Course
24

Lifestyle Factors

Overview
Master the foundational prerequisites that underpin health, teaching you how to assess, prioritise, and implement low-cost, non-invasive habits that compound results over time.
Format
Online
Units
10
Recommended for
  • General population
  • Overwhelmed clients
  • High-stress professionals
  • Weight-loss foundations
  • Sleep-deprived parents
Lifestyle Factors

The learning framework

1
Why foundational health pillars are widely neglected
Optimal health relies on the balance of ten core pillars that support physiological and psychological resilience, yet modern lifestyles systematically disrupt these foundational elements through artificial light exposure, sedentary behavior, indoor living, processed food consumption, chronic stress, social isolation, and environmental toxin exposure, creating widespread circadian dysregulation, metabolic dysfunction, immune impairment, and mental health decline.
2
The problem with prioritising advanced interventions
Most practitioners focus exclusively on advanced interventions, supplements, testing, therapeutic diets, while neglecting the simple, low-cost lifestyle behaviors that restore energy, mood, metabolic function, and resilience more effectively than any supplement or protocol, leaving clients without understanding of how daily habits around light, movement, sleep, breath, temperature, grounding, environment, social connection, mindset, and nutrition form the foundation upon which all other interventions depend.
3
A practical framework for lifestyle-based resilience
The 10 Pillars of Health module trains you to assess and optimise daily routines across ancestral lifestyle principles supported by modern science, teaching clients to create sustainable micro-habits that enhance circadian rhythm, stress regulation, recovery capacity, and long-term wellbeing through realistic, evidence-based practices that anyone can implement regardless of budget or access to advanced healthcare.

What you'll learn

By the end of this module, you will be able to:
Understand the ten interconnected pillars of foundational health
Recognising Mind, Nutrition, Sleep, Breath, Light, Movement, Grounding, Temperature, Environment, and Tribe as core elements influencing circadian rhythm, nervous system regulation, metabolic health, immune function, and psychological resilience.
Assess which pillars are underperforming
Using lifestyle analysis, symptom patterns, and behavioral observation to identify where modern habits disrupt biological balance and create dysfunction.
Optimise light exposure for circadian rhythm
Understanding how morning sunlight, daytime brightness, evening dim light, and nighttime darkness regulate melatonin, cortisol, sleep-wake cycles, mood, and metabolic health,applying practical strategies for light optimisation.
Support restorative sleep through behavioral interventions
Integrating sleep hygiene, circadian alignment, temperature regulation, stress management, and environmental optimisation to enhance sleep quality and recovery.
Apply breathwork for nervous system regulation
Teaching diaphragmatic breathing, nasal breathing, and specific breathwork techniques to downregulate stress response, improve oxygenation, and enhance autonomic balance.
Integrate movement beyond structured exercise
Emphasising non-exercise activity thermogenesis, walking, natural movement patterns, strength training, and reducing sedentary time to support metabolic health, cardiovascular function, and musculoskeletal integrity.
Understand grounding and nature exposure benefits
Recognising how direct earth contact, time in nature, and outdoor exposure support inflammation reduction, circadian rhythm, stress reduction, and immune function.
Apply temperature variation for metabolic and immune benefits
Using cold exposure, heat exposure, and temperature contrast to enhance mitochondrial function, brown fat activation, circulation, and stress resilience.
Assess environmental health and reduce toxin exposure
Identifying common household, personal care, and environmental toxins, applying practical reduction strategies to lower toxic burden.
Support social connection and purpose
Recognising the critical role of community, relationships, purpose, and psychological wellbeing in overall health outcomes and longevity.
Build sustainable behavior change through micro-habits
Teaching incremental, realistic changes that build consistency and momentum rather than overwhelming clients with unsustainable overhauls.

Why this matters

The ability to create foundational transformation
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Lifestyle optimisation often produces more significant health improvements than advanced protocols, creating breakthrough results with simple interventions.
Tools for clients who cannot afford testing or supplements
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The pillars are universally accessible, making you effective regardless of client resources.
Better outcomes across all conditions
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Optimising foundations enhances every other intervention's effectiveness and sustainability.
Professional credibility through holistic expertise
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Practitioners who address lifestyle foundations are seen as comprehensive, root-cause focused practitioners.
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Lifestyle Medicine
Foundational Health
10 Pillars of Health
Circadian Rhythm
Light Exposure
Sleep Optimisation
Breathwork
Movement
Environmental Health
Social Connection
Your path to becoming a Certified Practitioner

How to get started

1st Step
Submit your Application
Apply online in just a few minutes. Our team will review your experience, education and goals to ensure this certification aligns with your professional path.
2nd Step
Join the IOH community
Once accepted, you’ll gain instant access to our global network of practitioners, mentors and resources that support your learning from day one.
3rd Step
Begin your first module
Start your studies inside the IOH learning portal — with guided mentorship, live calls, and access to the Oracle AI system that turns knowledge into action.

Expand your knowledge

All Courses
What does an Integrative Nutritional Therapist do?
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An Integrative Nutritional Therapist utilises the latest evidence-based research to create an integrative approach to optimising each client’s health and wellbeing.

They design bio-individual nutrition plans, personalise supplementation where appropriate, and interpret functional laboratory data, including blood work, to gain deeper insights, achieve better accuracy and tailor every intervention to the individual.

How is functional medicine different from conventional medicine?
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Conventional medicine often waits until a disease is clearly present before intervention begins. Treatment is focused on managing or suppressing a diagnosed condition.

Functional medicine looks upstream. It assesses the early drivers of dysfunction and works to prevent disease from developing in the first place, or restore balance in the body. It uses a whole-systems view of the body, then applies personalised, preventative nutrition and lifestyle interventions to support long-term health rather than only reacting once things have gone wrong.

What will be my scope of practice after completing this certification?
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After completing the certification, you will be recognised and insured as a Integrative Nutritional Therapist inclusive of Nutritional Therapy and Functional Blood Work, with a clearly defined scope of practice.

You will be trained and insured to:

  • Design bio-individual nutrition plans
  • Recommend and prescribe over-the-counter supplementation up to safe, optimal intake thresholds
  • Utilise functional blood work from a wellness perspective to guide your reasoning and recommendations
  • Collaborate with and refer to medical professionals when red flags, pathology or out-of-scope conditions are identified

Our scope of practice has been aligned with nutritional therapy standards and externally audited, so you can work with confidence and clarity.

Is your course accredited?
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Yes. Our certifications are accredited by multiple independent professional bodies, including the International Institute for Complementary Therapists (IICT) and the Complementary Medical Association (CMA).

To receive these accreditations, our curriculum undergoes forensic external auditing to ensure every component is up to date, evidence-informed, ethically delivered and aligned with recognised Nutritional Therapy and Functional Health standards. This includes rigorous evaluation of our academic content, assessments, delivery methods and scope of practice frameworks.

This external oversight gives you confidence that the qualification you are investing in is credible, robust and widely recognised within the industry, with clear pathways for insurance, professional membership and global practice.

Will I be able to practise internationally?
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Yes. Our graduates are eligible for insurance through IICT that is recognised across 36 countries, including:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden & United Kingdom.

This allows you to work with clients internationally, including in online practice, provided you respect local regulations and the scope of practice defined by your insurer and professional associations.

Need help?
Get in touch with us
Clarity, confidence, and real results start with one conversation. Let’s map your next chapter — together.