BTEC Diploma in Professional Nutrition and Health Coaching

This unit will introduce you to historical developments, current challenges and recent advances in nutrition and health. Concepts, terms and tools used in nutrition research, in public health and by the diet and food industry are explored. 

• Health & Sickness – Trends & challenges in chronic non-infectious diseases; promising developments & innovations in prevention & treatment 
• Nutrition – Key developments, concepts, terms & tools in nutrition science, public health nutrition & agri-food industry; dietary guidelines, food pyramids & plates – origins & limitations 
• Personalised Nutrition – Exploration of individualised vs traditional one-size-fits-all approaches. Concept of ‘literacy’ in health, food & nutrition 
• Nutrients & Foods – Nutrient profiles of food groups; deep dive into protein, fats, carbs, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants etc, incl. deficiency & excess issues; impacts of food refining & processing 
• Online Tools – Food metrics, incl. nutrient composition & density; tracking dietary intakes 
• Reliable Resources & Research – Locating trustworthy information on nutrition & health topics; evaluating resources, publications, research

This unit will equip you with knowledge, skills and practice to create and develop a client-led collaborative health coaching relationship. This includes facilitating learning and achieving results with the client through communicating effectively while fostering learner competency.

You will demonstrate coaching competence when working with volunteer clients through genuine case studies as well as reflecting on your growing competence by tracking your own skill development. In this unit as a learner coach, you will become familiar with the principles, processes and competencies of health coaching, through a framework for developing coaching skills. 

• Discovery Calls – Identify and source three case study volunteers, and conduct a discovery call with each client, from which you will decide whether they are appropriate for you to work with as a client. 
• Health & Wellness Coaching (HWC) – Background, evolution, future prospects & potentials; HWC principles, processes, competencies; framework for developing coaching skills in client-led process. 
• Structured Interview & Protocol to Establish Coaching Agreement; Using a structured health coaching protocol, you practise establishing a coaching agreement, eliciting client goals and relevant background information, prior to conducting your first and second health coaching sessions. 
• The Nutrition & Health Coaching Process; You will work with clients to set realistic goals and facilitate progress by co-designing an attainable action plan to help motivate and move the client towards their goals. You will facilitate the client’s learning by sharing knowledge, skills, attitudes and mindset in order to facilitate the client’s nutrition and lifestyle goals. Coaching discussions may need to address ecological constraints to achieving goals, such as financial and time pressures.You will also practise effective coaching conversations to build accountability. In a client-led process, you will be able to devise individualised health coaching programmes focused around food, nutrition and lifestyle, with support. Co-creating an action plan involves together exploring options for appropriate adjustments to diet, eating habits, exercise and lifestyle, including stress management, based on information gathered and a fluid giving and receiving of feedback between coach and client. 
• Case study reports – Work with three volunteer clients: establish suitability, realistic goals; record detailed interview; develop, justify & agree plan with client, including behaviour change around food, lifestyle, sleep, relaxation, exercise; provide motivation, education, advice, tips, other support as needed; complete follow-up meetings, submit detailed case study reports for evaluation.

This unit will provide you with an understanding of the importance of the digestive system and how it functions. Good eating supports health and well-being, while a poor diet has the potential to create digestive disorders and ill health.

This unit covers digestion and absorption processes, including key factors of appetite, hunger and satiety. You will appreciate how dietary habits and other lifestyle factors, such as chronic stress, can impact digestive activity and how appropriate dietary adjustments may benefit health. You will develop an understanding of the importance of nurturing a healthy microbiome by consuming a diverse diet of minimally processed foods.

The background knowledge and understanding this unit provides will help you to develop the knowledge and skills they will need to safely and effectively propose suitable dietary and lifestyle adaptations to support optimum digestive processes. 

• Digestion – Anatomy and physiology of digestive system & component organs; detailed digestion & absorption; hormonal regulation of appetite, hunger & satiety; common digestive problems & solutions 
• Microbiome – Importance, latest findings & implications; how to restore & nurture healthy microbiome & gut 
• Digestive Issues – Alleviating common digestive complaints by adjustments to diet & eating habits; how stress impacts digestion

Since the 1950s, intensive industrial farming of crops and animals has largely come to replace traditional agricultural practices, with impacts on the environment and human health. 

You will investigate sustainable developments in crop production and animal husbandry, including organic farming, and how these contrast with industrial farming in terms of soil quality, productivity, environmental impacts, food miles, animal and worker welfare. You will gain an overview of how key food items are produced, processed and brought to market. Exploring refining processes used to make sugar, wheat flour and cooking oils will offer insights into nutritional quality concerns about the modern diet. 

• Intensive Farming – Origins, growth and practices used in industrial agriculture; impacts on soil, water, air, wildlife, worker & animal welfare, crop diversity, food quality, among others 
• Food & Climate – Food miles & transportation, packaging, plastics, food waste; carbon emissions, pollution & diversity loss in rivers & oceans 
• Regenerative Agriculture – Exploring worldwide initiatives promoting genuinely sustainable farming and food production 
• Organic Farming & Food – Background, philosophy, practices, certification bodies, environmental & health benefits, affordability, comparison vs industrial practices
• GMOs – Background & developments in gene modification of crops & animals; environmental impacts, health implications, regulations, future trends Food
• Processing & Refining – Impacts on nutritional quality of staple foods & ingredients (wheat flour, sugar, seed oils); Ultra-processed foods & NOVA classification; ingredients & additives, fortification; shelf-life.

The aim of this unit is to provide you with awareness of food product marketing messages, as well as the nutrition and health claims, ingredients and nutrition data provided on food labels, in order to inform choices for healthy and lower-cost options. By failing to use information on food packaging labels, shoppers may not realise that healthy food products can also be inexpensive.

You will develop knowledge and skills to evaluate the nutritional profiles and nutritional value for money of food products based on marketing, ingredients, nutrition data, health and nutrition claims and cost, in order to facilitate better informed choices when shopping. 

You will explore categories of additives and their use, with special focus on those that may lead to health problems in some individuals. 

• Food labels – Terms, regulations, health & nutrition claims 
• Ingredients – Disguised sugars, NOVA system, ultra-processed items 
• Additives – Categories, uses, potential hazards, ‘clean label’ trend 
• Smarter choices – Compare similar products for healthier choices, using ingredients, nutrition data, health & nutrition claims, other messaging, etc 
• Nutritional Value for Money – Identify cheaper products that are healthy

This unit addresses some key nutrition and health concerns at different stages of life, from preconception through to old age. It also looks at how chronic stress can be managed to reduce the impact on people’s lives. 

Cultivating sound dietary and lifestyle behaviours supports health and life quality from preconception through to old age. Continuing to prioritise healthier habits as we age helps to reduce lifestyle-related chronic illness and maintain quality of life during the later years. 

• Preconception & Childhood – This unit begins by exploring how dietary and lifestyle habits before conception can influence the future health of offspring, via epigenetic and nutrigenomic effects. Optimal nutrition for mother and baby during pregnancy, breastfeeding and weaning is then explored. Common food-related challenges during childhood and adolescence are addressed. 
• Adulthood – In the busy lives of many adults, persistent stress and time pressures can undermine healthy eating and lifestyle behaviours, often contributing to weakened immunity, digestive problems and low energy, among other complaints.
• Senior Years – The senior years come with distinct health challenges. Typically, there is a preference for smaller, monotonous meals and processed foods with low nutrient density. Malnutrition is now recognised as a serious and widespread problem among elderly people. Learners will understand how to support seniors with ideas for better quality, nutrient-dense foods. 
• Stress Management & Sleep – Learners study the autonomic nervous system in order to understand how the experience of chronic stress can undermine both physical and mental health. They will learn about the restorative power of sleep and how to improve sleep quality. Learners will explore how chronic stress can create a downward spiral of health, and how to help reverse this trend. They will explore approaches for reducing stress and how to suggest them appropriately.

This unit looks at food consumption trends and the rise of metabolic diseases. How these disorders develop is examined, along with diet and lifestyle factors to help address them. You will be taught to assist clients to identify and manage food sensitivities. You will examine evidence for and against popular diets used for health and weight issues. 

• Metabolic Illness – Growth of non-infectious diseases associated with shifting consumption patterns of staple foods; future trends 
• Insulin Resistance (IR) – Role of insulin in metabolism, managing glucose & fat stores, etc; hyperinsulinaemia, diabetes T2, other long-term impacts; potential to reverse IR with appropriate changes to diet, eating behaviours & exercise, etc. 
• Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF) – How they damage health in different ways
• Snacking – Rise of frequent eating culture, negative impacts on weight & chronic health conditions
• Dietary Upgrades – To improve or reverse IR-related conditions; low-carb & ketogenic approaches; healthy fats & nutrient dense diet 
• Fasting & Time-Restricted eating – how it helps improve insulin sensitivity and promote metabolic flexibility 
• Chronic Inflammation – Signs & symptoms, blood markers, lifestyle factors promoting inflammation; pro- & anti-inflammatory lifestyle factors & foods, including fish oils
• Detoxification – Role in maintaining cellular health & overall; autophagy and its optimisation; supporting detoxification with nutritious foods & drinks, meal-spacing, exercise, etc 
• Food Intolerances – Mechanisms of allergy vs intolerance/sensitivity; rising incidences, background causes, incl. hygiene & ‘old friends’ hypotheses 
• Unmasking Culprits – Intolerance testing; use of Elimination protocol to identify problem foods or ingredients 
• Stress Triggers – Chronic stress can weaken digestion, promote ‘leaky gut
• Autoimmune (Al) Disease – How some Al conditions may be caused by an immune response to certain foods or ingredients 
• Managing Wheat & Dairy – Tips & swaps for avoiding these common problem foods

This unit looks at weight management problems. You will understand problems and models of weight control. You will be taught to assist clients to use a personalised diet and exercise in successful weight control. 

Weight management problems remain the dominant reason for interest in diet and nutrition. With so many people struggling to manage their weight, a nutrition and health coach needs to understand the obesogenic environment. You should be familiar with key dietary, epigenetic and lifestyle factors driving the obesity epidemic. 

• Overweight & Obesity – BMI, other measures, prevalences & trends worldwide
• Genetic Influences – Also epigenetic and social class effects, among others 
• Origins of Problem – Shifts in consumption of staple foods and macros since 1970s; changes in physical activity; sedentary lifestyles; influence of time-poverty & convenience factors; rise of snacking, ultra-processed foods 
• Weight Control Models – Origins & dominance of calorie-in, calorie-out (CICO) model, uses & limitations, low-calorie diets, bariatric surgery; ‘set-point’ homeostatic theory of weight control; low-carb & ketogenic approaches & successes – recent research & future trends 
• Personalised Weight Control – How use of individualised approaches to diet and lifestyle can effectively result in sustainable weight loss & maintenance.

• Exercise Benefits Physical Health – Improved energy, immunity, skeleton, muscle tone, balance, coordination, movement confidence, etc
• Exercise Benefits Mental Health – Improved sleep & mood, less depression, slower cognitive decline, relieves stress-related conditions, etc
• Supporting Health Span & Longevity – Combatting the hazards of sedentary living with suitable exercise habits
• Exercise Aids Weight Loss – Though diet is the master key to long-term success
• Types of Exercise – Benefits of cardio & other aerobic training, strength work, high intensity (HIIT), balance & flexibility training; finding suitable exercise for client
• Over-Exercising – Health issues from excessive exercise, including fatigue, poor immunity & post-viral delayed recovery, mood swings, altered menstruation. Prioritise adequate recovery & rest, choose best healthy foods, drinks, snacks for training demands; don’t skip meals; possibly monitor heart rate, heart rate variability
• Sports Performance – How body energy systems work; fuelling for different sports; optimising hydration for performance & health; foods & drinks suitable – or not – for performance & training days; potential benefits of safe & legal supplement use for athletes

The aim of this unit is to provide learners with the knowledge and skills required to set up a practice, and deliver presentations, as a nutrition and health coach. 

For success as a nutrition and health coach it is vital for you to develop effective communication, business and organisational skills. This unit will guide you on the essential legal, administrative and professional aspects that must be considered for setting up a nutrition and health practice. 

• Planning to Coach – Basic business plan using SMART goals or other model; hours per week, full- or part-time? – financial commitment needed to launch business
• Location – Own home, rented space, client’s home, online only or hybrid 
• Preferred Clients – Individuals or groups?; all-comers or certain issues only?
• Requirements for Practising – Legal, professional & insurance requirements & any limitations in your country or state 
• Professional Membership – Fees, benefits, opportunities & obligations of joining a professional coaching body; organisations for Health and Wellness Coaches in UK/Ireland, USA, Australia 
• Marketing – Branding, building website &/or blog & SM following; promotions, offers, freebies, testimonials, sponsors, collaborations, free talks, fees 
• Connecting, Improving – Developing links & networks with health professionals, organisations, movements, communities; seek out regular continuous professional development in areas of interest 
• Deliver Presentations – How to plan & deliver an informal talk, presentation, class or course, online or in-person; building confidence: practise in front of friend, phone or computer; other tips & techniques for interesting, confident delivery & flow 
• Preparing Presentation – Make plan to suit audience, venue & duration; allow time for Q&A; source & reference facts, other materials; prepare handout with own contact details; practise & time the presentation beforehand, get feedback, adjust as needed
• Presentation Aids – PowerPoint or similar, handouts, slide printouts, questionnaires, flip charts, posters, samples, personal stories, demonstration; animations, video clips
• Structure & Style – Welcome, introduce self, background, topic overview, deliver main content, conclusion, Q&A
• Business Development – This module equips students with the skills to plan, launch, and grow a coaching practice through live sessions, workshops, and industry guest speakers. Presented by Shane Pearson – ICF Certified Coach, multi-award-winning coach, and Nutritional Therapist with nearly two decades of experience in coaching and facilitating positive, lasting change. 

Business Online Workshop Day

Students explore practical tools, strategies and insights to help their coaching business flourish. Online Event Day, exclusive for IINH Students. Learn from key industry speakers covering subjects such as:

• Networking for Nutrition Coaches and Pricing Your Worth
• Personal Branding in the Nutrition & Health
• Arena Confidence & Business Growth Essentials

ADDITIONAL GUEST SPEAKER LIVE SESSIONS

To establish healthy eating habits, wholesome food must be both tasty and enjoyable. An effective nutrition course should provide practical knowledge and skills for preparing wholesome foods and meals. To meet this crucial need, we have established our own dedicated cooking school and the purpose-built ‘Taste Health’ demonstration kitchen. 

Maggie Lynch, our Director of Cooking, hosts two live online cooking classes via Zoom from the IINH Taste Health kitchen as part of our Nutrition & Health Coaching Diploma. Students attending these classes can get their cooking and food related questions answered by Maggie. 

Everyone receives a comprehensive pack of delicious wholefood recipes catering for a cross section of dietary needs and preferences. Maggie generously shares a wealth of tips on how to adapt each recipe, making it possible to create entirely new variations from the original. She also provides tips on how to modify her recipes to accommodate various dietary preferences and food intolerances. 

The tips include many handy nuggets, such as: how to store dishes when cooked, sourcing ingredients, and much more. Her special skill lies in creating healthy, wholesome recipes that the whole family will enjoy. 

Students also receive support packages containing practical information that they can share with their families, friends and future clients.

These include:

• • Tips on Diet and Life Style to Kickstart a Healthier You! A general guide as well as a vegan-friendly version.
  • Gluten Free Baking Tips.  What is Gluten? Tips for successful GF baking and explanations on GF flours and their uses, GF binders, raising agents and thickening agents – explained
  • Store Cupboard/Pantry Essentials. Tips for stocking and organizing your pantry, freezer and fridge, including essential items to keep on hand. 
  • Better Brands Shopping List. This Better Brands list, while not exhaustive, covers many typical items in our weekly shopping baskets, including breads, cereals, snacks, treats, flours, grains, beans and lentils, oils, sugars, among others. It identifies flags up additives to watch out for and avoid – reading food labels becomes crucial for this.
  • Safe Food Storage. Learn essential tips to store food properly, prevent spoilage and avoid foodborne illnesses, ensuring your family’s health and reducing waste. 
  • Preventing Food Waste. Food waste is often a big problem because most of us tend to buy more food than we need. While nobody intends to waste food, the fact is that lack of time, poor planning or feeling too tired to cook can mean that food we buy gets forgotten about and sadly wilts away in the fridge, goes stale in the pantry (think flour’s, grains, spices and so on), or gets buried in the freezer only to be discovered and thrown out months – sometimes years – later. The saying ‘out of sight, out of mind’ speaks volumes here. Tossing away still edible food doesn’t just waste money, it ends up in landfills, where it rots away producing methane emissions. In other words, throwing out food contributes to climate change 

Live Attendance Cook Days – coaching

We also host two attendance cooking class days during the course at an additional cost of €50 for those who wish to experience the magic of our Taste Health Kitchen in-person. Maggie and her team demonstrate a dozen or more delicious dishes from scratch and provide a wonderful buffet spread at the end.

At Taste Health we enjoy everything in moderation, including – if you wish – a glass of organic wine to accompany the delicious dishes demonstrated on the day! This also allows more time to get to know class buddies, ask any lingering questions and nourish your soul. 

Self-Compassion Training for Healthcare Communities (SCHC) is a 6-week, evidence-based, adaptation of the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) programme.  MSC is the empirically supported program of Dr. Kristin Neff (UT Austin) and Dr. Chris Germer (Harvard Medical School). 

This abbreviated MSC training programme was specifically designed for healthcare professionals and is very relevant to all Caregivers.  It is therefore something we are delighted to offer to our Nutrition and Health Coaches as part of their studies.

This training aims to improve wellbeing and personal resilience in professionals in the caring professions.  It aims to do this by teaching mindful self-compassion skills to deal with distressing emotional situations as they occur at work and at home.  Here at IINH we teach the programme in 6 x 90-minute weekly sessions as part of the Nutrition and Health Coaching course.

Burgeoning research is showing that self-compassion skills can be of particular benefit to people in caregiving professions, allowing them to experience greater satisfaction in their caregiving roles, less stress, and more emotional resilience.

In research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, Neff.Knox.2020, the SCHC program was found to significantly:

• Decrease:  Depression, Stress, Secondary Traumatic stress, and Burnout
• Increase:  Self-compassion, Mindfulness, Compassion for others, Job satisfaction in healthcare professionals

As opposed to other self-care techniques, self-compassion practices can be used on the spot at work with clients or colleagues or at home.  These skills, although requiring an intentional daily effort to integrate, do not require extra time or formal meditation practice. 

Participants of the programme will learn skills and tools to use throughout the day to: 

• Care for themselves while caring for others
• Be able to listen with compassion 
• Handle difficult emotions with greater ease
• Reconnect to the values that give life and work meaning

We have included this abbreviated version of the MSC programme in the Coaching programme to give our students the opportunity to learn some of these vital skills. 

This programme will be facilitated by Julia Sweetman, Certified MSC teacher, Nutritional Therapist and Programme Director for our Nutritional Therapy course.

To find out more about Mindful Self Compassion please see https://centerformsc.org/