Answers that help you decide with confidence

An Integrative Nutritional Therapist utilises the latest evidence-based research in functional medicine 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.

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.

In many regions, “nutritionist” is not a legally protected title, which means individuals can often call themselves a nutritionist with very little formal training.

There are important exceptions. For example, nutritionists who have completed accredited programs such as VAST Nutrition Course hold recognised, structured qualifications and are trained to a higher standard.

A Nutritional Therapist is trained to work at a more advanced, personalised level. Nutritional Therapists are able to design individualised nutrition plans, recommend and prescribe over-the-counter supplementation, within their scope of practice and, within the Institute of Health certification, are also insured to utilise functional blood work from a wellness perspective to guide those plans.

Conventional blood ranges are usually built from large population averages. In many countries, around 60% of adults have at least one chronic disease and roughly 40% have two or more. So a “normal” result on a standard report does not necessarily mean you are functioning optimally. It simply means you fit within the average of a largely unwell population.

Functional blood work ranges are different. They are narrowed and adjusted for factors like age, sex and, where appropriate, ethnicity. They are based on the latest research and aligned with the ranges associated with the lowest comorbidity, the lowest all-cause mortality and the best overall health outcomes, which allows earlier pattern recognition and more targeted preventative support.

Many practitioners are taught blood work using ranges and interpretations that are outdated and, in some cases, can lead to missed opportunities for early intervention.

The Institute of Health integrates the latest, highest quality research on functional ranges and clinical pattern recognition. We teach students to understand health from a systems-biology perspective, so blood work is never viewed in isolation.

This means our graduates are not only better at spotting patterns that others miss, they are also equipped to design long-term, realistic interventions that address those patterns from a wellness perspective rather than simply chasing single markers.

We teach practitioners to use functional blood work strategically across the entire client journey.

At the start, a comprehensive panel is used to remove guesswork, reduce bias and establish a clear baseline. As the program progresses, repeat blood work can be used to reassess progress, refine interventions and confirm whether the strategy is working as intended.

This not only improves clinical accuracy, it also helps clients stay motivated, as they can see measurable changes in their internal health alongside their symptoms.

Despite popular belief, in most regions you do not need to be a doctor to access blood work for wellness purposes.

Through the Institute of Health, practitioners are connected with private laboratory partners, allowing them to arrange comprehensive blood work for their clients without unnecessary delays, friction or critical markers being missed, while still working within ethical scope of practice and local regulations.

The program is delivered entirely online and tailored to your unique direction. You’ll access self-paced academic modules, weekly live mentorship sessions and a private student community.

There are 5–6 live mentorship sessions each week, giving you direct feedback on real client cases, the opportunity to learn from peers and clarity from our global faculty.

The delivery is structured, supported and intentionally designed to help you develop mastery in both clinical reasoning and real-world application.

Each module integrates theory, application and assessment, drawing from over 2,000 peer-reviewed medical studies and real client-based case examples.

You will learn through:

• Video lectures
• Whiteboard explanations
• Live discussions
• Applied case studies
• Quizzes and case-based exams

This ensures you are not just learning information, but developing the ability to interpret data, recognise patterns and apply your knowledge to real-world scenarios with confidence.

Understandably, committing time to further study is a big decision.

The Institute of Health is comprehensive. You are not just learning theory, you are building a complete platform of clinical reasoning, business capability and client management. Most Level 1 students should plan for around 10 to 15 hours per week, depending on their background and study pace.

Due to the extended timeframe and structured distribution of content, those choosing the Level 1 & 2 pathway should plan for around 7 to 8 hours per week, allowing for steady integration of the material while balancing work, family or existing professional commitments.

This investment of time reflects the standard we hold and the level of responsibility that comes with working with functional blood work and complex client cases.

Absolutely. The course is self-paced, with incremental access to recordings and resources.

Many students choose the 24-month pathway for greater flexibility and deeper integration, with most continuing even after achieving their accreditation due to the comprehensive support, community and ongoing access to mentorship.

No. All training, mentorship and assessments are conducted online.

You can complete the certification from anywhere in the world, allowing you to study in a way that aligns with your location, responsibilities and lifestyle.

We assess your knowledge, your application and your ability to communicate professionally through a combination of quizzes, exams, practical case studies and case-based assessments.

The goal is not simply to test memorisation. We ensure you can interpret blood work, reason through complex scenarios and hold professional conversations about real client cases. When you are working with functional blood work, there is very little room for error, so our assessment standards reflect that.

This depends on your study pace, prior experience and how consistently you engage with the coursework each week.

Students can gain provisional certification in Functional Blood Work once they have completed the required modules and assessments within Level 1.

The provisional certification allows you to obtain insurance as a student-in-training and begin applying functional blood work from a wellness perspective under the defined scope of practice.

However, it is important to understand that functional blood work is not diagnostic. Its purpose is to support bio-individualised nutrition and lifestyle planning by identifying patterns, tendencies and functional imbalances, not to diagnose disease.

The speed at which you become confident and competent depends on:

• The number of hours you study each week
• Your engagement in live mentorship sessions
• Your participation in case studies and tutoring
• Your ability to integrate foundational modules with functional blood analysis

Most students begin applying functional blood work in their client work during the certification period. This allows you to build experience gradually, with full supervision and structured support, rather than waiting until the end of the program.

You are not left to figure this out alone. We provide multiple layers of support, including:

• A practitioner-led community with 24/7 access, where you can post client cases and receive direct feedback from experienced practitioners
• Regular live mentorship sessions each week, covering business, nutrition, blood work and complex case work
• Access to 3 one-to-one tutoring sessions in blood work so you can deepen your confidence with real panels
• Weekly technical support to help you implement the systems and tools behind the scenes
• Our very own Oracle AI assistant trained on 1000s of hours of our content to help you get faster answers and deeper insights
• Plug-and-play resources, templates and frameworks to reduce admin and speed up implementation
• Monthly masterclasses that keep you up to date with emerging research and practical strategies

Together, these create a level of support that goes far beyond standard online courses.

We train you across the major niches you are likely to encounter in practice, so you are equipped to work with a wide range of client presentations within your scope.

Graduates commonly support clients with hormonal challenges, gut health issues, fatigue, metabolic concerns, cardiovascular risk factors and immune-related complaints, as well as those seeking fertility support or general optimisation.

Wherever pathology, red flags or out-of-scope conditions are identified, you are taught to collaborate with and refer to appropriate medical practitioners.

Our certifications do not promote or oppose any single dietary ideology. We teach from a non-biased, evidence informed perspective that focuses on human physiology, nutrient needs and functional outcomes.

This means you will learn:

• The potential benefits of each dietary pattern
• The limitations and risks when poorly implemented
• How to individualise nutrition for clients regardless of their preferred approach
• How to interpret research objectively rather than through the lens of a single ideology

You may encounter studies or viewpoints that challenge your existing beliefs. This is critical to becoming a competent practitioner who can safely, ethically and confidently work with clients in an objective, unbiased manner. Our curriculum is vetted by external accreditors globally to ensure accuracy, neutrality and scientific integrity across all modules.

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.

Yes. Many health professionals struggle not because of a lack of knowledge, but because they lack business and communication skills.

Our facilitators have built and scaled six and seven figure practices. Throughout the certification, you will learn how to attract clients ethically, structure your services, deliver a premium experience, and build a sustainable online or hybrid practice, including team growth where appropriate.

No. We teach a food-first approach and do not lock you into one supplement brand or supplier.

You will learn how to decide whether supplementation is warranted, then choose products that suit your client’s needs, location and budget. Our goal is to equip you with the reasoning skills to make good decisions, not to tie you to a single dispensary or protocol.

Yes. We have brokered partnerships with selected practitioner-only supplement dispensaries, allowing our students to access practitioner grade products and favourable pricing.

This means that when you graduate, you are already familiar with high quality options and practical fulfilment systems you can integrate into your client work.

Yes. Through our laboratory partners, you gain access to a wide range of high quality, up-to-date functional tests at favourable practitioner rates.

We also teach you how and when to use these tests appropriately, so they add precision to your practice rather than becoming expensive guesswork for your clients.

Yes. We offer flexible instalment options.

You can choose from 6, 12 or 24 month plans, and we also work with third-party payment providers. This means many students are able to get started from around 320 USD per month, depending on the pathway and current exchange rates.

Yes. You can secure your place with a deposit and begin within an agreed timeframe over the following months.

We also structure the year to be sustainable. Live mentorship sessions pause for 2-3 weeks over Christmas so you can rest and catch up, and we run a focused business sprint in November and early December to help you enter the new year with momentum and clarity.

Level 1 – Integrative Nutritional Therapist (12 months)

Builds strong foundations across functional medicine principles, Nutritional Therapy, functional blood analysis, gut health, hormones and program design. Students learn the Priority Order of Dysfunction to ensure interventions are structured, ethical and grounded in evidence-informed reasoning.

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Level 1 & 2 – Master Integrative Nutritional Therapist (24 months total)

Expands into advanced systems including Autoimmunity, Environmental Toxicology, Mould, OAT interpretation, Lyme and Co-Infections. Graduates demonstrate mastery in clinical reasoning, complex case analysis and multi-system care, applying IOH’s structured frameworks to achieve clarity even in challenging presentations.

If you’re new to the health industry, you will enrol in the combined Level 1 & 2 pathway to ensure you develop the depth, confidence and supervision required to apply this information safely and effectively. You will also receive extended support across study, business and clinical reasoning.

It is preferable, if you have no prior health education or experience, that you begin with our partnered education provider VAST Nutrition to build foundational competence before commencing the IOH certification.

If you already hold a recognised qualification in Naturopathy, a Diploma of Nutrition, a Bachelor of Medicine, Dietetics, Clinical Nutrition or Holistic Health Coaching, you may apply directly for Level 1 entry. All applications are reviewed by our academic team to ensure correct placement.

This certification is designed for health professionals, coaches and aspiring practitioners who want to work at a deeper, more evidence-informed level than general nutrition advice allows.

It is particularly well suited to:

• Allied health professionals and clinicians who see clear gaps between what they were taught and what their clients actually need in order to improve
• Practitioners who want to integrate functional blood work and bio-individualised nutrition into their existing practice
• Personal trainers, health coaches and nutrition coaches who recognise there are limits to their education, skills and insurance and want to confidently work with more complex cases
• Career changers who are prepared to commit to a high standard of study so they can enter the industry with credible skills rather than short-course level knowledge, and don’t want to waste valuable time patching courses together trying to connect the dots

If you are committed to creating long-term results for your clients, open to updating what you currently believe about health and ready to be held to a high professional standard, this program has been designed with you in mind.

Because your clients deserve results. Our curriculum is intentionally designed so that every practitioner develops competency in the foundational drivers of health before learning functional blood work. Sleep, stress physiology, energy metabolism and basic nutritional principles determine how a client’s internal systems function long before those patterns appear in laboratory data.

Without this foundational knowledge, blood work is easily misinterpreted. Functional blood analysis is only accurate when viewed in the broader context of physiology, symptoms, clinical history and the Priority Order of Dysfunction. Skipping ahead removes the ability to recognise what is actually driving the patterns you see on a report.

Blood work is a lens, not a solution. It helps you identify what is happening, but it does not tell you why it is happening or how to resolve it. The solutions come from your understanding of physiology, nutrition, behaviour, stress, sleep and system-wide interactions, all of which are built in the foundational modules.

These modules are not “beginner content”. They are the scaffolding required to accurately interpret the complex systems you will study in the blood work modules. They ensure that when you reach functional blood analysis, you are prepared to assess patterns with precision, confidence and ethical responsibility.

Many university programs rely on research and frameworks that are 5, 10 or even 20 years behind current evidence. The Institute of Health teaches the latest findings in systems biology, nutritional science and functional medicine practices. This ensures you are working from the most up-to-date, clinically relevant information possible.

If you come from a medical, allied health or nutrition background, these modules will complement and expand on what you already know. They help you integrate your existing knowledge with the functional frameworks, clinical reasoning skills and pattern-recognition models used within our certification.

Research suggests it can take 17 to 23 years for only a small fraction of what is discovered in the literature to be fully integrated into standard medical practice. That delay costs lives and keeps many clients stuck with outdated options.

The Institute of Health delivers university-grade education that is built on the latest evidence, then layers it with practical implementation and real-world case experience.

You are not just learning theory. You receive hands-on support to integrate this knowledge into your business and client work, so you graduate knowing exactly how to apply it rather than feeling overwhelmed or unsure where to start.

As a graduate Nutritional Therapist and Integrative Nutritional Therapist, you will be trained and insured to deliver personalised nutrition plans, not just generic healthy eating advice.

Our curriculum comprehensively breaks down nutrition coaching across the key systems and health challenges you are likely to see, so you can design targeted, realistic plans based on each client’s history, physiology and goals.

Graduates of Level 1 receive the title Integrative Nutritional Therapist, with eligibility for insurance under the category of Nutritional Therapist. This reflects your training across nutritional therapy, functional blood work and structured clinical reasoning.

Graduates of the combined Level 1 & 2 pathway receive the title Master Integrative Nutritional Therapist, signifying advanced proficiency across multi-system care including autoimmunity, environmental toxicology, mould, OAT interpretation, Lyme and co-infections.

Both pathways are designed to position you as a highly skilled practitioner with the confidence, competence and recognition required to support clients globally.

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.

Yes, you can work with clients whilst studying provided you are insured.

If you have no prior certifications, you are able to gain insurance through our brokered student-in-training policy with Natural Therapies Insurance. This is the only ethical and compliant way to practise while you are still completing your certification.

We strongly recommend obtaining this cover before working with any clients. It ensures you can apply what you are learning safely, confidently and within the correct scope of practice.

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.

No. The Institute of Health is not a Registered Training Organisation, and does not need to be.

RTO status is only required for providers delivering specific government training packages under the Australian Qualifications Framework. It is not required for advanced professional development and industry-recognised certifications such as ours.

In fact, RTO status alone no longer guarantees that a provider is more credible or higher quality. Our credibility comes from rigorous third-party accreditation and the outcomes our graduates achieve in practice.

No. Nutritional Therapists and Integrative Nutritional Therapists are not regulated under AHPRA in Australia.

Instead, our graduates work under professional association and insurance frameworks specific to complementary and nutritional therapy. This gives clear scope of practice guidelines while preserving the ability to work independently and in collaboration with other health professionals.