Is It Value It? (2026)

Final up to date: 2026 | This put up incorporates affiliate hyperlinks. If you enroll through my link and use the code FITNESSISTA, you’ll stand up to $250 off and I’ll earn a fee at no additional price to you.

Hiiii associates! I hope you had an exquisite weekend and that you just’re having fun with the morning. Right now I needed to speak about considered one of my favourite matters: IHP.

Should you’ve been following alongside right here for some time, you already know that I’ve spent years constructing out my diet and health teaching observe 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 shoppers.

However there was at all times a niche.

Working with diet shoppers on-line, I saved working into conditions the place I knew one thing deeper was occurring – a hormonal imbalance, a intestine concern, a mineral deficiency – and all I may do was refer out. Suggesting particular labs or decoding take a look at outcomes is solely not throughout the scope of observe for a diet coach or private coach. I’d added different practitioners to my group who may run these exams, however as my on-line observe grew, I needed 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 exams later), I can provide you a radical, sincere image of what to anticipate.

Considering Enrolling? Start Here.

Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Degree 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 writer of the worldwide bestseller The Rain Barrel Impact. (Should 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 subject, and over 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 personal shopper 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 needed to study 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 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 residing” to reverse sickness

Orthomolecular drugs – nutritional vitamins and minerals as drugs

Useful drugs – state-of-the-art lab testing to uncover underlying root causes

Every part is taught by Dr. Cabral himself, and I genuinely loved the way in which he presents advanced data, making it accessible and simple to implement. His real-world scientific expertise is invaluable, and it comes by in each lesson.

The Two Ranges: What’s the Distinction?

IHP Degree 1: The DESTRESS Protocol

Level 1 focuses on Dr. Cabral’s DESTRESS methodology: a root-cause life-style framework constructed round Food plan, Train, Stress administration, Toxin removing, Relaxation, Emotional steadiness, Supplementation, and Success mindset.

Every lesson runs about half-hour, and Dr. Cabral consists of recommended studying, complementary podcast episodes, and tons of client-ready handouts and assets all through. The complete Degree 1 course can take round 6 months relying in your tempo. It’s tremendous complete.

I cherished Degree 1. I discovered myself studying one thing priceless from each single lesson. Nevertheless it’s the big-picture basis and it builds your framework and vocabulary. The appliance actually is available in Degree 2.

Need the total breakdown? Learn my full IHP Level 1 review here.

IHP Degree 2: Useful Labs

That is the place issues received actually thrilling for me. Throughout every module I saved pondering: that is precisely what I need to study. That is how I need to assist my shoppers.

Level 2 is sort of solely centered on purposeful drugs labs. You discover ways to suggest particular house lab exams, analyze outcomes, and counsel 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 vital 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 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 continual sickness and neurological points present up right here. I run this take a look at with shoppers nearly 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 chance of sudden cardiac loss of life 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 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 provides perception into how your physique is responding to emphasize and whether or not you’re a sluggish or quick oxidizer.

Observe: these labs are usually not meant to diagnose, stop, deal with, or remedy any illness, however they supply extremely particular and actionable details about your particular person physique. I really love this facet of the labs; we’re on the lookout for underlying imbalances however nothing scary.

About two-thirds of the way in which by Degree 2, I noticed that if I saved attempting to grasp each module earlier than transferring on, I’d by no means end, since you may actually spend a lifetime going deep on any considered one of these exams. One of the best ways to essentially study this materials is to do it: learn actual outcomes, re-watch the related module as you undergo every marker, and maintain layering in podcasts, books, and persevering with training. That’s nonetheless how I method it.

For the total Degree 2 breakdown, learn my IHP Level 2 review here

How A lot Does the IHP Value?

Pricing can change, so I at all times suggest checking present enrollment particulars straight.

That mentioned:

Degree 1 is the lower-cost entry level, with cost plan choices out there

Each ranges collectively is the place the larger funding (and larger low cost) is available in. I feel that Degree 2 is ABSOLUTELY price it. (Value saying right here that I’m at the moment working my means by Degree 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 maintaining a watch 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 price considerably extra if pursued by particular person programs or scientific coaching applications.

What I Really Love In regards to 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 shoppers. The IHP certification – particularly Degree 2 – gave me instruments to really get to root causes, not simply supply normal life-style steerage.

Dr. Cabral is genuinely one of many good ones. Should you comply with him on Instagram or take heed to his podcast, you already know this. He’s extremely educated, however you too can simply inform that he’s a genuinely good one that actually needs to assist folks heal. That comes by in each lesson.

The assist construction is great. There’s a personal Fb group for IHP candidates and licensed practitioners, dwell Zoom Q&A calls, and – for Degree 2 graduates who full a further mentorship program – they’ll even refer shoppers to you straight. The handouts and assets are one other enormous plus; Dr. Cabral shares the precise protocols he makes use of in his personal observe, which makes it straightforward to begin implementing with shoppers immediately.

Self-paced with lifetime entry. No cohort deadlines to emphasize over. You may transfer shortly when life permits and decelerate when it doesn’t. (For this reason it’s taken me 18 years to finish Degree 3 lol.) They’re additionally continually including new modules, handouts, and content material to the platform.

You don’t want a well being background to begin. We’ve IHPs who fully modified careers due to this program, and in addition bodily therapists, nurses, medical doctors, 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 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 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 really take in the fabric, however you possibly can’t blast by it as shortly as you would possibly need 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 figuring out. You’re working throughout the scope of a well being practitioner, which remains to be significant and impactful; it’s only a totally different lane than drugs.

You’ll must buy your individual insurance coverage after Degree 2. Most grads undergo an organization like Different Steadiness. It’s pretty straightforward to arrange, nevertheless it’s an ongoing price 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 need to be sincere about why, although. I got here to this already working within the well being area, with a particular hole I wanted to fill and a real ardour for the sort of work. IHP crammed that hole. I’ve been in a position so as to add a brand new layer to my 1:1 teaching, work with relations and associates utilizing these instruments, and deepen my very own therapeutic course of with information I didn’t have earlier than. (The timing was additional 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 that was advised “nothing is fallacious” or “you’ll simply need to dwell 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 quit on you when commonplace labs look “regular.” That’s the type of practitioner I need to be, and IHP gave me actual instruments to get there.

Should you’re a well being skilled on the lookout for one other option to serve your shoppers, or should you’re somebody who needs to heal your self after which assist the folks round you, I genuinely can’t suggest this program sufficient. I’d do each ranges, particularly if purposeful labs are your aim. 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 my hyperlink helps this weblog at no additional price 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 folks alike.

Can I simply do Degree 1?

Sure. Degree 1 is its personal certification. But when purposeful lab work is your aim, 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 healthier, although.)

How lengthy does it take to complete?

Degree 1 is usually round 6 months at a cushty tempo; Degree 2 is comparable or a bit longer. There’s no time restrict, so you possibly can go at no matter tempo works in your life.

What can I really do with this certification?

You may add purposeful well being teaching to your current observe, create new 1:1 or group choices, use it to deepen your individual private well being information, and contribute to content material you create. Degree 2 graduates even have the choice to obtain shopper referrals by the IHP community.

Is there group assist when you’re going by it?

Sure! The personal Fb group is energetic and genuinely useful. And Dr. Cabral’s podcast (The Cabral Idea) is an ongoing useful resource that I nonetheless use frequently.

Check out the details here and my code is FITNESSISTA in your low cost

Have questions concerning the IHP that I didn’t cowl right here? Drop them within the feedback. I learn each single one and am joyful to assist!

xo,

Gina

I’ll be updating this put up yearly to mirror any adjustments in pricing, curriculum, or program particulars.