15-Day Whole-Food Plant-Based Jumpstart

Rochester Lifestyle Medicine Institute (RLMI) was formed in 2015 with the goal of transforming health and the health care system from the grass roots, by offering people the knowledge, skills, and support they need to adopt a whole-food plant-based diet and other healthy lifestyle changes. RLMI’s founder and president is Ted Barnett, MD, a partner at Borg and Ide Imaging where he has practiced since 1986. He and his wife Carol are full time volunteers with RLMI. RLMI's Director of Clinical Studies is Susan Friedman, MD, MPH, head of the Lifestyle Medicine program at Highland Hospital and a Professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center. The centerpiece of RLMI’s offerings is its 15-Day Whole-Food Plant-Based Jumpstart. Instead of pills and procedures, Jumpstart gives people the tools they need to take charge of their own health. In two weeks, most participants see dramatic improvements in health metrics as well as in the way they feel—with those who need it most typically seeing the most improvement. Over the 15 days, on average, participants with cholesterol over 240 lose 64 points and people with hypertension have significant drops in blood pressure. Many participants with diabetes have been able to reverse their condition and come off their medications. Typical weight loss is 6 to 7 pounds. Jumpstart is given monthly and has reached more than 2000 people in 44 states and 7 countries. The program is supported by peer-reviewed published studies and is certified by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. RLMI has an array of other offerings that educate and support people in plant-based diet and lifestyle change, including free lifestyle lectures and free continuing education courses for doctors and clinicians everywhere. Each clinician has thousands of patients, putting RLMI’s potential reach into the hundreds of thousands. The 15-Day Jumpstart also scores a win for social justice and planetary health: plant-based diet results in less human and animal suffering, reduced global warming, and greater protection for our fragile planet. A donation to RLMI will reverse someone’s chronic disease; save human and animal lives; and put our planet on a sustainable path. Thank you for supporting RLMI!

We focus on: Health, The Environment

Where we are: Monroe