Dr. Clifford Morris gives his patients a prescription for a plant-based diet and exercise to help them eliminate the use of drugs for their chronic conditions.

HOPEWELL, VA , USA, March 2, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Board Certified Cardiologist Dr. Clifford Morris believes that by changing their lifestyle people can live a longer, healthy life. He gives his patients a prescription for a plant-based diet and exercise to help them eliminate the use of drugs for their chronic conditions. He practices what has become known today as Lifestyle Medicine. This lifestyle model comes from the study of Blue Zones, five areas of the world where the people live to 100 years or more, free of chronic diseases.

“When we treat somebody with a whole bunch of pills, we just treat the symptoms, not the cause,” he says.
According to the World Health Organization, 80% of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes and 40% of cancer could be prevented primarily with improvements in diet and lifestyle.

Dr. Morris works with a team of other health professionals and an exercise physiologist to design a 12-week personalized medical health program for each of his patients. The program includes a complete medical work-up, cardiopulmonary assessment, exercise prescription and heart-rate-monitored training, nutritional counseling, progressive muscle relaxation and much more. Dr. Morris and his staff celebrate with each patient who successfully completes the program, cheering on the patient while he or she adds the empty medicine bottles to the display by the front door of the office. To date, Dr. Morris has collected 440 empty medicine bottles in the display.

Adding to his board certification in cardiology, Dr. Morris was recently certified in Lifestyle Medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM), which began its certification program in 2017.

ABOUT BLUE ZONES
Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author, has studied people’s lifestyles in five areas of the world he calls Blue Zones, where people live longer, healthier lives - ten to 15 years longer than people in the United States. National Geographic has produced a special issue on these Blue Zones, including Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; the Picoya Peninsula, Cosa Rica; and Loma Linda, California, a community of Seventh Day Adventists.

According to Buettner, residents of these Blue Zones practice nine healthy habits, “The Power Nine:”
-They walk regularly
-They have a purpose in their lives.
-They have a time each day when they relax.
-They stop eating when they are 80% full.
-They eat a plant-based diet.
-They drink alcohol moderately - one or two glasses a day with friends or food.
-They have a circle of supportive friends.
-They regularly attend faith-based services.
-They put their families first.

Dr. Morris points out that Fort Worth Texas recently became a Blue Zone. He wants to create a Blue Zone in Hopewell, Virginia, which has been rated one of the least healthy areas in Virginia in the 2021 study by the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Dr. Morris has taken on the challenge of applying to the Blue Zone Project for his proposed transformation in Hopewell.

“Government, businesses, churches…everybody has to sign on to this feasibility,” Dr. Morris says. Locally, the City of Hopewell, the John Randolph Foundation, the Crater Health District and the Hopewell/Prince George Chamber of Commerce are supportive of efforts to address health outcomes for residents following the release of data that says that Hopewell is among the three lease healthy communities in Virginia according to metrics on heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

ABOUT DR. CLIFFORD MORRIS
Cardiologist Dr. Clifford Morris has been practicing medicine for more than 27 years. He received his BS degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he played basketball with legendary Coach Dean Smith and the UNC Tarheels. His former teammates include Michael Jordan, Kenny Smith and Brad Daughtery. He attended medical school at UNC as well.

Active in humanitarian efforts, Dr. Morris was awarded the 2008 Planetree Physicians’ Award for compassion-oriented patient care. In 2009 he was the first physician at John Randolph Medical; Center to be honored with the HCA First Humanitarian Award and in 2014 he was recognized with Richmond’s top award for Best Bedside Manner by Our Health Magazine. He continued to receive honorable mention for Best Bedside Manner for the following six years. In 2018 he received the HCA First Humanitarian Award for the second time. In November 2021 Morris , as a qualifying small business owner of color, received a Comcast RISE award for assistance with marketing and technology services.

ABOUT HOPEWELL, VIRGINIA
Hopewell is a quaint city of 23,000 about 20 miles south or Virginia’s capital at Richmond. Located at the confluence of the James and Appomattox Rivers, Hopewell’s historic section of City Point was one of North America’s oldest English-speaking communities. In the 18th century, Hopewell became a significant port city and in World War I it became a boomtown with the production of guncotton in the local DuPont plant. During the war, the city’s population rose from 200 residents to more than 30,000. The DuPont plant was closed after the war and the city’s population fell. In 1915 a fire destroyed 300 buildings in Hopewell, but the city quickly rebuilt. Other manufacturing plants moved into Hopewell, including Evonik (formerly Goldschmidt Chemical) In the early 1970s. The city has been investing in environmental controls and is now in the middle of a renaissance. There are new businesses, new restaurants and new and exciting projects, including Dr. Morris’ proposed application for the Blue Zone Project to come to Hopewell, VA.

Becky McDonough
Hopewell/Prince George Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center
804-541-2461
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