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A NEW CAREER In 2007, Dr. Siga l lef t emergency medi- cine to pursue the practice of nutrition a nd lifest yle medicine full-time. " There is no forma l residency or fel- lowship tra ining in lifest yle medicine yet," she expla ins. "Some progra ms a re under way, pa r ticula rly in Ca lifornia . But the direction is clea rly shif ting in medicine. The scientif ic ev idence is over whelming, a nd there is no denying a ny more that we have to address the med ica l i ssues we fa ce w it h a com- pletely new mind-set. There is a need for a cha nge in pa radig m." Dr. Siga l's educationa l journey ha s been a n exciting one. "It 's not as if I had to go back to medi- ca l school," she says. "But I def initely ne e de d t o b e c om e f a m i l i a r w it h a completely different world of resea rch a nd a tota lly new approach to the way I look at patients." She obta ined cer tif icates in pla nt- b a s e d n u t r i t i o n f r o m E . C o r n e l l Un iv er s it y, t h e T. C ol i n C a mpb e l l Foundation, a nd in nutrition a nd life- style medicine from the Wellness Forum Institute in Ohio. She a l so beca me a cer t i f ied Food For Life Instr uctor w it h Physicia ns Committee for Responsible Medicine. "I didn't wa nt to reinvent the wheel," she says. "I knew that I wanted to teach, a nd the pla nt-based nutrition for dis- ease prevention a nd reversa l curricula developed by PCR M a re t op -not ch . Having their backup a nd exper tise at my fingertips has been very important." Dr. Siga l a lso had the unique oppor- tunity to observe one of the best in the field when, in 2012, she worked alongside John McDouga ll, MD, at his inpatient program in Santa Rosa, Ca lifornia. " It i s si mply m i nd-bog g l i n g what happens to people who have diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a nd who ta ke a bag ful of medications once you put them on a delicious, plant- ba sed, minima l ly processed, low-fat e a t i n g r e g i m en , w it hout c ou nt i n g ca lories, carbs, proteins, or weighing or measuring anything else. I was there, I took care of those people 24/7. In only 10 days, the average decrease in cholesterol was 60 points. Blood pressures plummeted, oral hypoglycemic drugs were discontinued, insulin needs cut. "Engaging with patients in lifestyle medicine is a dynamic partnership between two equals. I may provide the expertise, tools and unconditional support, but the patient is in the driver's seat, doing all the work. My job is to help patients find the motivation to change." But lifestyle medicine is more than nutrition. Dr. Sigal, in an e•ort to expand her tool kit beyond nutritional advice, has also been trained as a Health Coach by Wellcoaches School of Coaching. In addition to diet and reg ular physi- ca l activit y, stress ma nagement is the third funda menta l cornerstone in life- style medicine. So Dr. Mona Siga l is a lso a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (M BSR) Teacher-in-Tra ining at t he Mind Body Institute at UMass Medica l Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. "Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques change the way you perceive life's stressors and respond to ever yday cha l lenges, sma l l or huge," she says. " These a re life-a ltering skills." Dr. Siga l trained with Jean Kristeller, PhD, who has developed and researched Mona Sigal, MD, Founder of Nourish Health With Food For Life 1 4 1 4❱❱❱❱❱ S P E C I A L F E A T U R E