Published: June 19, 2007 11:39 am            

Church promotes wellness for members

Mission: Good health

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Many in northern Michigan are enjoying the benefits of better health thanks to a new outreach program of the Cadillac Seventh-day Adventist Church.

According to George Corliss, facilitator of the church’s START NEW Series for Healthful Living, participants are making healthy inroads into losing weight and reducing symptoms of chronic lifestyle diseases such as hypertension and diabetes while following the program that advocates "God’s eight laws of health" - sunlight, temperance, air, rest, trust in God, nutrition, exercise and water.

“We believe in the biblical Scripture (1 Corinthians 6:19) that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit,” Corliss said.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church began as part of the 19th-century Millerite movement in the United States, rooted in the belief of the second coming of Christ. The Adventist Church places an emphasis on wholeness and health for its members and touts the advantages of a vegetarian diet while discouraging use of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs. Some Adventists avoid caffeine.

The philosophy was used by one of its early members, Dr. John Kellogg, who pioneered the church’s health work in Battle Creek. That eventually led to the development of the American breakfast staple, corn flakes.

Adventists’ healthy lifestyles are supported by statistics showing that Adventist men live seven years longer and Adventist women live 11 years longer than the general population, Corliss said.

Corliss, who lives in McBain, retired as executive director of Listen America, a drug prevention program for children and teens, but at 49 was far from finished working. A lay leader at the Cadillac church, Corliss started the first eight-week program in January 2006 with eight to 10 church members.

The program has evolved into two facets, an eight-week boot camp that meets Sunday mornings and a free, ongoing Wednesday evening program. Some 60 people completed the last session of boot camp that culminated with a graduation ceremony Wednesday.

While Corliss is the mastermind of the program, Cadillac family physician Dr. Neal Goodman facilitates. Boot camps require a $50 fee to cover the expense of an initial physical including blood work. It is the only cost involved in the eight-week program that includes a cookbook, 200-page syllabus and weekly speaker.

Church members and former program participants staff the program.

“It offers continuing education, camaraderie and accountability,” Corliss said.

There are success stories.

Bob Baker, 65, of Cadillac, retired eight years ago as a field worker with Michigan Gas Storage.

“In October I went to Wal-Mart for an eye check and flunked it,” he said.

Another exam also showed something was wrong. A tumor was discovered on his pituitary gland and was removed on Nov. 15. It wasn’t life-or-death, but with his wife, Nancy, a diabetic, they decided it was time to address their health issues.

“We joined the program and turned vegan, which means no meat or milk, and we gave up coffee,” Baker said.

After going through boot camp twice, he is buying veggie burgers, makes his own ketchup and is enjoying a 53-pound weight loss.

His wife saw an improvement in her glucose readings. They also discovered they enjoyed the food. They make soups and lasagnas and are finding mushrooms sautéed in soy butter both nutritious and tasty. They combined their healthy eating habits with an exercise program, and the results have been successful.

With his weight down to 209 from 262 pounds, Baker got good news recently. His glucose went from 121 to 83 and his cholesterol reading went from 285 to 173.

“Actually I believe God put me here to do this,” he said.

He distributes fliers for the meetings and is being baptized at the church.

“I think I was meant to help her (his wife) get fixed up,” he said. “Now I don’t break a sweat when I walk and I’m doing Bible reading each morning. We have a Bible study at the house every Friday.”

And his best evidence, “Everybody tells me I don’t look 65,” he said.

For Mike Lambert of Bear Lake, the 50-mile drive to Cadillac every Sunday was something he’d do again.

“It’s been a blessing both physically and spiritually,” he said.

Lambert, who turned 67 in May, is a retired over-the-road truck driver. Growing up with his father a chef and his mother a cook, Lambert was raised on coffee and sweet rolls for breakfast, restaurant meals, free rein on the inventory of ice cream, and fresh pies, cakes and cookies.

“You just do your thing eating regularly and don’t see the consequences,” he said. “It’s such a gradual process; you forget how good you felt before.”

He joined the boot camp but really didn’t take it seriously the first week. The second week he began to understand the biblical aspects of health and really started in on the program, including using the breathing techniques and drinking two quarts of water daily.

Before the camp, he was treated for high blood pressure with a prescription for Benicar and was taking Prilosec for acid reflux disease along with potassium pills to accompany a diuretic. His blood pressure always was in the upper limits.

Now he is taking no medications and has lost 23 pounds in seven weeks.

He also saw an improvement in his spirituality and said his prayer life has improved. For exercise, he enjoys growing produce for his farm stand.

”I have great energy. Sometimes I put in 14- to 15-hour days,” he said.

George Youngert of Manton feels like dancing. For 20 years, Youngert coped with high blood pressure along with a heart condition that caused his feet to swell sometimes to twice their normal size. Following open heart surgery in 1993 and three subsequent heart operations, he was resigned to the fact that he would always have to cut the tongue out of his shoes and split them down the sides to get them on his feet.

After following the program, his blood pressure stabilized at around 122 over 70 as he lost 27 pounds in eight weeks.

“It’s not easy. How many people can give up their hamburgers and eggs?” he asked.

But he quit cold turkey and the swelling in his feet began to subside.

Recently, he found a pair of brown wingtip shoes in his closet, purchased 17 or 18 years ago.

”I decided to try them on,” Youngert said. “I dusted them off and I went through the roof. They fit. I used to feel 71 years old. Now I feel 71 years young.”

He still has heart disease, but believes his condition and his shortness of breath symptoms are better and he is motivated to improve.

“If nothing else, I lost 27 pounds and I can wear those shoes,” he said. “I want to shout it to the world.”

Corliss said the program has generated interest since the second boot camp. Teams of three or four representatives from churches in Grayling, West Branch, Gaylord, Mesick, Bristol and Big Rapids, as well as physicians, have gone through the program and plan to offer it.

Results from the current eight-week program were dramatic. Some 60 participants completed the program and lost a total of more than 400 pounds. Many cut back or eliminated medications used to control the conditions that plagued them.



Gretchen Murray writes for Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle.

        

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