Health advocate and Rancho Mirage resident Michele Stone had a vision to help others in her community live long and thrive. As a nutritional consultant with over 30 years of experience implementing educational programs, she saw the positive change that advocacy and action can instill.

Supporters Yvonne Kohsel and Joseph Scherger, MD with Founder Michele Stone

Inspired years ago by the international work of the Blue Zones Project, she decided to launch The Vitality Zone as a local effort to bring companies, practitioners and people together to educate and inspire in the name of health. Based on seven key elements of lifestyle and nutrition, the goal of the project is to spur awareness and action toward improving quality of life via lectures, cooking classes, group activities and more.

Organizations joining The Vitality Zone effort include The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa, Clark’s Nutrition & Natural Foods Market, and Joseph Scherger, MD’s medical clinic Restore Health Disease Reversal. 

Over 75 community members attended the launch event in August and were treated to a presentation by Dr. Scherger on the latest science on food as medicine. They also learned tips on adopting healthier habits from Westin Resort Director of Spa & Wellness Yvonne Kohsel and Clark’s Nutrition assistant store manager Joe Luna.

In September, the project held a cooking class at Clark’s, attracting 20 attendees and demonstrating how to prepare simple nutritious items like homemade juices, a Kaizen pasta dish (a healthier option than wheat, made with lupine beans), pumpkin soup and a delicious no-sugar black bean brownie for dessert.

On November 14, The Vitality Zone will present the launch of Scherger’s latest book, Restore Health: Disease Reversal, at Clark’s Nutrition at 6 p.m. Scherger will share the science and specific information on how to reverse common diseases like type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cognitive decline, and how to safely reduce or eliminate medications. The event is free and open to the public with limited seating.

“Most chronic diseases are caused by an unhealthy diet and lifestyle,” says Scherger. “The human body wants to be healthy and these common diseases are reversible through a concentrated effort to improve diet and lifestyle.”

Over a million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year1 and many more are unaware of their hemoglobin A1c numbers. “We are very excited to share the evidence-based proof of how people can get off their meds by adjusting their lifestyle and learning how to live a longer and healthier life,” says Stone. “We will be conducting several more informative talks on this subject to bring awareness to ways individuals can take their health into their own hands for themselves and for our community.”

In January, The Vitality Zone will offer and conduct a program with 30 qualified candidates to assist them in modifying their lifestyle and nutrition in a medically supervised program. Led by Scherger and Stone, this six-month program will consist of the scientifically-proven elements needed to reverse prediabetes as well as type 2 diabetes and to eliminate or reduce medication. Stone will participate as a health coach to assist with lifestyle and nutrition support, common questions, direction and inspiration. The goal of the program is to demonstrate the effectiveness of lifestyle medicine in reversing chronic disease. Those interested in participating may request information outlining the program in its entirety at the November 14 presentation.

“Our mission is to empower and educate people to improve their health and well-being through knowledge,” adds Stone. “We want people to become their own health advocate, working with their primary care physician to make their own choices for their own body.”

To sign up for classes or for more information, visit www.VitalityZones.com or email [email protected].

Reference: 1) https://diabetes.org/about-diabetes/statistics

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