American College of Lifestyle Medicine Designates the Ardmore Institute of Health’s Full Plate Living Program a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Program
ST. LOUIS (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 08, 2022
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) today announced that the Ardmore Institute of Health’s (AIH) Full Plate Living program has earned Certified Lifestyle Medicine Program designation. The designation recognizes, supports and encourages the adoption of evidence-based health intervention programs that meet rigorous review requirements and standards for offering lifestyle modification to address chronic disease.
Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances and positive social connections—also provides effective prevention for these conditions.
Full Plate Living is a nutrition education program provided as a free service by AIH. The program helps people add more whole, unprocessed fiber foods into their diet -- a friendly approach to diet improvements that can lead clients to meaningful changes in their health.
About 90 percent of Americans fail to meet the minimum daily fiber recommendations of 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men, with the average intake being only around 16 grams per day. Full Plate Living promotes a high-fiber approach to healthy eating through the consumption of fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
A high-fiber diet is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and gastric, pancreatic, breast and colorectal cancers, as well as overweight and obesity. A high-fiber diet has also been shown to significantly lower total and LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and it is associated with decreased risk of depression.
There are two ways that individuals and clinicians can access Full Plate Living services and programs. Clinicians can refer patients to the Full Plate Living online membership at fullplateliving.org. Sign-up provides individuals with access to nutrition programs, healthy lifestyles workshops, recipes, a weekly email and a supportive online community. The self-paced nutrition program allows individuals to implement changes at their next meal. Also available at no cost are group program materials, including a facilitator and participant guide. The group program provides a simple-to-follow guide for facilitation through eight sessions. The online membership provides ongoing support when the group-facilitated program ends.
The ACLM program certification designation is offered at three different levels based upon evaluation scores—Honorable Mention, Certified and Gold Certified. The levels are based on factors including years in operation, number of participants, number of organizations using the program, the inclusion of all lifestyle medicine pillars, intervention trials, duration of active treatment, amount of staff contact and follow-up, positive health metrics achieved and participant testimonials.
“ACLM is very proud to recognize the Ardmore Institute of Health’s Full Plate Living as a certified lifestyle medicine program,” said ACLM President Cate Collings, MD, MS, FACC, DipABLM. “More people are living healthier lives and feeling great because of Full Plate Living and the Ardmore Institute’s passion for a future where healthy lifestyles are the preferred method to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic diseases.”
Full Plate Living is the fifth program to earn certification designation from ACLM. The others are: Pivio – the Complete Health Improvement Program, Chanwuyi Lifestyle Medicine Program, The Lift Project and Rochester Lifestyle Medicine Institute’s 15-Day WFPB Jumpstart.
About ACLM
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine is the nation’s medical professional society advancing lifestyle medicine as the foundation for a redesigned, value-based, and equitable healthcare delivery system, leading to whole-person health. ACLM educates, equips, empowers and supports its members through quality, evidence-based education, certification, and research to identify and eradicate the root cause of chronic disease, with a clinical outcome goal of health restoration as opposed to disease management.
About Ardmore Institute of Health
Ardmore Institute of Health works for a future where healthy lifestyles will be the preferred method to prevent, treat and reverse chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Since 1947 the organization has been promoting lifestyle change as a means to help people achieve a more healthy and fulfilling life. The Institute is eager to address health inequities and positively influence the social determinants of health in all communities. AIH provides grants to projects that support this mission as well as a free nutrition improvement program called Full Plate Living. Full Plate Living helps people add more whole plant-based foods to meals they’re already eating. It’s a small-step approach that can lead to big health outcomes.
