Today we’d like to introduce you to an expert.
1. What is your name, title, and the name of your company or organization?
I’m Dr. Lisa McCoy, I’m a preventive and lifestyle medicine physician, and the name of my nonprofit organization is Kingdom Health for Kingdom Purposes.
2. What do you do, and who do you help?
I help believers move from pain and pills into purpose. I believe that your God-given purposes deserve your best health, so I use research-proven, biblically-grounded lifestyle interventions to help them reverse their chronic diseases — or better yet, prevent them from developing.
3. What inspired you to pursue this work?
Initially, it was working in the ED at Children’s Hospital in Boston and seeing so many young people coming in preventable conditions – adult-onset diabetes or deadly asthma attacks – and wanting to find a way to get ahead of it. Even today, watching people spend their best years shackled by illnesses that could be reversed breaks my heart – and especially knowing some have no idea that disease reversal is even possible. That gap — between what the research shows and what patients understand — that’s what compelled me to write The Purpose of Health around closing it.
4. Tell us a little about your professional background and journey.
I recently retired after spending about 30 years helping individuals and communities transform their health from the inside out. Along the way, I became certified as a nutrition coach to make up for what I was not taught about nutrition in medical school. Thankfully, things are starting to change for physicians being trained today.
5. What problem are you most passionate about solving?
Most of us already know we should eat better, move more, and sleep enough. We just don’t do it consistently. And another checklist or ’30-day reset’ isn’t going to fix that. What actually moves the needle is understanding how your body was created to function and why it matters – not just for your waistline but how it impacts your calling, your access to things God desires for your life. When you start to see your body as a mission-critical resource, something shifts. You start reading the Bible differently and seeing health-related applications of Scriptures you thought were purely spiritual. And you start making choices differently. That’s the kind of transformation I’m after.
6. What makes your approach or framework unique?
The difference is at least 75 years of research showing that the six lifestyle interventions can actually reverse diseases most people believe are permanent — diabetes, certain cancers, even Alzheimer’s disease. That’s not a wellness trend. It’s a medical subspecialty called Lifestyle Medicine, and it’s what my entire framework is built on. What also makes my approach distinctive is that I layer biblical grounding on top of that research — because for believers, understanding that your body is a temple isn’t just theology, it’s a Kingdom health strategy.
7. What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced, and how did you overcome it?
Honestly? Getting people to act before a health crisis forces their hand. Many of us wait for a scary lab result or a serious diagnosis before we finally make those changes we’ve been putting off doing. So frequently, my biggest challenge is helping people connect their health to something they’re not willing to compromise on: their purpose, their legacy, the people who need them to be at their best. Once that connection clicks, the motivation to change becomes self-sustaining – even without a checklist.
8. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Continually using lifestyle medicine interventions to transform my own health . . . Lowering my blood pressure and cholesterol, improving my sleep habits, and a long list of benefits I’ve gained from transitioning to a whole food, plant-predominant eating plan. Later for physicians giving off these ‘do as I say, not as I do’ vibes! We have to lead the way.
9. Can you share a success story or transformation from a client, customer, or community you serve?
One of my clients, I’ll call her Serena, grew up on the island of Trinidad. Her family’s plant-predominant meals were a good foundation, but they were high in starchy plants and lacked much diversity. So, she came to me at 50 with joint pain, knee stiffness, and vision changes she had just accepted as part of getting older. However, her labs revealed that she was close to meeting the criteria for diabetes.
After we worked together, and she read an advance copy of my book, Serena diversified her diet — more leafy greens, lots of colorful vegetables, whole grains, and legumes — and the results have been pretty incredible. Her pain, joint stiffness and vision have all improved. Her lab values are trending in the right direction. But here’s what I want people to hear: her symptoms weren’t aging. They were lifestyle. And that distinction changes everything.
10. What are some common misconceptions people have about your industry or area of expertise?
Lifestyle Medicine is a relatively new medical subspecialty — although the research behind it goes back at least 75 years. One misconception I run into a lot is that lifestyle medicine doctors are somehow alternative or outside the mainstream. We’re not. Every lifestyle medicine physician must first be board-certified in a specialty such as internal medicine, pediatrics, OB-GYN, preventive medicine, like me. That foundation matters, because it means we know when medication is genuinely necessary, and we know when lifestyle change might make it unnecessary.
11. What trends are you seeing right now that people should pay attention to?
I’m pretty excited about some big changes coming for the field of Lifestyle Medicine.
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We’re starting to see more healthcare partners and health systems recognizing the power of lifestyle medicine. The health insurance industry is one of our most critical new converts; they are starting to reimburse more lifestyle medicine interventions because they see their value and cost-savings for our healthcare system.
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More than 70 US medical schools have pledged to include at least 40 hours of nutrition education in the curricula for students entering this fall.
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The US medical school accrediting body is proposing changes to make nutrition education mandatory for all medical schools to retain their accreditation. And nutrition-based medicine will soon account for about 15% of the questions on licensing exams for new doctors.
This ship is enormous . . . but it’s finally turning.
12. What advice would you give someone who wants to achieve similar success?
I start by asking people to do one thing: to get crystal clear on why their health matters — not for appearance or a number on a scale, but for the people and the mission that require them to be fully present and fully alive. Because once that’s clear, the habits tend to follow.
13. What projects, events, books, programs, or initiatives are you currently working on?
My next ‘big thing’ is the release of my new book this summer. The full title is: The Purpose of Health: Maximizing Your Years for Kingdom Impact. As I have alluded to throughout our time together, I help readers do four things in this book:
a. Understand more of God’s design for your body and how it works,
b. Unpack six biblically grounded lifestyle interventions that may reverse chronic diseases,
c. Align your health habits and choices with your God-given purposes, and
d. Access the vitality you need to fulfill your calling with excellence.
14. What is your vision for the future?
My vision is that every believer would experience the full measure of healthy days God has appointed to them for kingdom impact.
15. If you could leave readers with one key message, what would it be?
Your health is not separate from your calling—caring for your health is part of living out your purpose.
16. How can people connect with you and learn more about your work?
People can connect with me in several ways:
You can watch my content on YouTube Channel by searching for @drlisamccoy
You can read or listen to ‘The Real McCoy on Health’ on Substack or Spotify, OR
You can visit my Website: www.drlisamccoy.org
My book, The Purpose of Health, is available in major bookstores, my publisher’s site (RedemptionPress.com), and on Amazon.com.