Lifestyle Medicine: Learn Why Your Genes are Not Your Destiny

Find out how you can prevent, delay or cure up to 80 percent of chronic disease with lifestyle changes at Dr. Dorothy Serna’s upcoming talks. “Lifestyle Medicine: New Keys to a Long, Healthy Life” will be presented at North Cypress Medical Center on June 19th and June 20th…complimentary and open to the community.

Fact: 80 percent of chronic disease is related to lifestyle.

While genetic testing is rapidly becoming more accessible and affordable, the information provided only tells a small part of the story. The concurrent rise of lifestyle medicine paints a very different picture, empowering patients to prevent disease with a healthy lifestyle and take control of their own medical destiny.

The evidence is clear and compelling, according to Dorothy Cohen Serna, MD, a Cypress internal medicine physician who is one of the first group of medical professionals in the country to be certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine.

“Adopting a healthy lifestyle can prevent, delay or cure up to 80 percent of chronic illnesses, help patients feel better and have more energy as well as significantly decrease the amount of medication they may require on a daily basis,” she says.

This includes prevention of 80 percent of heart disease and stroke, 80 percent of type 2 diabetes, and 40 percent of cancer, according to decades of research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).*

The model of prevention and treatment- Lifestyle Medicine - completely shifts the emphasis from treating symptoms with increased medications and procedures to identifying and eradicating the root cause of disease with lifestyle changes. The evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approach emphasizes six key domains: healthy diet, physical activity, avoidance of tobacco and excess alcohol, adequate sleep, stress reduction and meaningful relationships.

“The first remedy is usually not a pharmaceutical one,” says Serna. “Instead, we consider the whole patient and how an unhealthy lifestyle might be the cause behind their symptoms. Only then can we develop a solution for long-term health that takes into account their individual lifestyle and guide them - at their own pace - toward healthier practices.”

She has seen firsthand the difference this approach makes at her North Cypress Internal Medicine and Wellness practice. “Making lifestyle changes has enabled so many of my patients to feel better than they have in years, without the need for additional medication and in many cases, reducing medication,” she says.

Linda D. of Houston concurs. “When I first came to Dr. Serna, my health was in very poor condition. She has turned all that around. My existing illnesses have been turned around dramatically, all numbers on my tests and blood work have improved to almost perfect levels, and my outlook has improved 100 percent. It’s a life-changing choice that I'm very happy with.”

To learn more about how to take control of your health, need fewer medications, and revitalize your life at any age, make plans to attend one of Dr. Serna’s Lifestyle Medicine presentations in June – free, and open to the community.

Lifestyle Medicine: New Keys to a Long Healthy Life

June 19th at 6pm

June 20th at Noon

At North Cypress Medical Center, 21214 Northwest Freeway, Cypress, Texas

About Dr. Serna

Dorothy Cohen Serna, MD has been in private practice since 1998. She founded North Cypress Internal Medicine and Wellness with the mission of providing superior, attentive and thoughtful care with a strong focus on Lifestyle Medicine and Wellness. In 2017, she transformed her practice to a concierge medicine model in order to provide a higher level of personalized care to her patients. Dr. Serna is certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine and is a Certified Wellness Practitioner as well as a Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

Dr. Serna attended medical school at the University of South Florida and completed her Internal Medicine residency at Baylor College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center in 1997. She is Board Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and attained Fellowship with the American College of Physicians. Dr. Serna serves as Chief Wellness Officer at North Cypress Medical Center Hospital and on the Go Healthy Houston Task Force.