Stephanie graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Franciscan University in 1992 and is Board Certified in Lifestyle Medicine through the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Stephanie has a long career history in "Chronic Disease Management," primarily directing outpatient Heart Failure Management programs to prevent hospital readmissions in her patients and coordinating therapies for end-stage Heart Failure patients bridging to artificial hearts and heart transplants. For decades, Stephanie has witnessed first hand the devastating effects of the Standard American Diet on her patients’ quality of life and life expectancy.
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In her quest to seek a more natural way to promote health, Stephanie started Natural State Microgreens in 2019 and began selling this superfood to restaurants and at farmers’ markets. Ironically, around this same time, her husband Paul developed pre-diabetes. They switched to a Whole Food Plant Based Diet and within 4 months, Paul’s diabetes was reversed, and they both lost 20# as well. Then Stephanie was hooked! She obtained a Certification in Plant-Based Nutrition through the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at eCornell and then a Board Certification in Lifestyle Medicine through the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Now her goal now is to provide education and support to people who wish to prevent, improve, and even reverse preventable chronic diseases and transform their lives through a Whole Food Plant-Based lifestyle.
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Stephanie offers a comprehensive online, self-paced "21 Day Plant-Based Challenge Course" with a focus on chronic disease prevention, treatment, and reversal pinpointing Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and weight loss, as well an entire class addressing the ever-popular question "Where Do You Get Your Protein?" She also offers this course through a local non-profit educational consortium for seniors in Little Rock as well as offering general education on Plant Based nutrition in-person to local civic groups, churches, and more as well as various organizations online.
Stephanie provides individualized coaching services to help clients clarify the most effective nutritional means to meet their healthcare goals and facilitate their ability to navigate the healthcare system.
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Stephanie firmly believes that the path forward to stem our modern chronic disease crisis starts by changing our local food environment. Stephanie serves on the Board of Arkansas Local Food Network which is dedicated to promoting a resilient local food system connecting Arkansas farmers with customers to provide healthful local produce during a time in which our global supply chain is demonstrating more and more precarity.
She collaborates with local cooks, chefs, farmers and restaurants to make Whole Food Plant Based No Oil prepared foods available through a variety of settings. Stephanie also facilitates a monthly "Food is Medicine" Plant-Based support group and also a periodic Plant Based Book Club that is open to the public.
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Stephanie resides in rural Scott, Arkansas on 15 acres with her husband, 2 boys, and a Great Pyrenees named Scout. In their "spare" time, they maintain a pecan orchard, a microgreens farm, and an AirBnB on their property.
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DISCLAIMER: Stephanie Spencer is a Registered Nurse with a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from The T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies and eCornell. Stephanie is not a Registered Dietitian. She cannot prescribe medication or discontinue medication. The content and material on this website should not be considered medical advice nor medical treatment for any specific health conditions. Always consult your doctor before changing your diet and discuss any and all medications you are taking, including monitoring your health for positive changes that may require decreasing your medication dosages under your doctor's supervision.
