When: The next round of classes begin April 13. Classes are for two hours, three days a week for five weeks. The first week there are four days of classes.

 Where: Albert Lea Seventh Day Adventist Church, 1400 U.S. Highway 69

Tuition and classroom fees: $315 per person; $569 per couple; $75 for alumni

 Info.: Register online at http://albertlea.revtrak.net. Click on Community Education, then click on Health Education to display the CHIP course. Register in person at Albert Lea Community Education, 211 W. Richway Dr., Albert Lea, or call 379-4834.

Coronary Health Improvement Program Founder Hans Diehl will be in Albert Lea Saturday and Sunday for the Healthy by Choice Conference at the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center. Diehl, who is an assistant professor of preventative medicine at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif., will speak several times during the two-day conference. Other speakers include Albert Lea Medical Center’s Dr. Stephanie Nainani, Al Batt and Rachel Christensen. The cost for the conference is $15 for both days, including snacks. People can register for the conference online at Albert Lea Community Education’s Web site at http://albertlea.revtrak.net or by phone at 379-4834. There is advance registration only.

When Keith and Julie Eyler first heard about the positive results of Albert Lea’s Coronary Health Improvement Program, they never anticipated the wide range of benefits the program could give them.

CHIP, a course that teaches improved health through lifestyle changes such as diet, exercise, rest and trust in a higher power, emphasizes that being healthy is by choice and not by chance.

Keith had been on cholesterol and blood pressure medication for years and wanted to see if there was something he could do to make that change, the couple said.

“Generally we thought it would be a way to eat healthier with side benefits of reducing cholesterol,” Keith said.

The couple entered the five-week intensive program in October, which meets four nights the first week and then three nights a week for the next four weeks.

“We wanted to do what we could to be responsible for our own health, instead of relying on medications to come up with the solution,” Julie said.

In the world-class program — facilitated locally by Albert Lea Medical Center Dr. Stephanie Nainani — the couple sampled food, learned new recipes, heard from specialists and learned the benefits of eating certain foods.

Health screens were conducted on the participants at the beginning and end of the program, and personalized counseling and lifestyle evaluations were given. Participants also received instruction in a video lecture series from CHIP Founder Hans Diehl, who is an assistant professor of preventative medicine at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif.

By the end of the program, Keith and Julie had lost one pant size, and Keith was able to go off his cholesterol medicine and reduce his blood pressure medication, they said. Keith will be re-tested soon to see if he can come off the blood pressure medicine altogether.

Others in the class received positive results related to diabetes and arthritis relief, they said.

“We were surprised by the wider set of benefits,” Keith said. “Having gone through the class, I’ve been very impressed and surprised not only of the positive impact but of the width and the depth of the impact.”

They’ve learned to be more aware of their choices and portion sizes and to focus on foods as grown, he said. That’s a major emphasis of the CHIP program.

Even if they are eating out, it’s not hard to make a healthy choice, they said.

“You’ll look for it, and you’ll find it, and you’ll feel better at the end of the evening,” Julie said.

The couple has also become more aware of the importance of moving around and exercising, she said.

In their class, they and their classmates walked a distance equal to from Albert Lea to the Florida Keys and back up a ways.

“It’s more about educating you so you know more about what you’re eating and then you basically decide what am I trying to achieve for my health,” Keith said.

Participants can use as much or as little of the information they choose.

Even the Eyler’s children have learned to accept the program.

The couple said much of the information in the CHIP program mirrors the information learned from the world’s Blue Zones.

It’s about food, exercise, good choices and trust in a faith community, Julie said.

Together, the CHIP program, the Blue Zones health makeover and the opening of Great Grains Market & Cafe, Albert Lea is moving in the right direction.

“I think there’s a lot of positive things in motion in Albert Lea,” Keith said. “The potential here is really huge.”

The couple credited Nainani and her husband, Greg, for their enthusiasm in the CHIP course.