The Best Nutrition Courses Abroad And In Russia

The best courses in nutrition are not so easy to choose from the variety presented on the Internet. There are many offers. But before getting a new profession, really new in the truest sense of the word, you should thoroughly understand this issue, and we will help you.

What does nutrition study

Nutriciology (from the Latin nutricium - "nutrition" and the Greek logos - "teaching, science") is the science of nutrition. It studies the effect of food on the human body, as well as combinations of different products and their properties. Another name for the discipline is food hygiene.

Nutrition is fundamentally different from dietology, which studies how to lose weight and improve health through proper nutrition. It is a more complex and comprehensive discipline.

The subject of her research is the motives for a person to choose a certain diet, the effect of products on the body, the mechanisms of metabolism, the peculiarities of the assimilation of food by people of different ages, etc.

About food hygiene began to think in ancient times. Even then, people were trying to understand what food is healthy and what is not, and experimented with food combinations. So gradually, each nation formed traditional food systems, which later became known as national.

Nata Gonchar is the founder of MII, president of the Association of Nutritionists and Health Coaches.

A nutritionist is a specialist in nutrition and lifestyle.⠀

Both a nutritionist and a nutritionist deal with nutrition, but are fundamentally different from each other in the following ways:

A nutritionist deals with people with diseases, prescribes medicines, treatment tables and diets.

A nutritionist helps to increase the health of a conditionally healthy person with the help of an individual approach to a specific organism, taking into account the lifestyle of the ward.

He knows everything about the composition of products (even the most obscure facts), their interaction with the body, beneficial and harmful effects on health.

He studies the biochemical composition of food and its effect on the human body in order to prevent diseases and improve well-being and health.

With the help of questionnaires and tests, he helps to understand the state of the body and, if necessary, he will refer you to a doctor for a diagnosis.

He will select the necessary supplements to replenish vitamins and other vital substances, the deficiency of which can lead to serious health consequences.

It helps to correctly adjust lifestyle and nutrition individually for a particular person, depending on his request: to lose weight, gain muscle mass, improve well-being and health, increase energy levels, and also to prevent many diseases, and all this without the use of medicines.

The nutritionist takes into account a lot of factors - from the patient's genetic predisposition to the current state of health and psychological factors.

What makes up modern integrative nutrition

Integrative nutrition is a completely new scientific direction. It considers a person as a whole, consisting of body, mind and psyche. Discipline teaches not to draw generalizing conclusions, but to take care of well-being, based on the individual characteristics of each person. In addition, integrative nutrition focuses on health rather than disease.

The discipline is based on the following areas:

1. Classical nutrition. Explains the need for nutrients and the consequences of their deficiency.

2. Ayurveda. Considers man as part of the universe, and life as a combination of the body, organs of perception, mind and soul. From the point of view of Ayurveda, it is important to determine what type of metabolism the patient has. If the doctor understands and does not see the characteristics of the patient's body, then the treatment will be ineffective or erroneous. Thus, we can say that integrative nutrition borrowed a complex perception of a person from Eastern philosophy.

3. Psychology of nutrition. Each person has their own limit of possibilities. What one did, the other cannot repeat. Therefore, in the work of a nutritionist, an individual approach and understanding of the characteristics of the patient's personality are so important. The specialist must see who is in front of him: a person who enjoys food, or someone who cares about a quick result, or a sick person who already has experience with eating disorders, or an absolutely healthy person. After all, when working with each of the listed cases, the strategy will be completely different.

4. Naturopathy. She views food as medicine. Nutritionists have adopted this approach. So, medicinal foods include herbs that a person eats or brews, spices and combinations of various products that enhance the healing properties of each other.

5. Genetics. Modern research has already proven that different people need different nutrition strategies. For example, there are patients whose genetics is directed to polymorphism of one gene. If they consume saturated fats, insulin resistance will develop. It would seem that there were no carbohydrates, but the person has a pre-diabetic state.

There are also some types of polymorphism, in which a person can eat as much saturated fat and carbohydrates as they want, but he will never, under any circumstances, develop insulin resistance.

Such differences are due to different genetics. Genes play a huge role in metabolism. And when a person understands the characteristics of his body, he knows where the body takes energy from, from which fats and carbohydrates, and what is stored in reserve.

Metabolisms can be so different that one body will immediately begin to break down carbohydrates and take energy from them, while the other will not pay attention to them and will turn to fats, and store carbohydrates in reserve. Therefore, a nutritionist must be able to correctly determine the genetic characteristics of their patients.

The role of the nutritionist as a healthy lifestyle and nutrition consultant

A nutritionist studies the composition and quality of food, the biochemical processes in the body during food metabolism, and the competent preparation of a diet for human needs.

The nutritionist's approach is not primarily about diagnosing and prescribing medicines, but about supporting them on their path to optimal health.

Therefore, the nutritionist works with the client, not the patient.

1. A nutritionist does not “prescribe” or “prescribe” medications.

   He offers the client an alternative: to find a doctor who, in addition to medicines, also takes into account the person's lifestyle; consider types of food that may be more appropriate for the client in their situation.

2. A nutritionist does not diagnose clients.

   To make a diagnosis, he refers the client to a doctor. And for his part, he informs about what needs to be done now so that the client's condition begins to improve.

3. A nutritionist does not "treat" a client.

   He provides him with the necessary information resources, encourages the client to study them in more detail, supports the client along this path, suggests which doctor he should contact if treatment is still required.

1. The nutritionist does not contradict the therapist's prescriptions, does not comment that "the doctor should not have prescribed this", does not cancel the drugs previously prescribed to the client.

   He suggests discussing with the attending physician the need to continue taking medications after the person changes lifestyle and nutrition, provides him with various information resources and allows the client to make his own choice in favor of a possible refusal of medications.

2. The nutritionist supports and guides the client on their path to health.

   It provides proven resources; recommends physicians who are focused on functional medicine; provides information about different types of nutrition and their impact on human health. The nutritionist helps the client to set goals, break down barriers, expand the horizons of health vision, encourages reflection and shows the client's strong character traits.

5 values ​​that a nutritionist focuses on in their work and life

1. Preservation and improvement of the health of every person who is ready for this. Therefore, a nutritionist can share basic knowledge on their social resources in the public domain, and provide additional information to a client privately for a fee.

2. Recognition of the need to work in conjunction with other disciplines, holistic or allopathic, to best meet the needs of the client, respecting the unique contributions of each discipline.

3. Full compliance of the internal state with what the nutritionist brings outside: the desire to be a living example of the principles of healthy eating and a healthy, resourceful life.

4. Support for the well-being of all people regardless of their nationality, gender, religion or other differences.

5. Respect for the choice of the client in matters of his health, personal tastes, social values. What matters is not the result at all costs, but the long-term state of health and resourcefulness.

Benefits of being a nutritionist

The profession is only gaining popularity, but it is already clear that its prospects are very bright. This is due to the fact that interest in healthy eating in society is constantly growing. Hence, there is a demand for specialists who can give competent advice and help to understand a large amount of information.

As a result, there is a need for nutritionists, but there is no competition in the labor market in this area. Therefore, the development of this profession is guaranteed to provide full employment and a stable income.

Nutritionists are those people for whom healthy and proper nutrition is a way of life, and not just theoretical knowledge. Their sincere passion for the subject will allow them to achieve a high level of professionalism. Physicians are the first to become food hygienists, but athletes, fitness instructors and coaches can do it too.

If we talk about wages, then its range is wide. An experienced, self-made specialist with a wide client base earns an average of 200,000 rubles a month.

Best Nutrition Courses Abroad

Universities and study programs

• NHC - Natural Health Care College

• CNM-College of Naturopathic Medicine

• ION-Institute for Optimum Nutrition

Graduates become members of professional communities:

• bant.org.uk

• www.nna-uk.com

• www.associationfornutrition.org

Remote courses: www.fernstudium-direkt.de

It makes sense to wait for places in the DGE, and in the meantime visit any Heilpraktikerschule in the area, getting a naturopathic education: www.dge.de

TOEFL may be required for admission to international students:

• Canadian School of Natural Nutrition (CSNN).

• Edison Institute of Nutrition.

• The Institute of Holistic Nutrition (IHN).

• Pacific Rim College.

• International Academy of Applied Health.

• Living Energy.

• AliveAcademy.

Not all of these schools have online programs.

But at this link holisticnutritionhub.ca you can find a list of online schools:

• CSNN.

• Alive Academy, Nutraphoria (School of Holistic Nutrition).

• Edison Institute of Nutrition.

• International College Of Natural Health & Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The most popular among Russian-speaking people are:

• Bauman College: Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts.

• American College of Health Sciences.

• Hawthorn University.

• Portland Community College.

• Huntington University of Health Sciences.

• Nutrition Therapy Institute.

• University of Bridgeport (phased out).

• University of Natural Health.

• New York Chiropractic College.

• Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

• TheInstituteoffunctionalmedicine (IFM), which can only be accessed by specialists with a license for medical and paramedical specialties. Without a license, you can study on coaching programs.

Where to study as a nutritionist in Russia?

Nata Gonchar, with the participation of doctors and nutritionists from different parts of the world, created a training program for nutrition experts.

The curriculum was compiled by interns with international education and approved by the Institute of Oriental Medicine of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.

For 12 months, students learn the basics of dietology and nutrition, get acquainted with modern laboratory diagnostics, holistic gastroenterology, endocrinology and much more.

Integrative nutrition considers a person not only as a separate organism, but as an integral system of body, mind and psyche. On the course, students are accompanied by curators and tutors who help to study comfortably. The program included only that information, without which it is impossible to become a qualified nutritionist.

Students who have completed the full course receive a state diploma.

The Association of Nutritionists and Health Coaches (ANCH) certification is awarded upon completion of each of the four training modules.

Courses are available on the online education portal Getcourse. The program consists of 4 modules. Each module has 5-7 department-weeks, which include lectures and homework.

The student receives 7 lessons per week. If you wish, you can take a self-examination test at the end of the week. The future nutritionist takes a mandatory test at the end of each module and, based on the test, receives an intermediate certificate.

Practice.

The student receives skills in counseling, working with questionnaires, compiling a diet and analyzing specific cases. Assignments are given weekly by the course supervisor, a certified nutritionist. After the end of each module, students complete independent tasks in small groups or pairs during the week.

Food accompaniment.

On the fifth month of training, the development of nutrition protocols begins, their correction to the needs of the client, testing diets on oneself and fixing the results. The work is done in a chat.

Feedback.

Mentors host webinars to take questions from students and answer them under lecture videos in the comments or in the work stream chat during expert hours.

A group of students chatting in Telegram. In addition to students, there is a curator (helps with organizational issues, posts news) and an tutor (supports in learning and answers questions about the program).

Business course.

The annual course in nutrition ends with a module on the monetization of professional knowledge and skills. Students are taught how to create a personal brand, build a business model, manage social networks (including Instgram), properly design their own projects and ideas.

Nata Gonchar - Founder of MII, President of the Association of Nutritionists and Health Coaches.

Choosing an institute offering courses in nutrition

Below is a list of criteria that should be taken into account when choosing courses or universities for further education.

• Certificate, Diploma, Certificate

Graduates must be provided with a document confirming the completion of the training course and authorizing the practice as a nutritionist. It is advisable to find a sample diploma / certificate and check it for legality.

• Training program

In legal and reputable educational institutions, the training program is always open. Most often it is published on the official website. If the program is not freely available, then this is a bad sign, you should be wary.

• Staff of specialists

Nutrition is a complex science. If the training is conducted by only one specialist, even a well-known nutritionist, then this is not enough. It is better to look for other courses.

• Degrees

If there is a separate teacher for each subject, it is worth checking their qualifications. More specifically, a degree. After all, the quality of presentation and the amount of knowledge transferred depend on the professionalism of the teacher and the degree of his immersion in the subject.

• Fame of teachers

However, if there is no academic degree, this is not a reason to be upset. Many good teachers do not have it, and this does not prevent them from being realized in the profession. But then there must be other signs of success. For example, fame. We are not talking about videos shot by the phone against the background of home wallpapers and posted on YouTube. Perhaps the teacher's articles are regularly published in well-known publications, or he is a consultant in a serious organization, or he made a report at an international conference and received recognition from the scientific community.

• Testimonials from former students

If you have a difficult choice to make, other people's reviews can help. There are open forums where educational institutions are discussed. Of course, there is a high probability that custom comments will come across, very good or, on the contrary, very bad (if competitors ordered). But there are also reviews of ordinary people who have already completed certain courses or universities. They will tell you how things really are.

These recommendations are not a hard and fast guide to action. After all, it all depends on the specific situation in which the person who wants to get an education in the specialty "nutritionology" is located.