Final up to date: 2026 | This put up accommodates affiliate hyperlinks. In case you enroll by way of my hyperlink and use the code FITNESSISTA, you’ll stand up to $250 off and I’ll earn a fee at no additional value to you.
Hiiii mates! I hope you had an exquisite weekend and that you just’re having fun with the morning. Immediately I wished to speak about one among my favourite subjects: IHP.
In case you’ve been following alongside right here for some time, you recognize that I’ve spent years constructing out my diet and health teaching follow and that I’m somebody who genuinely loves studying. I’ve collected lots of certifications over time (Precision Diet, NASM Private Coach, Weight Loss Specialist, Girls’s Health Specialist, Corrective Train Specialist, 200-hour yoga RYT, and extra), and each has added one thing significant to the best way I work with shoppers.
However there was all the time a niche.
Working with diet shoppers on-line, I saved working into conditions the place I knew one thing deeper was happening – a hormonal imbalance, a intestine concern, a mineral deficiency – and all I might do was refer out. Suggesting particular labs or deciphering take a look at outcomes is just not throughout the scope of follow for a diet coach or private coach. I’d added different practitioners to my group who might run these assessments, however as my on-line follow 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 Degree 1 and Degree 2 (over 100 hours of coursework, persevering with training, and a few very difficult assessments later), I can provide you an intensive, sincere image of what to anticipate.
Taken with Enrolling? Begin Right here.
Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Degree 1, or $250 off each ranges.
IHP Certification Assessment: What I Realized, What It Prices, and Is It Value It (2026)
What Is the IHP Certification?
The Integrative Well being 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. (In case you haven’t learn it but, get it. It’s free!) After practically 20 years, over 600,000 pages of analysis, dozens of certifications within the pure well being area, and over 1 / 4 of one million personal shopper classes…. Dr. Cabral is the true 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. Once we wrapped up the podcast, I knew I wished to be taught as a lot as I might 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 drugs – the science of life and body-typing
Bioregulatory drugs – the science of self-healing and rebalancing
Chinese language drugs and herbalism – unlocking nature’s therapeutic knowledge
Japanese philosophy – utilizing the thoughts to heal the physique
Conventional naturopathy – “proper dwelling” to reverse sickness
Orthomolecular drugs – nutritional vitamins and minerals as drugs
Practical drugs – state-of-the-art lab testing to uncover underlying root causes
Every thing is taught by Dr. Cabral himself, and I genuinely loved the best way he presents advanced data, making it accessible and simple to implement. His real-world scientific expertise is invaluable, and it comes by way of in each lesson.
The Two Ranges: What’s the Distinction?
IHP Degree 1: The DESTRESS Protocol
Degree 1 focuses on Dr. Cabral’s DESTRESS methodology: a root-cause life-style framework constructed round Weight loss program, Train, Stress administration, Toxin removing, Relaxation, Emotional steadiness, Supplementation, and Success mindset.
Every lesson runs about half-hour, and Dr. Cabral contains steered studying, complementary podcast episodes, and tons of client-ready handouts and assets all through. The total Degree 1 course can take round 6 months relying in your tempo. It’s tremendous complete.
I beloved Degree 1. I discovered myself studying one thing helpful from each single lesson. But it surely’s the big-picture basis and it builds your framework and vocabulary. The applying actually is available in Degree 2.
Need the complete breakdown? Learn my full IHP Degree 1 evaluation right here.
IHP Degree 2: Practical Labs
That is the place issues bought 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 shoppers.
Degree 2 is sort of completely centered on practical drugs labs. You learn to advocate particular house lab assessments, analyze outcomes, and recommend motion plans primarily based 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 allergic reactions) 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 linked to mind fog, low power, 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 shoppers 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, power, 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 chance 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 way more to do with hormone steadiness 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 offers perception into how your physique is responding to emphasize and whether or not you’re a sluggish or quick oxidizer.
Be aware: these labs usually are not supposed to diagnose, forestall, 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 searching for underlying imbalances however nothing scary.
About two-thirds of the best way by way of Degree 2, I noticed that if I saved attempting to grasp each module earlier than shifting on, I’d by no means end, since you might actually spend a lifetime going deep on any one among these assessments. 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 preserve layering in podcasts, books, and persevering with training. That’s nonetheless how I strategy it.
For the complete Degree 2 breakdown, learn my IHP Degree 2 evaluation right here
How A lot Does the IHP Value?
Pricing can change, so I all the time advocate checking present enrollment particulars straight.
That mentioned:
Degree 1 is the lower-cost entry level, with cost plan choices accessible
Each ranges collectively is the place the larger funding (and greater low cost) is available in. I feel that Degree 2 is ABSOLUTELY value it. (Value saying right here that I’m presently working my approach by way of Degree 3 and loving each second)
Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Degree 1, or $250 off each ranges
IHP additionally periodically runs enrollment specials, so it’s value preserving an eye fixed out if timing is an element for you.
For context on worth: the practical lab coaching alone – one thing only a few coach-level certifications provide at this depth – would value considerably extra if pursued by way of particular person programs or scientific coaching packages.
What I Really 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’ll be able to go together with shoppers. The IHP certification – particularly Degree 2 – gave me instruments to truly get to root causes, not simply provide basic life-style steerage.
Dr. Cabral is genuinely one of many good ones. In case you observe him on Instagram or hearken to his podcast, you already know this. He’s extremely educated, however you can too simply inform that he’s a genuinely good one that actually needs to assist individuals heal. That comes by way of in each lesson.
The assist construction is great. There’s a personal Fb group for IHP candidates and authorized practitioners, stay Zoom Q&A calls, and – for Degree 2 graduates who full an extra mentorship program – they’ll even refer shoppers to you straight. The handouts and assets are one other large plus; Dr. Cabral shares the precise protocols he makes use of in his personal follow, which makes it straightforward to begin implementing with shoppers instantly.
Self-paced with lifetime entry. No cohort deadlines to emphasize over. You’ll be able to transfer shortly when life permits and decelerate when it doesn’t. (That is why it’s taken me 18 years to finish Degree 3 lol.) They’re additionally always including new modules, handouts, and content material to the platform.
You don’t want a well being background to begin. We’ve got IHPs who fully modified careers due to this program, and in addition bodily therapists, nurses, docs, private trainers, and dental professionals. It actually spans backgrounds.
The mission behind it’s stunning. The concept is that you just heal your self after which go on to heal others. That’s one thing I consider in fully, and it’s been additional significant to me as I’ve been alone 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 lots of data (much more so in Degree 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 truly take up the fabric, however you’ll be able to’t blast by way of it as shortly as you may wish to.
It’s not a scientific 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 understanding. You’re working throughout the scope of a well being practitioner, which continues to be significant and impactful; it’s only a completely different lane than drugs.
You’ll have to buy your personal insurance coverage after Degree 2. Most grads undergo an organization like Different Steadiness. It’s pretty straightforward to arrange, however it’s an ongoing value to issue into your planning. (I feel I pay about $160/12 months)
It takes actual time. Degree 1 usually takes round 6 months; Degree 2 can take 6 months to a 12 months. There’s no shortcut, and actually, that’s acceptable for the quantity of fabric coated.
Is the IHP Value It in 2026?
For me, 10000% sure.
I wish to be sincere about why, although. I got here to this already working within the well being house, with a particular hole I wanted to fill and a real ardour for one of these work. IHP stuffed 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 mates utilizing these instruments, and deepen my very own therapeutic course of with data I didn’t have earlier than. (The timing was additional significant for me personally. Coping with some surprising well being problems with my very own made the practical lab materials really feel extremely related.)
I’ve additionally been the one who was instructed “nothing is improper” or “you’ll simply need to 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 surrender on you when customary labs look “regular.” That’s the sort of practitioner I wish to be, and IHP gave me actual instruments to get there.
In case you’re a well being skilled searching for one other technique to serve your shoppers, or in the event you’re somebody who needs to heal your self after which assist the individuals round you, I genuinely can’t advocate this program sufficient. I’d do each ranges, particularly if practical labs are your objective. That’s the place the true magic occurs.
Take a look at the IHP program and use code FITNESSISTA for as much as $250 off
I solely advocate packages I’ve personally accomplished and consider in. Enrolling by way of my hyperlink helps this weblog at no additional value to you.
Fast FAQs
Do I want 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 Degree 1?
Sure. Degree 1 is its personal certification. But when practical lab work is your objective, you’ll need each ranges. I’d begin with Degree 1 to verify the fabric resonates, then proceed to Degree 2. (If you are going to buy each on the identical time, the pricing is best, although.)
How lengthy does it take to complete?
Degree 1 is often round 6 months at a snug tempo; Degree 2 is comparable or a bit longer. There’s no time restrict, so you’ll be able to go at no matter tempo works in your life.
What can I truly do with this certification?
You’ll be able to add practical well being teaching to your present follow, create new 1:1 or group choices, use it to deepen your personal private well being data, and contribute to content material you create. Degree 2 graduates even have the choice to obtain shopper referrals by way of the IHP community.
Is there neighborhood assist whilst you’re going by way of it?
Sure! The personal Fb group is lively and genuinely useful. And Dr. Cabral’s podcast (The Cabral Idea) is an ongoing useful resource that I nonetheless use recurrently.
Take a look at the main points right here and my code is FITNESSISTA in 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 replicate any adjustments in pricing, curriculum, or program particulars.
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