Nutrition and Health: The Fundamentals changes the lens for how the world of health and healing is viewed. It sets the stage for the examination of nature’s power within the holistic paradigm. It is IHN’s foundational course, providing students with an understanding of “food as information” and orthomolecular concepts in the prevention of disease and the acquisition of optimal health. Fundamentals offers students a framework for the study of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), energy-yielding nutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins), metabolism, digestion, absorption, and energy balance. The syllabus provides an in-depth analysis of their functions, classification and dietary requirements within an evidence-based model. This course teaches the mechanics and principles of essential nutrients for restoring the body’s ability to heal. Learning Outcomes • Assess the relationship between soil, cell, environment and human health • Identify the structure and function of the GI tract, common digestive disorders, and links to major fatal diseases that are restored through the gut • Explain functions of macronutrients and micronutrients, their requirements, sources, reasons for deficiencies, and use in disease prevention • Understand the importance of water, antioxidants and detoxification • The knowledge of how isolated nutrient interventions work against acute and chronic health condition Nutrition and Health: The Fundamentals is a foundational axis course that lays the groundwork of knowing how to determine root cause—a key tenant of functional nutrition. This course stresses the importance of knowing “by which mechanism” essential nutrients orchestrate ideal physiological functions and optimal health.

Preventive Health Care emphasizes the significant factor of nutrition in the prevention of disease states. This course explores how proper nutrition can protect against or reverse many ailments including stress, inflammation, immune deficiencies, compromised brain health, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, asthma, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, arthritis, and cancer. Students will be exposed to current research developments and trends on phytochemicals, antioxidants, and nutraceuticals. Special attention in this course is given to the management of diseases of the cardiovascular system. This course instructs students to become familiar in detail with natural health strategies, dietary modifications, and supplement protocols to treat, prevent and reverse degenerative conditions. Students are taught and evaluated on specific dietary and lifestyle protocols in the prevention of disease. Learning Outcomes: • Understand the holistic viewpoint on the etiology of degenerative disease • Develop protocols for specific health conditions through the use of nutrition, lifestyle changes, therapeutic modalities, and nutraceuticals • Gain insight into the importance of why managing stress is critical for lowering the risk of disease and creating resilience • Exposure to evidence-based nutrition research to demonstrate preventive strategies in acute and chronic health conditions Preventive Health Care instructs future practitioners to recommend highly customized client protocols for a broad range of health conditions through the use of natural nutrition, lifestyle, holistic therapies, and supplementation. This course highlights the centrality of digestive health in the management of stress.

Comparative Diets provides a critical assessment of the many therapeutic benefits and limitations of several alternative diet approaches, including low-carb diets, high-protein diets (Paleo Diet, Dr. Atkins, Keto, Carnivore), Plant-based approaches (Vegetarian, Vegan, Fruitarian, Raw Food, Rainbow), Longevity and Cultural diets (Okinawa, Mediterranean, Macrobiotic, Fasting), Condition-based diets (Glycemic Index, Intermittent Fasting, Food Combining, Low-FODMAP-Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols, GAPS-Gut and Psychology Syndrome, AIP-Autoimmune Protocol). This course will also address, in detail, the main detoxification diets from caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine. Students are taught and evaluated on succinctly identifying dietary imbalances as well as analyzing micronutrient propositions to design custom health-promoting diets and lifestyle programs. Learning Outcomes: • Explore kinetics of living systems, the law of opposites and the effects on the body and feelings of certain foods, the meaning of cravings • Distinguish the models of food dynamics including expansive/contracting and acid/alkaline food products • Describe how holistic individuality, metabolic typing, and the blood type diet are rooted in personalized biochemistry • Explain the benefits of cold-pressed juice to address both acute and chronic health conditions and increase vitality • Develop insights into the fundamental knowledge of mechanistic principles and complementary effects of several alternative diet regimens on health Comparative Diets informs future practitioners to recommend specific dietary protocols that are determined by biochemical individuality. To promote optimal health, this course instructs practitioners to safely and effectively recommend nourishing and cleansing diets.

The Psychology of Disease offers an introduction to the field of Energy Medicine. This well investigated branch of integrative and alternative medicine studies how biological, social and psychological factors influence health and illness. This course introduces students to the fundamental premise that our physical body demonstrably corresponds to our psychology. The energy of our thoughts, emotions and beliefs can express themselves as matter in the form of a condition or disease. Students explore the energy centres of the body; the chakra system to understand how the body speaks through its own vocabulary. Its language is physical signs and symptoms that are tied to memories, environment or experiences, energetically creating an imbalance. The course looks at how chakras conduct the ten major systems of the body, particularly the endocrine system, and how increasing awareness of one’s thought patterns can inhibit or assist our health and our ability to achieve balance. The Psychology of Disease is a unique course of personal self-development from self-knowledge and self-awareness that will inform future practitioners how to guide their clients to look for clues surrounding their health and work to unpack energetic blockages for deep healing. Students will be taught and evaluated on introductory principles of energy medicine such as the biology of belief, therapeutic applications of subtle energies, the chakra system, as well as assignments to learn strategies that manifest wellness including the profound impact of food. Learning Outcomes • Understand the physical, mental, and spiritual connections to health and illness • How to identify thought patterns and belief systems that contribute to disease/health imbalances • Be able to confidently provide recommendations for reframing stressors to shift perspectives, that can positively shift health outcomes • Awareness of traditional and contemporary energy medicine modalities and techniques to build into one’s practice • Getting out of the way of, and trusting your intuition • Discernment around how and when to discuss the purpose of disease and the language of illness with clients The Psychology of Disease is a personal development course that combines well-established mainstream science in chemistry and biology with quantum physics evidence that shows us there is no difference between energy and matter. Whether students look at chakras as literal places in the body, or metaphoric ones, this course will increase self-awareness to activate mind/body connections that optimize healing. Energy Medicine is at the forefront of driving curiosity to acknowledge and provide practitioners with the opportunity to learn how nature organizes itself, at all levels, for the greatest impact to healing.