Helpful information from my 7-day health immersion experience
Always talking about making every bite count, Dr. Stoll’s approach begins with the premise that “food is the foundation of good health.”
In his opening lecture last week, he told the story of how he stopped being a traditional physician who treats symptoms with drugs, tests and procedures. Like Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. McDougall and other compassionate doctors before him, he began to feel guilty about the fact that his treatments were doing nothing to address the causative factors.
After enough patients told him that they were literally “falling apart,” he decided to take a proactive approach and learn how to truly promote health. Then, after studying all the nutritional information available; like me, he found his own “blinding flash of the obvious solution” to so many of our medical issues. After reading 10,000 articles, he concluded that the secret was simply two words—Whole Plants.
As we say in 4Leaf for Life, the goal of nutritional excellence is the pursuit of vibrant health; weight-loss is just a fringe benefit that happens effortlessly and naturally when we eat the right foods. Early in the immersion experience, Dr. Stoll asks all of the attendees to think deeply as to “why” they are about to make this permanent lifestyle change in the way that they eat. And he tells them:
“Weight-loss is not a big enough WHY!”
So, before the end of the week, most of the 90 attendees had posted their own “why” on the wall for all to see. Here is one of them.
One of the “WHY” statements posted by a Whole Foods team member at the “immersion.”
In the following seven-minute video, Dr. Stoll provides us with a concise summary of the importance of healthy eating. The video format is a series of questions related to his immersion programs at Whole Foods Market. So who is Dr. Stoll? From the THI website:
Dr. Scott Stoll is a board-certified specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and currently serves as the medical director for the Back and Neck center at Coordinated Health, chairman of the department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and team physician for Lehigh University. His practice specializes in treating musculoskeletal injuries through regenerative therapies and improving health through nutritional excellence.
He can be heard daily on his radio program Health Minutes in the Lehigh Valley and in lectures around the country. As a former Olympian, Dr. Stoll is well suited for his additional roles as a team physician for the United States Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and an advising physician serving professional and Olympic athletes. Dr. Stoll also serves on the Whole Foods Market Scientific Medical Advisory Board.
Meet Dr. Stoll
First Question: What is your solution to the health care issue and how has this been proven with your current/past patients?
Tom Dunnam, President, Total Health Immersions, LLC
From the THI website: Total Health Immersions eats, sleeps and breathes health and nutrition. We conduct health and nutrition educational programs and retreats for corporations, health professionals and school and community groups. Our mission is to reverse the obesity and chronic illness epidemic, one life at a time.
For more information, check out their website below and when you call, ask for Tom Dunnam, President. And tell him that J. Morris Hicks sent you. —My 667th consecutive daily blog—
- More information on THI Immersions. www.totalhealthimmersions.com
- Another immersion related blog. A no-nonsense medical doctor; simply heals people
- My new Dr. Klaper video page. 5 Minutes with Dr. Klaper plus two other videos
Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com
- The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD
- Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
- An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
- Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.
Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com
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J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.
For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.
Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.
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Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.
—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation
J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 
Whole Foods might be making a difference. But who knows. The nearest Whole Foods to me is in either Ann Arbor, Mich., or Indianapolis — both more than 100 miles away. My local co-op is less than 2 miles, as is Kroger. Co-op is good, but most of its produce is from left coast as is Kroger’s.
Sal, I agree with you about having these clinics spread more regionally. I live in a small town in SW Michigan. We are basically on our own and have to rely on books and the Internet.
Dr Stoll believes that Whole Foods is leading the change to healthier eating for it’s customers. Granted, the store has made some changes but it’s still a corporate structure that has to maximize profit.
Whenever I walk into the store, I still see as much unhealthy food for sale as before. As long as Whole Foods sells animal flesh and packaged foods, how can they lead the way? Whole Foods can lecture about healthy eating, but they will still sell you steak; or cake, cookies, candy; or packaged foods. How can this possibly work? Preach plant foods, sell junk foods . . . I don’t get it?
Jim, finding a plant based doctor in metro New York is still a problem. Where does Dr Stoll practice? Do you know of any such doctors in our area since you are so actively involved in our plant based movement?
Santa Rosa, California has McDougall and True North. Florida has the Pritikin Center. New York has (?)
Jim, have you ever considered establishing a center in metro New York similar to McDougall, maybe an extension of the McDougall clinic? Now that is an exciting idea: NEW YORK AND PLANT FOODS!
What the plant food movement needs is a visionary, one who can see the value in establishing McDougall type clinics throughout the country and even the world.
Sal Liggieri
Sal, Dr. Fuhrman’s Center is in New Jersey, a hop, skip, and jump from New York. Check out the T. Colin Campbell’s Foundation website, as well. They list lifestyle practitioners. Unsure if someone from NY is listed, but it’s worth a try.
Re Whole Foods selling unhealthy foods – If we had a grocery store that sold ONLY plant based foods (and I would certainly enjoy that), how much of a profit would it make, since us plant eaters comprise only 1% of the population? A ‘For Sale’ sign would be posted within months.
Whole Foods is making a difference, a big difference. Folks are slowly but surely waking to the reality that food impacts health, and movement toward the whole foods, plant based lifestyle is happening. Still, people have choices, and for establishments like Whole Foods to survive, and continue offering plant based foods, they have to offer food choices for the wider population as well. I love the saying, “There is a time for every purpose under heaven.” We may not see a complete transformation in our lifetime. It may happen when the coastal cities disappear and food becomes scarce, but NOW is the time to continually spread the message, taking whatever steps we can to ensure the health and sustainability of future generations and our planet. Namaste!
Really great, points, Joanne. Just great…. you’re right, we may not see the transformation in our lifetime, but it will happen, and unfortunately for many, not by their choice, which would be the better path. Wishing you all good health!