuals must initiate change

The words that we use in our daily lives influence our mindset. Disempowering words like “I can’t” or “I have to” negatively affects our way of thinking. Instead, we need to use phrases like “I choose to” or “I want to” so that we are in control of our actions.

The unconscious mind holds the answers to our problems. Nowadays, we look to external factors for solutions rather than searching inwards. We chase after distractions that only serve to clutter our minds. The unconscious mind can be heard only when there is clarity in our conscious mind.

If we perform an action often enough, it gets cemented as a habit. Our minds do not distinguish between good and bad habits. Willpower alone is not enough to change. We must involve our unconscious to help replace our old habits with better ones.

For more information about Kerry’s services, visit www.barnardadmindosolution.au. Give her a call at (03) 5447-7306 or 0407-536-636.

Don’t forget to follow the Health Network Podcast on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. If you liked this episode, do leave us a review and share it with your friends!