Is It Value It? (2026)

Final up to date: 2026 | This publish 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 additional price to you.

Hiiii associates! I hope you had a beautiful weekend and that you simply’re having fun with the morning. At this time I needed to talk about one among my favourite matters: IHP.

Should you’ve been following alongside right here for some time, that I’ve spent years constructing out my vitamin and health teaching follow and that I’m somebody who genuinely loves studying. I’ve collected loads 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 every one has added one thing significant to the best way I work with shoppers.

However there was all the time a spot.

Working with vitamin shoppers on-line, I saved operating 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 decoding check outcomes is just not inside the scope of follow for a vitamin coach or private coach. I’d added different practitioners to my workforce who might run these checks, however as my on-line follow 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 may give you a radical, sincere image of what to anticipate.

Involved in 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 one million personal consumer 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. After we wrapped up the podcast, I knew I needed 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 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 residing” to reverse sickness

Orthomolecular medication – nutritional vitamins and minerals as medication

Practical 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 best way he presents complicated info, making it accessible and straightforward to implement. His real-world medical 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 way of life framework constructed round Eating regimen, Train, Stress administration, Toxin removing, Relaxation, Emotional steadiness, Supplementation, and Success mindset.

Every lesson runs about half-hour, and Dr. Cabral consists of 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 worthwhile from each single lesson. However it’s the big-picture basis and it builds your framework and vocabulary. The applying actually is available in Degree 2.

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

IHP Degree 2: Practical Labs

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

Level 2 is nearly completely centered on purposeful medication labs. You discover ways to suggest particular dwelling lab checks, 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 important to excessive. These are sensitivities (not allergy symptoms) and may 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 continual sickness and neurological points present up right here. I run this check 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, power, pores and skin, and muscle and joint ache. (Enjoyable truth: analysis exhibits that when Omega-3 ranges within the blood attain 9% or extra, the danger of sudden cardiac dying 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 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 offers perception into how your physique is responding to emphasize and whether or not you’re a gradual or quick oxidizer.

Word: these labs aren’t meant 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 facet of the labs; we’re searching for underlying imbalances however nothing scary.

About two-thirds of the best way 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 might truthfully spend a lifetime going deep on any one among these checks. The easiest way to actually 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 schooling. 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 all the time 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 greater low cost) is available in. I feel that Degree 2 is ABSOLUTELY value it. (Value saying right here that I’m at present working my method 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 value holding 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 medical coaching packages.

What I Truly Love Concerning the IHP Program

It fills an actual hole in conventional well being teaching. As a vitamin coach and private coach, there’s a tough ceiling on how deep you possibly can go together with shoppers. The IHP certification – particularly Degree 2 – gave me instruments to truly get to root causes, not simply supply normal way of life steerage.

Dr. Cabral is genuinely one of many good ones. Should you comply with him on Instagram or hearken 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 that actually needs to assist individuals heal. That comes by in each lesson.

The help construction is superb. There’s a non-public Fb group for IHP candidates and authorized 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 assets are one other big plus; Dr. Cabral shares the precise protocols he makes use of in his personal follow, which makes it straightforward to start out implementing with shoppers straight away.

Self-paced with lifetime entry. No cohort deadlines to emphasize over. You may transfer shortly when life permits and decelerate when it doesn’t. (This is the reason it’s taken me 18 years to finish Degree 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. We now have 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 simply heal your self after which go on to heal others. That’s one thing I imagine 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 loads 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 truly take in the fabric, however you possibly can’t blast by 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 remains to be significant and impactful; it’s only a completely different lane than medication.

You’ll have to buy your individual insurance coverage after Degree 2. Most grads undergo an organization like Various Stability. It’s pretty straightforward to arrange, however 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 truthfully, 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 house, with a selected hole I wanted to fill and a real ardour for the sort of 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 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 surprising well being problems with my very own made the purposeful lab materials really feel extremely related.)

I’ve additionally been the one who was instructed “nothing is improper” 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 surrender on you when commonplace labs look “regular.” That’s the form of practitioner I need to be, and IHP gave me actual instruments to get there.

Should you’re a well being skilled searching for one other option to serve your shoppers, or for those who’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 aim. That’s the place the true magic occurs.

Try the IHP program and use code FITNESSISTA for as much as $250 off

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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 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 buy each on the similar time, the pricing is best, although.)

How lengthy does it take to complete?

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

What can I truly do with this certification?

You may add purposeful well being teaching to your current follow, 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 consumer referrals by the IHP community.

Is there group help whilst 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 often.

Check out the details here and my code is FITNESSISTA to 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 pleased to assist!

xo,

Gina

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