Is It Value It? (2026)

Final up to date: 2026 | This publish comprises 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 a beautiful weekend and that you just’re having fun with the morning. In the present day I needed to speak about one in every of my favourite matters: IHP.

Should you’ve been following alongside right here for some time, 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 variety of certifications through the years (Precision Vitamin, 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 way in which I work with shoppers.

However there was at all times a spot.

Working with diet shoppers on-line, I saved operating into conditions the place I knew one thing deeper was occurring – a hormonal imbalance, a intestine problem, a mineral deficiency – and all I may do was refer out. Suggesting particular labs or decoding check outcomes is solely not inside 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 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 schooling, and a few very difficult checks later), I can provide you an intensive, trustworthy image of what to anticipate.

All in favour of Enrolling? Start Here.

Use code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Degree 1, or $250 off each ranges.

IHP Certification Evaluate: 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 almost 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 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. Once 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 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

Japanese philosophy – utilizing the thoughts to heal the physique

Conventional naturopathy – “proper dwelling” to reverse sickness

Orthomolecular medication – nutritional vitamins and minerals as medication

Purposeful medication – state-of-the-art lab testing to uncover underlying root causes

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

The Two Ranges: What’s the Distinction?

IHP Degree 1: The DESTRESS Protocol

Level 1 focuses on Dr. Cabral’s DESTRESS technique: 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 consists of prompt studying, complementary podcast episodes, and tons of client-ready handouts and sources 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 beneficial 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 Level 1 review here.

IHP Degree 2: Purposeful Labs

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

Level 2 is nearly solely centered on practical medication labs. You discover ways to suggest particular house lab checks, 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 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, conduct points, immune dysfunction, and extra. Many individuals with persistent sickness and neurological points present up right here. I run this check 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, vitality, pores and skin, and muscle and joint ache. (Enjoyable reality: analysis reveals 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 way more to do with hormone steadiness and metabolism than most individuals notice.

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.

Notice: these labs should 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 on the lookout for underlying imbalances however nothing scary.

About two-thirds of the way in which via Degree 2, I noticed that if I saved making an attempt 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 one in every of these checks. 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 preserve layering in podcasts, books, and persevering with schooling. That’s nonetheless how I method it.

For the complete 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 stated:

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 presently working my manner via 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 protecting 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 price considerably extra if pursued via particular person programs or medical coaching packages.

What I Truly 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 may go together with shoppers. The IHP certification – particularly Degree 2 – gave me instruments to really get to root causes, not simply provide basic 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 it’s also possible to simply inform that he’s a genuinely good one who really desires to assist folks heal. That comes via in each lesson.

The help construction is superb. There’s a personal Fb group for IHP candidates and licensed practitioners, stay 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 sources are one other enormous plus; Dr. Cabral shares the precise protocols he makes use of in his personal apply, which makes it straightforward to start out 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 consistently 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 just heal your self after which go on to heal others. That’s one thing I imagine in utterly, 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 variety of info (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 soak up the fabric, however you may’t blast via it as shortly as you would possibly need 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 inside the scope of a well being practitioner, which continues to be significant and impactful; it’s only a completely different lane than medication.

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 price to issue into your planning. (I feel I pay about $160/yr)

It takes actual time. Degree 1 sometimes takes round 6 months; Degree 2 can take 6 months to a yr. 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 need to be trustworthy 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 such a work. IHP stuffed that hole. I’ve been ready 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 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 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 solution to serve your shoppers, or in the event you’re somebody who desires 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 practical 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 packages I’ve personally accomplished and imagine in. Enrolling via my hyperlink helps this weblog at no additional price 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 folks alike.

Can I simply do Degree 1?

Sure. Degree 1 is its personal certification. But when practical lab work is your aim, you’ll need each ranges. I’d begin with Degree 1 to ensure the fabric resonates, then proceed to Degree 2. (If you are going to buy each on the similar time, the pricing is healthier, although.)

How lengthy does it take to complete?

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

What can I truly do with this certification?

You may add practical 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. Degree 2 graduates even have the choice to obtain consumer referrals via the IHP community.

Is there group help when you’re going via 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 recurrently.

Check out the details here and my code is FITNESSISTA on 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 completely happy to assist!

xo,

Gina

I’ll be updating this publish yearly to mirror any modifications in pricing, curriculum, or program particulars.