In recent conversations a question that has arisen several times is "what does ACLM believe"? Usually this question has been in the context of the review of specific guidelines, with a frequent focus being on dietary guidelines. For those of us focused on Lifestyle Medicine, we're very aware of several points.

The first point is that the formal guidelines or recommendations made by other organizations, whether they be fellow professional organizations like The American Dietetic Association, disease based organizations like the American Diabetes Association, or government organizations like the Food and Drug Administration, seem to frequently be unduly influenced by special interest groups. Over the years it has been well documented how each of the organizations in the list above, plus multiple others, have been influenced by corporate dollars.

The second point is that the evidence behind guidelines and beliefs is rapidly changing - especially in the field of nutrition. Science tends to be deductive, breaking down the components of food and trying to determine which is healthy and which is not. In reality, the general approach to and atmosphere around eating is likely more important than any specific nutrient content or food type. This divergence leads to multiple recommendations by respected researchers that can appear to the health care professional, let alone the public, to be conflicting and constantly changing.

The third issue is that even if all the data were looked at comprehensively, different eyes and different minds would apply Lifestyle Medicine principles differently. As an example, although most ACLM members are strong supporters of plant-based diets, you will find significant variety in how this is applied to our patients. Some of us are passionate enough about the need for plant-based diets that we only recommend pure vegan diets to our patients. Others of us believe that plant-based nutrition means that our food intake should primarily come from plants, but an occasional serving of organic, free range fish or chicken also has its place.

So what does ACLM believe? At this point ACLM has supported the value of and approaches to Lifestyle Medicine such as those published in JAMA in July, 2010. We have not created position papers on specific lifestyle interventions such as the value of fish, or 8 hours of sleep/night, or vitamin D supplementation. Our Development and Fundraising Committee is currently wrestling with how we interact with corporate America...we do not want to be placed in the category of those organizations whose support can be bought. Our Executive Committee is also discussing if and how we should set up formal positions on some of these questions...so stay tuned, and as always, you are welcome to contribute to these important discussions.