This past week, we welcomed Dr. Elizabeth Ko, medical director for the UCLA Integrative Medicine Collaborative. As a UCLA alumni, Dr. Ko was able to relate her experiences as a Physiological Science major and her love for food and nutrition to other students in the club with similar interests.
Dr. Ko described the model of integrative medicine that she hopes will be a mainstrain to American society. Dr. Ko strongly believes in a “Five Pillars of Health” model to achieve health restoration and health promotion in society.
The five pillars of health are: nutrition, exercise, stress management, sleep, and social connection.
Having a plant-rich diet: choosing an anti-inflammatory diet of a variety of colorful fresh fruits and vegetables can provide you with nutrients to promote healing in the body. Dr. Ko specifies that this diet does not have to completely avoid sugars and processed foods or even be plant-based, but should focus on incorporating as many plants as possible (i.e. plant-rich over plant-based).
Exercise: Even 30 minutes a day can have an anti-inflammatory effect on the body and also strengthen one’s mental health.
Stress management: the mind and the body are intimately connected. When the body isn’t well, the mind isn’t well. Similarly, when the mind isn’t well, the body isn’t well. We should find ways to mitigate our stress, whether that be spending time alone or meditating.
Getting enough sleep: Good restorative sleep is crucial for mood and feeling your best self every day. Dr. Ko says this is a major pillar that we undervalue as a constantly working society.
Having social connection: whether that be getting lunch with a friend or joining a club or team, having social connection is important to staying motivated on our health goals and is also a boost to our mental health whether or not we are introverted or extraverted.
Finally, as a club, we were introduced to the UCLA Integrative Medicine Collaborative, which consists of 30 inpatient, outpatient, and community-based programs and under one shared aid. From music therapy to pet therapy, each center serves to advance, promote and infuse integrative medicine into many sectors of health. Dr. Ko’s long-term goal is to open the Center for Integrative Medicine in Santa Monica in the near future. For more about the IM collaborative and to support the funding for opening this location, please visit https://www.uclahealth.org/integrative-medicine/.
For Pre-Med Students: As a pre-med student not long ago, Dr. Ko understands the journey to med school and encourages students to relish every part. She says, “If you follow your love and listen to your passions, you will be driven down a path where everything comes together.” To get in touch with Dr. Ko, her email is EKo@mednet.ucla.edu.
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