Local Physician Among the Second-Ever U.S. Cohort Earning Board Certification in the Field of Lifestyle Medicine

Delray Beach, FL – The American Board of Lifestyle Medicine (ABLM) has announced that Hillel Z. Harris, MD is among the 219 physicians and 93 PhD/Masters-level health clinicians and bachelor-level registered nurses who have become the second cohort of medical professionals in the U.S. and the 5 th cohort globally to be certified as Diplomates of the ABLM/American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine. The exam was given Oct. 25 in Indianapolis, IN, following the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s Lifestyle Medicine 2018 conference.

Lifestyle Medicine, defined by the ACLM, is the use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substance abuse and other non-drug modalities, to prevent, treat, and, oftentimes, reverse chronic disease. The American Association of Colleges of Medicine has recognized the Lifestyle Medicine physician as one of the top five emerging careers in medicine today.

As a result of ABLM’s and ACLM’s global pioneering effort, Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance sister organizations in Europe, Asia, Oceania and Latin America will host Lifestyle Medicine certifications in their respective countries and regions, using the identical exam, proctoring, and pass rates, resulting in standardization of the field on a world-wide basis.

“Gone are the days of diagnosing the ill, prescribing the pill and sending the bill, which has worked so well in combating communicable disease, but is hopelessly inadequate in the fight against chronic disease,” said ABLM Executive Director Stephan Herzog. “Nourishment, movement, resilience and social connectedness are becoming the focal point of physicians and health professionals in addressing the underlying causes of chronic disease, with increasing numbers of medical schools starting to train their students in the principles of lifestyle medicine.”

ACLM President Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH, FACLM, added, “Driven primarily by large, self-insured employers, the requirement for health care providers to employ and deploy lifestyle medicine-certified physicians and health professionals will increase rapidly, as the reduction in medical
utilization costs on a per-person per-annum basis is becoming increasingly evident when Lifestyle Medicine is used across the treatment spectrum.”

ABOUT THE AMERICAN BOARD OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE:

The ABLM was formed in November, 2015, in Nashville, TN, by a group of visionary physicians who saw the need to: educate physicians and allied health professionals about Lifestyle Medicine; set a common standard/language for Lifestyle Medicine protocols globally; differentiate between evidence-based Lifestyle Medicine professionals and non-evidence based Lifestyle Medicine practitioners; set a global Lifestyle Medicine benchmark; and attract health insurance funding for evidence-based Lifestyle Medicine by requiring that any fund receivers be formally certified. Learn more at https://ablm.co/about/.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE:

ACLM is the medical professional society for those dedicated to the advancement and clinical practice of Lifestyle Medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable health care system. Lifestyle Medicine treats, often reverses and prevents chronic disease. It is the combined use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substance use and other non-drug modalities.

More than a professional association, ACLM is a galvanized force for change. ACLM addresses the need for quality education and certification, supporting its members in their individual practices and in their collective mission to domestically and globally promote Lifestyle Medicine as the first treatment option, as opposed to a first option of treating symptoms and consequences with expensive, ever increasing quantities of pills and procedures. ACLM members are united in their desire to identify and eradicate the root cause of disease. Learn more at http://www.LifestyleMedicine.org.