Health in Bozeman

Bozeman Health Lifestyle Medicine’s Operations Manager Janice Garcia, Nurse Practitioner Amy Stetson, and Dr. Joseph Sofianek enjoy a plant-forward bite prepared by Sofianek at the Bozeman Public Library Community Kitchen

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Under the direction of board-certified Lifestyle Medicine doctor Joseph Sofianek, MD, Bozeman Health is leading the charge in the Gallatin Valley to change the way we approach medicine. Eighty percent of chronic diseases we face today including obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease are ones the can be prevented, treated and at times even reversed through lifestyle choices.

According to Sofianek, patients are referred from their primary care physicians and specialists in cardiology, rheumatology, oncology, gastroenterology, and OB/GYN. Physicians refer patients who want to make changes in their lives—but need to tap in to their own internal motivation and self-efficacy.

Sofianek and his team of board-certified registered nurses, health coaches, and physical therapists give patients the resources, support, and tools to incorporate the six pillars of Lifestyle Medicine into their lives. These pillars include nutrition, activity, stress reduction, avoidance of risky substances, sleep health, and healthy social connections.

“People are coming back all the time at their two- or fourmonth follow-up and they are down 15–20 pounds, telling us ‘Wow, I haven’t felt this good in years.’ ‘I’m sleeping better.’ ‘I’m thinking clearer.’ ‘My diabetes is gone.’”

He tells the story of one patient who, after 10 months, walked in 30 pounds lighter, successfully reversing her diabetes. “When I gave her that result and saw that smile on her face …,” he recalls. “She was so happy and so proud of herself and she just felt so much better.” Sofianek had been her primary doctor for 25 years. After becoming certified by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine in 2020 he was able to give her a new approach, ultimately reducing her need for medications and giving her tools to live a healthier life.

It’s not just diabetes. As a further example, he said there is evidence “if you can just get people exercising you can reduce their depression. But some people just want to take a pill. And that’s fine, too. I’m not bashing medication,” he says. There’s definitely a time and place for it.

Sofianek recommends a plant-predominant diet of minimally processed whole foods, but asserts “Plant-forward does not mean never eating animal proteins. Our relationship to food is often really complicated.”

He wants to fill in the knowledge gaps for his patients with regard to nutrition. “We look at the results of lab tests. We spend a lot of time talking about food and metabolism. ‘What foods do you love? What do you crave? What do you not like?’” Sofianek goes on to say that “probably half our time is spent talking about nutrition and metabolism. Glucose metabolism and insulin resistance/pre-diabetes are a real epidemic in our country. We look at sugar, fiber, saturated fats, and we break it down to a cellular level.”

A lot of his patients want to know “What should I eat?” but he warns that a lot of fad diets touted as healthy are not. “Only 5 percent of adults in the U.S. get enough fiber.” Sofianek wants to help people understand that fresh, whole foods—vegetables, fruit, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds, berries, and whole grains—contain phytonutrients, antioxidants, and fiber that can make a significant difference in one’s well-being.

He encourages patients to try lots of different recipes and figure out for themselves which healthy recipes are “yummy.”

Nutrition is one piece of the puzzle. The Lifestyle Medicine team, including board-certified physical therapist Angie Watschke from the Ridge, helps individuals learn to incorporate a sustainable physical activity into their lives. And it’s not just about getting to the gym. Spending time outdoors and in community have a major impact as well.

Sofianek advocates avoiding risky substances like alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs, and encourages people to learn ways to better manage stress.

“The world is a little crazy these days,” he says, “and a lot of us use distraction techniques to deal with stress.” But learning to sit with stress, using mindfulness and meditation, can help “reset our brain’s neural pathways” and can go a long way toward helping his patients achieve their health goals.

Sofianek gives talks about nutrition and health that include cooking demos. He is planning a new series in early 2025 at the Bozeman Public Library’s state-of-the-art community kitchen. The schedule will be on the library website and the website for Bozeman Health’s Lifestyle Medicine division.

“Sustained changes are often better carried out with smaller, incremental, well supported changes layered on each other,” he says. “We are looking for ways to help patients find their personal motivations for change,… and we are helping them make SMART goals,” that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

For more information about Bozeman Health’s Lifestyle Medicine program, visit bozemanhealth.org/lifestylemedicine.