Scientific Evidence for FirstChoice Therapy and TLC

While weight loss plans routinely tout "scientific evidence" to back their claims, the fact is, any diet that results in a calorie deficit will produce weight loss. But FirstLine Therapy isn’t about just losing weight, it’s about making choices every day that will enhance your health and prevent disease, enabling you to achieve a full, healthy life.

A wealth of scientific evidence tells us that adopting habits that are healthy can delay the onset of illness in old age and extend years of good health. Here are the results of just some of the major studies affirming the advantages of FirstChoice Therapy and the benefits of therapeutic lifestyle changes in general and the advantages of:

The Advantages of FirstChoice Therapy

• In a recent study conducted by the Functional Medicine Research Center, the research arm of Metagenics, FirstLine Therapy^® (we use Metagenics products and their FirstLine Therapy^® as a major part of our FirstChoice Therapy) was shown to improve important cardiovascular disease risk factors in patients with metabolic syndrome, more significantly than the same low-glycemic-load diet and exercise alone.¹
  
  
• In a 12-week, 2-arm prospective clinical trial of postmenopausal women (53 subjects completing the trial), FirstChoice Therapy was shown to effectively address 14 markers of cardiovascular health—significantly better than a leading American Heart Association dietary plan with exercise.²

The Benefits of Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes

• A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology concluded that many patients with conventional risk factors for CHD can experience lowered risk without mediations within 12 weeks of starting a therapeutic lifestyle change program, refuting the notion that intensive lifestyle modification is not worth the effort.³
  
  
• In a similar study of 337 adults ranging in age from 43 to 81 years published by the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, a lifestyle modification program was found to be an effective nutrition and physical activity intervention in the short term, and has the potential to notably decrease the risks associated with common chronic disease in the long term.⁴
  
  
• The PREMIER multi-center clinical trial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute found that individuals with above-optimal blood pressure, including stage 1 hypertension, can apply multiple lifestyle changes that lower blood pressure and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.⁵
  
  
• A randomized, single-blind 3-year study of 180 patients with metabolic syndrome concluded that a Mediterranean-style diet ( emphasizing whole grains, fish, vegetables, and fruit) might be effective in reducing the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome and its associated cardiovascular disease risk.⁶
  
  
• A cohort study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society of 3,051 men age 60-79 years with no diabetes mellitus or diagnosis of CHD found that modification of lifestyle factors, even later in life, has considerable potential for primary prevention of metabolic syndrome.⁷

REFERENCES

1. Lerman RH, Bland JS, Darland G, Lamb JJ, Minich DM, Schiltz, Tripp ML. Supplementation with a novel selective kinase response modulator (SKRM) nutraceutical and medical food significantly enhances the benefits of a diet and exercise program in subjects with metabolic syndrome. Functional Medicine Research Center, the clinical research arm of Metagenics, Inc., Gig Harbor, WA. [In preparation].
2. Lukaczer D, Liskak DJ, Lerlman RH, Darland G, Schiltz B, Tripp M, Bland JS. Effect of a low glycemic index diet with soy protein and phytosterols on CVD risk factors in postmenopausal women. Nutrition 2006;22(2):104-13.
3. Gordon NF , Salmon RD, Franklin BA, et al. Effectiveness of therapeutic lifestyle changes in patients with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and/or hyperglycemia. Am J Cardiol 2004;94(12):1558-61.
4. Aldana SG, Greenlaw RL, Diehl HA, Salberg A, Merrill RM, Ohmine S, et al. Effects of an intensive diet and physical activity modification program on the health risks of adults. J Am Diet Assoc 2005;105(3):371-81.
5. Appel J, Champagne CM, Harsha DW, Cooper LS, Obarzanek E, Elmer PJ, et al. Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on blood pressure control. Main results of the PREMIER clinical trial. JAMA 2003;289(16):2083-93.
6. Esposito K, Marfella R, Ciotola M, et al. Effect of a Mediterranean-style diet on endothelial dysfunction and markers of vascular inflammation in the metabolic syndrome. JAMA 2004;292:1440-1446.
7. Wannamethee SG, Shaper AG, Whincup PH. Modifiable lifestyle factors and the metabolic syndrome in older men: effects of lifestyle changes. J Am Geriatr Soc 2006;54(12):1909-14.