The term nutrition encompasses so many concepts, ideologies, and theories that it can feel difficult to keep up with what’s right, what’s wrong, or what’s the latest trend. With nutrition science ever-changing and ever-evolving, we look to experts to tell us what to include and what to avoid in our diets.
There are indeed foundational nutrition benefits – less refined carbohydrates, less processed foods, and more focus on real, whole foods. But contrary to what the diet industry often asks us to believe, when it comes to the “best diet” for everyone, it doesn’t exist. And here’s why: To honor your bio-individuality – the unique qualities that make-up you and only you – the foods you eat, as well as your lifestyle practices, will look different from everyone else’s.
Your bio-individuality determines your nutritional needs from one day to the next and during different phases of your life. By listening to what your body needs and wants, you’ll be better able to nourish yourself with the foods that work for you, rather than everyone on your Instagram feed.
So how do you kick off this process of figuring out the foods that work – and don’t work – for you? That’s where functional nutrition comes in.
Functional nutrition is the holistic approach to diet, taking into consideration one's lifestyle factors that could affect their food choices, such as activity levels, environment, or the presence of chronic disease. You may be wondering how this is different from standard nutrition practice, but the key is in the holistic approach.
Standard nutrition focuses on the nutritional facts, such as a food or food group’s ability to promote or damage health (whether it's “good” or “bad” for you). Functional nutrition looks at these facts, too, but in the context of an individual’s physiological makeup and how they live, such as how often they move, the quality of their relationships, and their stress level. Essentially, just because a food or food group has been demonstrated as being “good for you,” it doesn’t mean it’s good for you — functional nutrition means one size doesn’t fit all!
The practice of functional nutrition is similar to that of functional medicine, though the terms are not meant to be used interchangeably. Functional medicine is a patient-centered practice rather than a disease-centered practice. It focuses on the body as a whole ecosystem, and the main goal is to address the root cause of symptoms, such as gastrointestinal distress, skin issues, and brain fog. These symptoms can be clues to potential food-related health issues, such as nutritional deficiencies, food sensitivities, or food allergies.
Practicing a functional nutrition diet mirrors the functional medicine approach where “food is medicine.” Food has the power to heal or harm, and the practice of functional nutrition centers around the individual - IIN's Health Coach Training Program teaches you to put your client first, teaching functional nutrition in addition to integrative nutrition, coaching methodologies, personal development, and business-building skills. Standard nutrition, in contrast, broadly follows nutritional guidelines created for an entire population.
Functional nutrition can better promote health, especially for those who have received standard nutrition recommendations but are still experiencing symptoms – for example, if you’re continuing to gain weight despite eating healthier and increasing physical activity. From a standard nutrition point of view, you’re doing all the right things. From a functional nutrition point of view, there are other things to consider to figure out this unexplained weight gain, such as thyroid dysfunction, hormonal imbalance, a need to detox the gut, and even high-stress levels.
Here are some pros and cons of functional and standard nutrition:
Practicing functional nutrition can look like embracing the holistic health concept as you make daily nutritional choices or incorporating functional nutrition into your work as a wellness practitioner.
Many health practitioners, from dietitians to Health Coaches, incorporate functional nutrition by becoming part of an integrative medicine and nutrition team and supporting clients alongside other health professionals to provide the most robust and effective care and a personalized nutrition plan.
For example, a Health Coach works with clients to establish and reach health goals, but they do not prescribe diet plans or diagnose or treat medical conditions. A Health Coach can refer a client to a functional medicine practitioner for lab work to determine the root cause(s) of their symptoms and help them understand the recommendations provided to keep them accountable for making diet and lifestyle changes.
Whatever path you choose, the most important areas of functional nutrition include:
At the end of the day, functional nutrition is all about you and your bio-individuality. As a practitioner who uses functional nutrition to support people in reaching their health goals, you’ll be giving them ample opportunity to explore what works for them, reaching their full potential and becoming their healthiest, happiest selves.