LIFESTYLE MEDICINE EXPERTS

Hans Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, FACN

Hans Diehl is the founder of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) and of the Lifestyle Medicine Institute. Started in 1988, his CHIP program and his leadership have shown more than 80,000 graduates how simple lifestyle changes can facilitate the reversal of many lifestyle-related chronic diseases restoring hope, health and happiness in many. With a focus on the consumption of more plant-based and whole foods plus a consistent exercise program, the clinical results of his pioneering efforts as an epidemiologically trained lifestyle interventionist have been reported in more than 30 peer-reviewed professional publications

Michael Greger, MD, FACLM

Michael Greger, M.D. FACLM is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized professional speaker on a number of important public health issues. Dr. Greger has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the International Bird Flu Summit, among countless other symposia and institutions; testified before Congress; has appeared on shows such as The Colbert Report and The Dr. Oz Show; and was invited as an expert witness in defense of Oprah Winfrey at the infamous “meat defamation” trial. In 2017, he was honored with the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Trailblazer Award. More.

Neil Nedley, MD

Neil Nedley, M.D., is a full-time practicing physician in Internal Medicine with emphasis in Gastroenterology, Mental Health, Lifestyle Medicine, and the difficult-to-diagnose patient.

He has provided continuing medical education courses to physicians and health professionals around the world. He has also given numerous health education seminars to general public audiences worldwide.

Dr. Nedley is author of the book Proof Positive: How to Reliably Combat Disease and Achieve Optimal Health through Nutrition and Lifestyle, now in its fourth printing. It tackles heart disease, cancer, hypertension, diabetes, kidney failure, high cholesterol, and many other diseases, providing common sense nutritional and lifestyle therapies that can make a substantial difference in treatment and/or prevention of these common conditions. More.

Saray Stancic, MD

Saray Stancic, M.D. is triple board certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Lifestyle Medicine. She graduated from New Jersey Medical School in 1993 and after completing her fellowship, accepted the position as Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Hudson Valley VA in New York. In later years, she served as Translational Medical Leader at Roche Pharmaceuticals where she led clinical trials in the field of viral hepatitis. In 2012, she left the work in Infectious Diseases to fully dedicate her time to the field of Lifestyle Medicine. Dr. Stancic’s interest in Lifestyle Medicine is rooted in her personal story as a patient living with multiple sclerosis. She is the founder of one of the first Lifestyle Medicine practices in the country, and mentors the Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. In 2018, she was appointed Chief Medical Officer for WellStart Health, a digital, team-based intensive lifestyle change program. She seeks to spread the power of Lifestyle Medicine on a global scale, and bring needed change to how we train physicians. She is the Executive Producer of the documentary film, code blue: redefining the practice of medicine.

David Kroska MD, FACOG, diplomate ACLM

Dr. David Kroska is a board-certified Obstetrician–Gynecologist, and Director of reproductive medicine at CentraCare Clinic in Saint Cloud, MN. As a full-spectrum provider of primary care for women for over 38 years, coupled with the needs of infertility patients, he developed the LIFE (Lifestyle, Food and Exercise) program in 2004 to practice preventative healthcare (as opposed to disease care) needs of his patients and community. Wellness care and preventive medicine has long been his passion and the LIFE program has provided a means for patients and fellow practitioners to “treat the causes” of chronic disease such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and even dementia through lifestyle and dietary means. Since the beginning of the LIFE program 15 years ago, the program has witnessed amazing growth in our understanding of the burden of non-communicable diseases- and most importantly, in our understanding of causes and solutions. Dr. Kroska is a board-certified diplomat of the ACLM (American College of Lifestyle Medicine) which has grown substantially over the last 15 years. He is also an organic gardener and raises a large and diverse amount of fruits and vegetables in central Minnesota. In the garden, tomatoes are his passion and he raises over 80 varieties of mainly heirloom types each year. A Youtube video of him discussing heirloom tomatoes has gone viral and has received more “hits” at Saint John’s University than any other in its files. He is father to 8 children, 7 girls and 1 boy with the last three being triplets. He is an avid bicyclist and enjoys reading and travels extensively. Dr. Kroska’s teaching and other awards include: recipient of the CentraCare Caduceus award, induction into Alpha-Omega-Alpha (as University of MN medical school teacher of the year) and Family Medicine residency teacher of the year award.

Chuck Carroll

Chuck Carroll is truly The Weight Loss Champion. At just 5 feet 6 inches tall, he weighed 420 pounds before radically changing his life. Like so many others, he tried and failed countless times to lose weight.  Any success he achieved was short-lived as the weight came pouring back on and then some. Out of desperation, he decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery on Sept. 1, 2009. However, prior to the procedure he was convinced that the surgery would become like all the other failed attempts to lose weight.  He thought at least he would go to his grave saying he tried everything.

But then the unexpected happened. He woke up from the surgery and never looked back. Although a critical component, the procedure proved only to be the first step in his journey. In fact, he only attributes 10 percent of his long-term weight loss success to it. The rest he credits to a plant-based diet and changing his lifestyle!

In October 2017 he launched The Exam Room podcast with Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The weekly show focuses on nutrition with a heavy focus on weight loss and preventing disease through diet. The show is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available. More.

LOCAL HEALTH ADVOCATES

Lori Banks, PTA

Lori received her Associate of Applied Science in the Physical Therapy Assistant program from Lake Area Technical Institute in 2000. For more than 16 years now, she has been practicing physical therapy in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, private practices, and industry settings.

In 2008, Lori was awarded the Recognition of Advanced Proficiency in Musculoskeletal for Physical Therapist Assistant by the American Physical Therapy Association.

Her clinical passions include manual therapy, exercise prescription, occupational rehabilitation for the injured worker, orthopedic rehabilitation, work place health and wellness.

Lori lives in Rochester with her husband and three children. In her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, coaching ‘Moms on the Run’ classes, being outdoors with her family and reading.

Letticia Callies, Certified Aromatherapist

Letticia Callies is a Certified Clinical Aromatherapist at Rochester Clinic where she focuses on stress management and mindset combining essential oils, stress management techniques, and healthy lifestyle choices. Letticia focuses on identifying the nature of the issue in the context of the whole person and creates an essential oil therapy plan based on individual needs and preferences. She is a NAHA level 2 certified professional aromatherapist and a certified facilitator for the Nedley Depression and Anxiety Recovery Program. She leads group sessions on targeted health and wellness. She is pursuing her doctorate in Christian counseling psychology. She enjoys spending quality family time with her husband and six children. On her spare time she enjoys sampling exotic teas, hand lettering, and creating new recipes in the kitchen.

Thomas Harman, MD

Thomas Harman is a certified member of the of the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), is an established family and primary care physician who has been teaching and practicing medicine in the Rochester community for over 30 years. He received his medical degree from the Indiana University School of Medicine and completed his residency at South Bend Memorial Hospital. He spent most of his career with Mayo Clinic where he served as Program Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care Committee. He was also the assistant professor of family medicine at Mayo Medical School.

Jengyu Lai, DPM

Jengyu Lai earned his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) and completed a Biomechanics Research fellowship and Podiatric Orthopedic residency at the Des Moines University. He subsequently completed an NIH fellowship in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Mayo Clinic.

 Dr. Lai emphasizes an integrative approach to treat and manage the lower extremity problems. He also focuses on applying lifestyle medicine principles to assess and treat the root causes of common lower limb conditions.

 Dr. Lai currently practices at Rochester Clinic and is a certified physician wound specialist, Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP) facilitator and Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) coach. He also serves on the boards of Lotus Health Foundation and Academy of Physicians in Wound Healing.

Mei Liu, MS, MBA, Certified CHIP Facilitator, Founder and President

Mei Liu, founder of Lotus Health Foundation and Chief Financial Officer of Rochester Clinic, earned her master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Des Moines University and an MBA from Drake University.

In her current role, Mei serves as a proponent of lifestyle medicine and considers it to be the most effective way to reduce chronic disease and mitigate a crisis that is impacting all human health, financial markets and the environment.

As a certified facilitator of the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP), Mei and the physician team at Rochester Clinic first introduced this lifestyle medicine education program to the Rochester community in 2015. After witnessing a transformation in more than 100 CHIP participants, Mei recognized a need for lifestyle interventions in the community and founded Lotus Health Foundation, the non-profit arm of Rochester Clinic, in 2016.

Mei believes more health care providers should serve as role models and deliver the message about healthy lifestyles and nutrient dense plant-based whole foods. Lifestyle education offers people the opportunity to achieve better health. “If I am able to save one person’s life, that person may turn around to save a community,” Mei said. “Together, we can make this a healthy world for us and for our next generation.” 

Mei is actively involved with community outreach and advocates for health equity in underserved neighborhoods. She also works with local businesses and collaborative partners to grow health and wellness initiatives in the region. Outside of work, Mei enjoys cooking and gardening.

Malia Ray, MD

Malia moved to Rochester in 2015 from Cincinnati, where she was a pulmonary/critical care physician. She did her undergraduate training at the University of Louisville, and graduate training at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. She completed an internal medicine/ pediatrics residency and pulmonary/critical care fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. Days filled with treating illness and chronic conditions, with their associated complications, resulted in an interest in preventative medicine. This path of learning resulted in implementation of a whole food plant based diet, along with a desire to share knowledge regarding lifestyle choices and their relationship to disease.

Stephen Turner, MD

Doctor Turner is Professor of Medicine and Consultant in the Division of Nephrology & Hypertension, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN.

He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Nephrology, Lifestyle Medicine and is a Hypertension Specialist.

Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick, MS, USGBC

Kelly is passionate about collaborative design, research and education projects that promote a greater understanding of our food system. Because Kelly is a conductor that synthesizes ideas and brings sustainable projects into clear focus for implementation, she has the capacity to build community partnerships doing work that is both broad and deep. By envisioning how various components of a system work together, she leads in both expected and unexpected ways, increasing community resiliency. Kelly is a sustainability advocate and is the hub for all things community garden, local food, and urban agriculture here in Rochester. She was recently awarded the Olmsted County Environmental Achievement Award for her efforts on Sustainable Food Production.

Denise Stegall

As a speaker, teacher, transformational life coach and curator of Living Healthy List Denise ignites ideas, conversation, and connection.  She has innate wisdom, is a connector, leader who radiates emotional intelligence, strength, positivity, resilience and a zest for life!

Denise has condensed 20 years of experience/study in nutrition, cooking, exercise and coaching to educate clients on how to live happy, healthy, and productive lives through nutrition and self-empowerment.

Denise holds a BA in Hotel, Restaurant and Business Management with a focus on nutrition, experience in the hospitality industry and has certifications in Health Coaching, Life Coaching, Nutrition, ETP and Plant Based Cooking.

Her experience in cooking and nutrition delivers a unique perspective on what works (and doesn’t work) for most people.  She believes with just a little planning and a little discipline anyone can have a truly healthy life. Her coaching revolves around three pillars: Eat Real Food, Make Good Decisions and Be Accountable.

As a Certified Health and Life Coach Denise empowers clients to take charge of their health and helps them get results and create richer more fulfilling lives.

Denise is the CEO and Curator of Living Healthy List, an idea that came out of a very real problem.  In her experience she found that it is impossible to get honest, unbiased and expert information about health and wellness on the internet.   There’s too much information, misleading material and a lack of evidence-based health and wellness data.

Denise is described as an authentic connector, inspirational thought leader and is determined to provide Living Healthy List readers with honest, reliable, research-backed content that can be implemented in real life!