Final up to date: 2026 | This put up accommodates affiliate hyperlinks. If you enroll through my link and use the code FITNESSISTA, you’ll stand up to $250 off and I could earn a fee at no further value to you.
Hiiii buddies! I hope you had an exquisite weekend and that you simply’re having fun with the morning. In the present day I wished to talk about considered one of my favourite subjects: IHP.
When you’ve been following alongside right here for some time, you realize that I’ve spent years constructing out my diet and health teaching apply and that I’m somebody who genuinely loves studying. I’ve collected a whole lot of certifications over time (Precision Vitamin, NASM Private Coach, Weight Loss Specialist, Ladies’s Health Specialist, Corrective Train Specialist, 200-hour yoga RYT, and extra), and each has added one thing significant to the way in which I work with purchasers.
However there was at all times a spot.
Working with diet purchasers on-line, I saved operating into conditions the place I knew one thing deeper was occurring – a hormonal imbalance, a intestine subject, a mineral deficiency – and all I may do was refer out. Suggesting particular labs or deciphering take a look at outcomes is solely not throughout the scope of apply for a diet coach or private coach. I’d added different practitioners to my staff who may run these checks, however as my on-line apply grew, I wished to have the ability to do that work myself.
That’s what led me to the Integrative Well being Practitioner (IHP) certification, and after finishing each Stage 1 and Stage 2 (over 100 hours of coursework, persevering with training, and a few very difficult checks later), I may give you a radical, trustworthy image of what to anticipate.
Thinking about Enrolling? Start Here.
Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Stage 1, or $250 off each ranges.
IHP Certification Evaluation: What I Realized, What It Prices, and Is It Value It (2026)
What Is the IHP Certification?
The Integrative Health Practitioner certification was created by Dr. Stephen Cabral, a Board Licensed Physician of Naturopathy, founding father of EquiLife and the Integrative Well being Practitioner Institute, and creator of the worldwide bestseller The Rain Barrel Impact. (When you haven’t learn it but, get it. It’s free!) After almost 20 years, over 600,000 pages of analysis, dozens of certifications within the pure well being area, and over 1 / 4 of one million non-public consumer classes…. Dr. Cabral is the actual deal.
I’d been following him on Instagram for a few years and had him as a visitor on the podcast earlier than I enrolled. After we wrapped up the podcast, I knew I wished to be taught as a lot as I may from him, and when the partnership got here collectively, I took it as an indication that the timing was lastly proper.
This system is constructed on 7 integrative disciplines:
Ayurvedic medication – the science of life and body-typing
Bioregulatory medication – the science of self-healing and rebalancing
Chinese language medication and herbalism – unlocking nature’s therapeutic knowledge
Jap philosophy – utilizing the thoughts to heal the physique
Conventional naturopathy – “proper dwelling” to reverse sickness
Orthomolecular medication – nutritional vitamins and minerals as medication
Useful medication – state-of-the-art lab testing to uncover underlying root causes
All the pieces is taught by Dr. Cabral himself, and I genuinely loved the way in which he presents advanced data, making it accessible and straightforward to implement. His real-world medical expertise is invaluable, and it comes by means of in each lesson.
The Two Ranges: What’s the Distinction?
IHP Stage 1: The DESTRESS Protocol
Level 1 focuses on Dr. Cabral’s DESTRESS technique: a root-cause way of life framework constructed round Weight loss plan, Train, Stress administration, Toxin elimination, Relaxation, Emotional stability, Supplementation, and Success mindset.
Every lesson runs about half-hour, and Dr. Cabral contains urged studying, complementary podcast episodes, and tons of client-ready handouts and assets all through. The complete Stage 1 course can take round 6 months relying in your tempo. It’s tremendous complete.
I liked Stage 1. I discovered myself studying one thing invaluable from each single lesson. But it surely’s the big-picture basis and it builds your framework and vocabulary. The appliance actually is available in Stage 2.
Need the total breakdown? Learn my full IHP Level 1 review here.
IHP Stage 2: Useful Labs
That is the place issues acquired actually thrilling for me. Throughout every module I saved pondering: that is precisely what I wish to be taught. That is how I wish to assist my purchasers.
Level 2 is sort of solely centered on purposeful medication labs. You learn to suggest particular dwelling lab checks, analyze outcomes, and recommend motion plans based mostly on what you discover.
Right here’s what’s coated:
Meals Sensitivity Testing: IgG reactions to 190 meals on a scale from not important to excessive. These are sensitivities (not allergy symptoms) and might present up as complications, joint ache, pores and skin rashes, poor temper, and extra.
Parasite and Micro organism Stool Testing: key intestine micro organism and parasite markers related to mind fog, low vitality, physique ache, and complications.
Natural Acids (OAT): an analysis of intestinal yeast and micro organism that may contribute to fatigue, habits points, immune dysfunction, and extra. Many individuals with persistent sickness and neurological points present up right here. I run this take a look at with purchasers virtually each single day.
Omega-3 Testing – your Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio, which has actual implications for coronary heart well being, irritation, temper, vitality, pores and skin, and muscle and joint ache. (Enjoyable reality: analysis exhibits that when Omega-3 ranges within the blood attain 9% or extra, the danger of sudden cardiac demise drops dramatically. That alone was eye-opening.)
Adrenal Hormone Testing – estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol patterns all through the day.
Thyroid Adrenal Hormone Testing – provides testosterone, DHEA, thyroid markers (T4, T3, TSH, TPO antibodies), insulin, A1C, and vitamin D. Weight reduction has much more to do with hormone stability and metabolism than most individuals understand.
HTMA (Hair Tissue Mineral Evaluation) – a foundational lab utilizing only a hair pattern that appears at mineral ranges, electrolytes, and poisonous heavy metals, and provides perception into how your physique is responding to emphasize and whether or not you’re a gradual or quick oxidizer.
Observe: these labs are usually not supposed to diagnose, stop, deal with, or remedy any illness, however they supply extremely particular and actionable details about your particular person physique. I truly love this side of the labs; we’re in search of underlying imbalances however nothing scary.
About two-thirds of the way in which by means of Stage 2, I spotted that if I saved attempting to grasp each module earlier than shifting on, I’d by no means end, since you may actually spend a lifetime going deep on any considered one of these checks. One of the best ways to essentially be taught this materials is to do it: learn actual outcomes, re-watch the related module as you undergo every marker, and hold layering in podcasts, books, and persevering with training. That’s nonetheless how I strategy it.
For the total Stage 2 breakdown, learn my IHP Level 2 review here
How A lot Does the IHP Price?
Pricing can change, so I at all times suggest checking present enrollment particulars instantly.
That mentioned:
Stage 1 is the lower-cost entry level, with fee plan choices out there
Each ranges collectively is the place the larger funding (and greater low cost) is available in. I feel that Stage 2 is ABSOLUTELY price it. (Value saying right here that I’m presently working my manner by means of Stage 3 and loving each second)
Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Level 1, or $250 off both levels
IHP additionally periodically runs enrollment specials, so it’s price conserving an eye fixed out if timing is an element for you.
For context on worth: the purposeful lab coaching alone – one thing only a few coach-level certifications supply at this depth – would value considerably extra if pursued by means of particular person programs or medical coaching applications.
What I Truly Love Concerning the IHP Program
It fills an actual hole in conventional well being teaching. As a diet coach and private coach, there’s a tough ceiling on how deep you possibly can go along with purchasers. The IHP certification – particularly Stage 2 – gave me instruments to really get to root causes, not simply supply basic way of life steerage.
Dr. Cabral is genuinely one of many good ones. When you observe him on Instagram or hearken to his podcast, you already know this. He’s extremely educated, however you may also simply inform that he’s a genuinely good one that really needs to assist individuals heal. That comes by means of in each lesson.
The help construction is great. There’s a non-public Fb group for IHP candidates and authorized practitioners, stay Zoom Q&A calls, and – for Stage 2 graduates who full an extra mentorship program – they’ll even refer purchasers to you instantly. The handouts and assets are one other big plus; Dr. Cabral shares the precise protocols he makes use of in his personal apply, which makes it straightforward to start out implementing with purchasers immediately.
Self-paced with lifetime entry. No cohort deadlines to emphasize over. You possibly can transfer rapidly when life permits and decelerate when it doesn’t. (That is why it’s taken me 18 years to finish Stage 3 lol.) They’re additionally continuously including new modules, handouts, and content material to the platform.
You don’t want a well being background to start out. Now we have IHPs who utterly modified careers due to this program, and in addition bodily therapists, nurses, medical doctors, private trainers, and dental professionals. It really spans backgrounds.
The mission behind it’s lovely. The concept is that you simply heal your self after which go on to heal others. That’s one thing I consider in utterly, and it’s been further significant to me as I’ve been by myself therapeutic journey.
What I’d Inform You to Know Going In
The teachings require your full consideration. This was my solely actual frustration: Dr. Cabral goes into a whole lot of data (much more so in Stage 2), and I felt like I wanted to be at my desk taking notes, not listening on a stroll or throughout a commute. The upside is it forces you to really take in the fabric, however you possibly can’t blast by means of it as rapidly as you may wish to.
It’s not a medical credential. The IHP doesn’t provide the authority to diagnose, deal with, or prescribe. That is true of all well being teaching certifications, and it’s one thing to go in figuring out. You’re working throughout the scope of a well being practitioner, which remains to be significant and impactful; it’s only a completely different lane than medication.
You’ll have to buy your personal insurance coverage after Stage 2. Most grads undergo an organization like Different Stability. It’s pretty straightforward to arrange, but it surely’s an ongoing value to issue into your planning. (I feel I pay about $160/12 months)
It takes actual time. Stage 1 sometimes takes round 6 months; Stage 2 can take 6 months to a 12 months. There’s no shortcut, and actually, that’s applicable for the quantity of fabric coated.
Is the IHP Value It in 2026?
For me, 10000% sure.
I wish to be trustworthy about why, although. I got here to this already working within the well being area, with a selected hole I wanted to fill and a real ardour for this kind of work. IHP crammed that hole. I’ve been ready so as to add a brand new layer to my 1:1 teaching, work with members of the family and buddies utilizing these instruments, and deepen my very own therapeutic course of with information I didn’t have earlier than. (The timing was further significant for me personally. Coping with some sudden well being problems with my very own made the purposeful lab materials really feel extremely related.)
I’ve additionally been the one who was advised “nothing is fallacious” or “you’ll simply should stay with it” by a number of physicians. I do know firsthand how a lot it issues to have somebody in your nook who thinks in root causes, who doesn’t hand over on you when commonplace labs look “regular.” That’s the form of practitioner I wish to be, and IHP gave me actual instruments to get there.
When you’re a well being skilled in search of one other option to serve your purchasers, or if you happen to’re somebody who needs to heal your self after which assist the individuals round you, I genuinely can’t suggest this program sufficient. I’d do each ranges, particularly if purposeful labs are your objective. That’s the place the actual magic occurs.
Take a look at the IHP program and use code FITNESSISTA for as much as $250 off
I solely suggest applications I’ve personally accomplished and consider in. Enrolling by means of my hyperlink helps this weblog at no further value to you.
Fast FAQs
Do I would like a well being background to enroll?
Nope! This system is open to everybody: profession changers, well being professionals, and genuinely curious individuals alike.
Can I simply do Stage 1?
Sure. Stage 1 is its personal certification. But when purposeful lab work is your objective, you’ll need each ranges. I’d begin with Stage 1 to verify the fabric resonates, then proceed to Stage 2. (If you are going to buy each on the identical time, the pricing is healthier, although.)
How lengthy does it take to complete?
Stage 1 is often round 6 months at a cushty tempo; Stage 2 is comparable or a bit longer. There’s no time restrict, so you possibly can go at no matter tempo works on your life.
What can I truly do with this certification?
You possibly can add purposeful well being teaching to your current apply, create new 1:1 or group choices, use it to deepen your personal private well being information, and contribute to content material you create. Stage 2 graduates even have the choice to obtain consumer referrals by means of the IHP community.
Is there neighborhood help when you’re going by means of it?
Sure! The non-public Fb group is lively and genuinely useful. And Dr. Cabral’s podcast (The Cabral Idea) is an ongoing useful resource that I nonetheless use often.
Check out the details here and my code is FITNESSISTA on your low cost
Have questions in regards to the IHP that I didn’t cowl right here? Drop them within the feedback. I learn each single one and am comfortable to assist!
xo,
Gina
I’ll be updating this put up yearly to mirror any modifications in pricing, curriculum, or program particulars.
