It seems like every week another popular food item is either touted as being a lifesaver or a dangerous killer. One week, eggs are good for you and the next, well, you hear that too many eggs will give you a heart attack. Same with milk, chocolate and on and on. You’ll need a solid nutrition calculator just to keep up with daily calories. Being a nutrition coach, you’ll help your clients to navigate through all of this conflicting information on what to eat and how much to eat. You may work in a hospital, a gym or spa, or even on your own to guide clients on their food and nutrition journey.
And, not only are there many places where you can work as a nutrition coach; you can also run a successful nutrition consulting business online. As more and more businesses are becoming virtual, you’ll be able to hold classes or consult with individual clients from the comfort of your home.
The 5 Best Nutrition Certification Courses Online
- Stanford Center for Health Education
- National Council on Strength & Fitness (NCSF)
- International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
- Health Coach Institute
- New Skills Academy
So, if you aspire to be work in the diet and nutrition field, your first step is to gain the education required in the science of food and technology and the impact of food on our health. To become a professional nutrition coach, you’ll have to get a Nutrition Certification from a nationally recognized organization or association.
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The 5 Best Nutrition Health Certificate Courses Online
We’ve compared a ton of nutrition programs out there and we found that Stanford Center for Health Education is the best nutrition certification program for you. We believe this because the program offers a wealth of information and guidance to help you on your way to becoming a certified nutrition coach as well as a fantastic community and support staff assisting you the entire way.
We’ve also looked at may other nutrition coach certification programs and have listed 4 other fantastic programs. There are many nutrition programs online that offer courses and certification; and after you’re certified, you’ll be able to enter the job market and fingers crossed, find that dream nutrition coach job!
So, keep reading to discover more details as we uncover the 5 nutrition programs we’ve curated for you.
1. Stanford Center for Health Education
Stanford Center for Health Education provides short online courses on nutrition science. If you are an aspiring nutrition coach looking for certification, you may want to take a course at Stanford Center for Health Education to gain the know-how needed to be able to provide sound and healthy nutritional guidelines.
The course takes eight weeks to complete with eight to 10 hours of training per week. One advantage of enrolling here is that you can be anywhere in this world and still get the certification as they teach entirely online. Their modules are flexible, and each module takes a week to complete.
What does Stanford Center for Health Education offer?
- You’ll learn the relationship between nutrition and food and the foundational nutritional science that is connected with creating nutritional plans for different clients.
- The program will also give you a broad education in nutrition, including thorough knowledge of carbohydrates and fats, diet fads, supplements, the impacts of sugar intake, and the significance of protein.
- Further, you’ll learn how to design a step-by-step nutrition and diet plan for the weight and general health management of your clients.
The diet plans that the program covers are:
- Ketogenic or Keto
- Paleo
- Whole30
- Vegan
- Intermittent
- DASH
- MIND
- Gluten-Free
- Mediterranean
- Low-FODMAP, and many more
At the end of the program, you’ll receive your certification, which will allow you to work as a nutrition coach in the wellness as well as the medical industries.
2. NCSF - National Council on Strength & Fitness
If you want to work with competitive athletes and not with ordinary people trying to lose weight or become reasonably fit, the NCSF (National Council on Strength and Fitness) course is one of the best available.
The NCSF course will teach you how to help clients improve their fitness using time-tested strategies that are proven to work by medical research. Fad diets come and go; what actually works remains the same
from one decade to another. The NCSF course will give you the confidence to dispel whatever diet myths your clients have.
One of the best things about the course is that it discusses the benefits and drawbacks of many different diets in detail. Your clients will usually already be on a diet; you can teach them how to improve it or advise them to change it with the right knowledge. More than anything else, the course can teach you to differentiate between true and false health facts.
The course will teach you about nutrition for fitness, not nutrition for ordinary people. You won’t learn much about weight loss here; instead, how to help people already in shape become more athletic. The course is not very long, but it is challenging, and you won’t pass the tests if you don’t properly study the
material.
3. ISSA
While exercise matters a lot, the most important thing you can do for your health is to have a healthy diet and an appropriate nutrition for your body. For this reason, you can often find more work as a nutrition coach than as a personal trainer.
With the ISSA certification course, you’ll learn all you need to know about nutrition and nutrition coaching. Including all of the research behind today’s most hotly debated topics such as: intermittent fasting, plant-based eating, macros, keto, and more.
ISSA’s online nutrition certification also offers their knowledge on nutrition coaching from their work with Olympic athletes and leading multinational corporations. You’ll discover cutting-edge “behavior change psychology” approaches and how to assist anyone in accomplishing their goals. This course also includes a section dedicated to business tactics and best practices, so you can get started with your nutrition coaching business right away!
You will learn the extensive details on starting and growing a nutrition coaching business, marketing, and coaching styles! Finally, the other great thing about this course is that it is self-paced with a guided study option and students have eight months to complete the program.
4. Health Coach Institute
The Health Coach Institute helps you become a certified health coach in six months. It is a great choice if you want to learn as much about business as you learn about nutrition. Many of those who graduate from the highly respected health coach institute program go on to run successful full-time businesses.
The program is great both for nutrition experts and for those who are just getting started and know only a little. Anyone from a registered dietician who wants to improve their business or a complete newbie who needs to learn everything about nutrition can benefit.
This lengthy online course is packed with enough information to turn anyone into a nutrition expert. There are 120 total lessons, and if you take your time and study them carefully, you will leave the course with real expertise. The lessons start with the basics – what nutrients are the most crucial for your health – and then gradually go into more scientific detail.
The Health Coach Institute curriculum is split into three levels. The first level is about the company’s philosophy and the basics of nutrition. The first level covers how the body needs and uses carbs/fat/protein, the psychology of why people overeat, inflammation, gut health/probiotics, why people gain weight, and detoxing/cleansing. Organic foods, nutrient deficiencies, artificial sweeteners, and many other topics are covered at the first level.
The second level is split into two units, the first is about science (heart disease, weight gain, aging, brain health, hormones, autoimmune diseases, and much more), and the second is about how to work with and help clients. Finally, there is a third level, which is all about business, including how to promote your business online.
The Health Coach Institute is led by Keri Glassman, a very famous nutrition expert who founded the nutritious life studio. The Health Coach Institute stands out for how much total information it gives to its students. The three levels are not quick and easy to complete, but you leave with a huge amount of information.
5. New Skills Academy - Introduction to Sports Nutrition Certification
If you want to obtain a certification for health and Nutrition with an emphasis on sport nutrition, this is the course for you. New Skills Academy offers this Intro to Sports Nutrition Certification in four complete modules. This is great as the first building blocks for sports nutrition, especially those working with athletes.
Those four modules are:
- Module 01: Introduction and Carbohydrates
- Module 02: Proteins
- Module 03: Fats
- Module 04: Hydration, Vitamins and Minerals
Let’s talk about a sports nutrition coach for a minute. If you want to know what they do, a sports nutrition coach is responsible for teaching athletes and fitness enthusiasts effective ways to improve their health, optimize their performance and manage their weight. This is a massively growing field as more and more people are moving into the space of conscious and healthy eating. If you’re a personal training, this angle of nutrition certification is perfect for solidifying your knowledge of what your clients needs are.
Nutrition Coach in general may advise individuals on various dietary practices. Sports nutrition coach incorporate not only dietary practices but also include exercise along with the use of vitamins, minerals and various forms of supplements.
Check out this great course at New Skill Academy and see if it’s the right fit for your goals of becoming a certified nutrition coach.
How do I get a nutrition certification online?
First of all, what exactly does it mean to get certified in a field? Earning a national certification means gaining a credential provided by a professional organization after you finish a course of study. And certification is important, because some fields require it and your certification will show clients that you have the knowledge and education needed to help them.
To become a certified nutrition coach, you’ll need to earn the certification and credentials from nationally or internationally regulated professional institutions by taking nutrition course. There are a lot course options to choose from. And, there are online courses too, which makes it easier to get certification right from your home. You’ll no longer need to rush to class at a brick and mortar building; you can study for your new career in your pjs!
You can also check out our nasm review to learn more about their great online nutrition certification!
But you’ll have to be determined and passionate about health and nutrition, and you need to be driven. If you don’t know the information necessary to your field, you’ll give a bad impression to your clients. You’re being given the power to influence someone else’s life by educating them about their food habits and lifestyle. Your goal is to help your clients have healthier lives. Your clients will count on you. So, our advice is to not take your career as a nutrition coach lightly.
Thankfully, you’ll have an easy time taking an entire nutrition program online. For full-time workers, being able to further the education in your field or study in a new field, taking an online course will allow you to take classes and study on your own time. It’s never been easy to explore new fields while still being able to pay the bills.
But first, before we get into the individual programs, we need to talk about what a certification is. What it means, why it’s important and what the steps are to getting certified.
And we’ll look at all the ways you can use your nutrition certification. There are many exciting careers paths you can take with a nutrition certification.
And, we hate to take about money, but face it, it’s important. Before you embark on a new educational path, let’s talk about who makes more money, a dietitian or a nutrition coach?
What Can You Do With a Nutrition Certification?
Once you earn your certification, your clients will be confident in knowing that you’ve got the education, skill and know-how needed to help them. You’ll have a wide variety of job opportunities to choose from. Below are some of the exciting options that will be open to you once you have that certification in your hands:
- Weight Management – If your specialization under the certification program is associated with weight management, you could be hired by weight management programs, wellness spas, gyms, and hospitals. They all hire consultants for their clients to help them focus primarily on weight loss. The weight management consultant can also provide facilities to assist those who suffer from eating disorders and work with them to help them have a healthier physical and emotional approach to life and nutrition.
- Sports Nutrition Coach – If your certification is for sports-related issues then you’ll be able to work in several types of settings. You can be a consultant to a professional or semi-professional team or visit clients at a fitness center or a gym. Sports nutrition coaches are in high demand nowadays, even at rehabilitation centers. They provide occupational therapy and physical therapy along with proper nutritional methods and techniques. Sports nutrition coaches also work as independent consultants to provide their services to amateur athletes and individual professionals, weekend warriors, and high school athletes. They help optimize their clients’ routines and performance.
- Spa Consultant – Normally, people imagine relaxation and massages as soon as they hear the word “Spa,” but there is a lot more to the spa business that you realize. There has been an increase in the demand for nutrition coach consultants in fitness centers and spas in the past few years. They are now offering their clients nutritional coaching and counseling to improve their health and well-being. If you have a nutrition coach certification from an authorized organization, you could work at a spa to provide diet and meal plan advice, develop workshops for the clients, and assist clients with food and nutrition.
- Corporate Nutritional Consultant – Corporations now recognize the fact that employees are more efficient, collaborative, and most importantly, productive if they are healthy and fit. So, they’re now hiring nutrition coach consultants to implement and emphasize wellness plans and employee health. Corporate nutrition coach consultants conduct health workshops including good health strategies, spearhead healthy food and nutrition initiatives, and develop meal plans for the companies’ cafeterias.
- Healthy Eating Instructor – Certified nutrition consultants can work independently and still make a living by collaborating with as kitchenware stores that provide nutritional classes, educational institutions, corporate houses, and farmer markets. They can also arrange house parties to teach groups how to live healthier and happier.
Check out some of the careers you can go into after getting a nutrition coach certification:
- Clinical Nutrition Coach
- Consumer Advocate
- Dietitian
- Food and Diet Blogger
- Flavorist
- Food Chemist
- Food Microbiologist
- Food Packaging Specialist
- Food Production Manager
- Food Process Engineer
- Food Safety Auditor
- Food Scientist
- Food Service Manager
- Food Technologist
- Health Care Aide
- Health Educator
- Product Manager
- Public Health Director
- Public Health Nutrition Coach
- Quality Control Specialist
- Regulatory Affairs Manager
- Registered Nurse
- Research Chef
- Research Assistant
- Retail Sales Associate
- Sales Representative
- Sensory Scientist
- University Professor
- Wellness Coordinator
- Home Economist
- International Aid Worker
- Laboratory Manager
- Medical Writer or Blogger
- Food Product Developer
Who makes more money, a dietitian or a nutrition coach?
People often get confused between dietitians and nutrition coaches, so they tend to use the terms synonymously. The main difference between the two is their legal restrictions. Only those nutrition coach who register and certify under the Commission on Dietetic Registration can call themselves dietitians or registered dietitians, professionally. A nutrition coach, unlike dietitians, are less protected under the law. But they are free from any government regulation.
Now, if you ask who earns more, we need to look into the data provided by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nutrition coach typically earn less than a dietitian because they dietitians tend to have more education and credentials than a nutrition coach.
According to Salary.com dietitians make approximately $50-$75K a year (2020).
Check out our article for more details on how much nutritionists make!
Final Thoughts on the Best Nutrition Certification Courses Online
Now you may think that if you are a certified nutrition coach, it will be a smooth ride right into a new job. It is not as easy as it sounds. If you are determined to start a career in dietetics and nutrition, then it is essential that you do a bit of research on the ways in which you can make your dream job an actual profession. You’ll need to choose the correct curriculum or course, so really take a look at the programs we’ve listed above.
You’ll also need a good understanding on what it means to be professionally certified, how you go about getting certified, and who earns more, a dietitian or a nutrition coach. We offered all of that and more, above.
If you successfully complete health and nutrition course from any of the above programs, you’ll become a certified nutrition coach. You may also be known as a clinical nutrition coach, FYI. You’ll become highly qualified in your chose career and you’ll gain the power to structure and design diet plans for your patients or clients depending on how nutrition or food impacts their body, biochemically.
Your clients may have illnesses brought about by metabolic problems, digestive problems, poor immunity, the impact of by-products on the human body, and the response of the brain to certain chemicals. You’ll be tasked with designing individual diet plans for each of your clients because everyone has different health issues; cookie cutter diet plans just won’t work.
Where you want to work will depend on your specialization. Based on your specialization, a certified nutrition coach can work in various settings. We’ve gone through many of the places you’ll be able to practice your specialization above.
If you are a holistic nutrition coach, you’ll need to understand the intersection between the science of food, the art of nutrition, and a blend of the two to solve your client’s health issue. Healthy food and nutrients in food will determine the level of fuel powering your clients’ body and any imbalance in an area will lead to a disturbance in another.
So, applying a whole-body approach is crucial to gain and maintain a healthy, balanced, and long life. That is the most important goal of any nutrition coach or dietitian. If you aren’t certified yet, we have a great article on getting certified in holistic nutrition!
Nutrition and health are serious business; there is a huge need out there for food and nutrition guidance. We wish you all the luck on your new career plan.
