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Guide to Integrative Nutrition by a Health Coach
November 16, 2022 at 8:00 AM
spirulina smothie

Integrative nutrition is centered around the holistic benefits of food, diet, and nourishment. Health coaches who use integrative nutrition are able to help their clients create healthy eating habits, improve their lives, and find overall satisfaction. The concept behind integrative nutrition considers elements — like eating, wellness, exercise, and spirituality — to understand a person’s well-being. The focus is on what you can do to stay well, happy, and thriving both in the short and long term.

This article will explain what you need to know about integrative nutrition.

What is integrative nutrition?

Integrative nutrition goes far beyond looking at and evaluating the different foods an individual eats. Rather, it looks at the individual as a whole and the factors that contribute to a healthy balance in life. With integrative nutrition, the goal is for individuals to feel at peace with their condition or issue by highlighting the different components that make them who they are.

The health coaches that specialize in this type of nutrition act more in the role of a counselor or therapist because they listen to their clients and work to understand their unique situations.

Integrative nutrition vs. functional nutrition

There are significant differences between functional and integrative nutrition. The former focuses on calories and the intake of nutrients, while the latter hones in on the different elements of nutrition. For example, a health coach specializing in integrative nutrition may recommend acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic care, etc., to provide treatment in all areas.

Integrative nutritionists can help with weight loss and help individuals evaluate which diet is best for them. On the other hand, functional nutritionists determine what an individual needs to eat or cut out to live a healthy life. They are focused on helping people meet their weight loss goals and do not consider the factors of the person and their needs.

Functional nutritionists can also prescribe medicine in supplement form to help people lose weight faster. Their mission is to help people lose weight as fast as possible and find immediate solutions to the weight loss problems that their clients are encountering. While they take a more direct approach to help their clients, they still care for them just as integrative and holistic nutritionists do.

Integrative nutrition vs. holistic medicine

Integrative nutrition shares many fundamental characteristics with holistic nutrition, which is often considered a derivative of this type of nutrition. They share many similarities — including actively working with individuals to determine the best healing method that treats the person and any issues they have. The whole purpose of both fields is to consider the whole person and combine modern healthcare treatments like homeopathy, acupuncture, nutritional therapy, massage, and yoga.

Schedule a consultation with Step by Step Wellness to work with a health coach invested in your wellness.

Step by Step Wellness helps clients make incremental transformations in their lives. Whatever your fitness, health, and lifestyle goals, we have the tools to help you get there. Our nutrition coach is a board-certified internal medicine physician who understands how the body works, providing our clients with unparalleled insight into their health. Step by Step Wellness goes beyond just telling clients the changes they need to make to help them implement change. Get dedicated support to transform your life into the lifestyle you’ve always wanted.

Choose a three-hour, three-month, or six-month program with Step by Step Wellness and work with a board-certified physician as your nutrition health coach.