I am passionate about helping poeple achieve their health goals through Lifestyle Medicine.  As Kansas City’s only Board-Certified Lifestyle Medicine Specialty clinic, we offer the healing power of a healthy lifestyle to patients of all ages.  My experience in the hospital and acute care settings have informed my knowledge of where we are as a health care system and inspired me to be the change I want to see in health care.  Lifestyle Medicine at Integrative Health Providers focuses on prevention, healing, and longevity by treating the cause to heal the body and protect from disease.  I am Double-Board-Certified in Adult-Geronotology and Lifestyle Medicine.

What gets me out of bed in the morning is the honor of helping people attain optimal health & wellness. I am passionate about preventive health care, board certified in Lifestyle Medicine as well as Anti-Aging & Regenerative Medicine;  and I am focused on helping to change the delivery from sick care to well care. I live a plant-based life personally and professionally. I run, lift weights, play tennis and ride my bike regularly. I believe you have to be a role model to do Lifestyle Medicine professionally. I worked as an Internist and the Medical Director for Wellness & Employee Health for the Lee Health system for 26 years but now have started Concierge Lifestyle Medicine, a private practice devoted to plant-based living and healthy lifestyle behaviors. 

When I graduated from UCLA with my Master’s in Public Health in 1988, I had a very important decision to make. Do I, or do I not return to UC Davis School of Medicine to complete my training to become a physician? (I had spent 3 years at UC Davis) I realized that I was passionately committed to promoting health and preventing disease, and that I was no longer interested in treating disease. I made a bold decision to pursue studying Lifestyle Medicine on my own and went into healthcare administration and eventually consulting. But along the way, I was busy conducting my own research, delivering seminars and even wrote a book on health called Evolving Health, endorsed by Dr. Neal Barnard. In 2016, I attended the Plant-based Nutrition Healthcare Conference and learned about the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. I was so thrilled! In October 2017, I attended my first Lifestyle Medicine Conference and was delighted to have found my tribe. They announced the board certification for physicians and for professionals. I was in! In October 2018, I attended my second Lifestyle Medicine Conference and passed my board exam! I am so proud to officially be a Lifestyle Medicine Professional!  For the longest time, I have believed that a whole food, plant-based diet is fundamental to empowering people to prevent, reverse and treat chronic disease. I have had the good fortune to have helped hundreds to do just that. 

Laurie Marbas, MD, MBA is a double board certified family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician, who has been utilizing food as medicine since 2012. She is Co-founder of Plant Based TeleHealth, (http://plantbasedtelehealth.com) the first plant based lifestyle medicine practice covering the United States. Previously, she created a new medical model combining the power of nutrient-dense foods and intensive clinical psychological therapy to treat not only food addiction but also chronic disease. As the Managing Editor for the Plantrician Project’s International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention, she works closely with the journal’s Editor in Chief, Dr. Kim Williams. The journal is focused on bringing plant-based research to the forefront of modern medicine and to the general public. She is also co-founder of Healthy Human Revolution, whose mission is to provide resources that will empower individuals with the knowledge, tools, and mindset to successfully adopt and sustain a whole food, plant-based (WFPB) diet.
In Colorado, when Laurie convinced a large hospital to create a lifestyle medicine program centered around a WFPB diet, the program showed resounding success. At another hospital, she conducted a one-month study of 26 employees on a WFPB diet. All employees were fed from the hospital’s kitchen, and each individual experienced improved health. She has spoken at the Golden VegFest in Colorado, the International Plant-based Nutrition Healthcare Conference, and other venues teaching about the value of the WFPB diet.
Laurie received her dual degrees (MD and MBA) from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and TTU School of Business. She was awarded the Texas Tech University School of Medicine Gold Headed Cane Award, a symbol for excellence in the art of medicine and the care of patients. She wrote seven books while in medical school, six of which were in a series called “Visual Mnemonics.” These books used cartoons to help people memorize vast amounts of information—a system that helped her personally when she was a mom attending medical school. As a United States Air Force veteran, she served in the Middle East and South America. She is also a wife, mom of three grown children, host of the Healthy Human Revolution podcast, author, speaker, and avid runner.

Board Certified Neurologist and Plant Based Physician

A founding member and Fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Michael Greger, MD, is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition. He has videos on more than 2,000 health topics freely available at NutritionFacts.org, with new videos and articles uploaded almost every day. Dr. Greger has lectured at the Conference on World Affairs, testified before Congress, and was invited as an expert witness in the defense of Oprah Winfrey in the infamous “meat defamation” trial. He is a graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. Three of his recent books— How Not to Die, the How Not to Die Cookbook, and How Not to Diet all became instant New York Times Best Sellers. His latest two books, How to Survive a Pandemic and the How Not to Diet Cookbook, were released in 2020. All proceeds he receives from the sales of his books go to charity.

Physicians’ Primary Care of SW Florida

I am an interventional cardiologist who is skilled at performing angioplasty. However, I prefer to use my knowledge of medicine, nutrition, and exercise science to help my patients stay heart healthy. As a competitive triathlete and follower of a plant-based diet for over ten years, I set a healthful example for my patients.

TrueNorth Health is a multi-discipline practice that specializes in medically supervised fasting and the use of an exclusively plant food diet.

Protecting Your Greatest Asset…Your Health!

I teach people how whole plant food has the power to prevent and reverse disease

Robyn Chuter is a naturopath, counsellor and EFT therapist who specialises in helping people reverse serious and chronic illnesses such as autoimmune conditions, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and chronic fatigue syndrome, using a plant-based diet and emotional healing. Her other specialty is helping people who suffer from emotional eating, food addiction and poor body image. Robyn’s dual background as a physical and mental health professional uniquely equips her to help her clients bridge the gap between knowing what to do to be healthy and happy, and actually doing it. She goes way beyond simply educating her clients about the changes they need to make in order to overcome disease and achieve optimal health. She works intensively with her clients to get them past their own psychological, behavioural and social barriers to change, so they can implement what she teaches them and reap the many benefits. Robyn runs regular nutrition seminars and wholefood, plant-based cooking classes. Visit www.empowertotalhealth.com.au to receive Robyn’s FREE action guide ‘The 5 Steps to Breaking Bad Habits’ and subscribe to her free weekly e-newsletter, EMPOWERED!

MEDICAL DOCTOR AND NEUROLOGY, EXPERT IN EPILEPSY

My husband and I read the China Study in 2010 and immediately put down the book and cleaned out our kitchen! The evidence is overwhelming that a Whole-Food, Plant-Based diet is the healthiest way to eat and live. We have been WFPB ever since and are raising our kids that way as well. The more I’ve learned over the last few years, the more I am convinced that poor nutrition is at the root of the vast majority of medical problems. I find myself talking about nutrition at just about every patient visit! I have recently started a shared medical appointment for adults and kids interested in learning more about WFPB nutrition and the associated health benefits. I am so excited to be bringing this knowledge to the world of pediatrics! Children can grow and thrive and prevent a world of health problems by adopting a WFPB lifestyle right from the start!

I am a doctorally prepared RD who has worked in clinical care, research and teaching for almost 30 years. Never have I been more convinced of the power of nutrition to optimize health, prevent disease, and heal.