Healthy living simple in theory but hard in practice

Losing weight and eating healthily isn’t a scientific mystery. We all know that it generally comes down to eating whole foods (but not too much) and staying active. Yet despite the apparent simplicity of achieving good health, skyrocketing rates of obesity, diabetes, and many other preventable chronic illnesses prove that it’s not nearly as easy as it sounds.

Many people have jobs that require sitting for long periods of time, and at the end of a long day, it’s hard to find the energy to cook a meal from scratch, much less go to the gym. That’s not to mention the fact that humans have evolved to find fats and sweets irresistibly delicious. This adaptation may have served us well in the wild where calorie-dense foods were scarce, but in today’s fast food culture, it’s deadly.

How health coaches help

That’s where the need for health coaches come in – they can help people make realistic health and wellness goals. Then they offer support and guidance to help people take manageable and sustainable steps towards achieving these goals.

Integrative Nutrition scam claims tend to overlook the fact that health coaches don’t claim to fill or replace the role of registered dietitians, doctors, or nurses. These medical professionals are the backbone of today’s healthcare system. Unfortunately, and as evidenced by bleak forecasts about the continued rise of obesity, the traditional medical paradigm doesn’t seem to be enough.

What doctors don’t do

Doctors offer medical expertise and diagnosis, but it’s not generally within their job description to hold a patient’s hand and make sure he or she is following the prescribed regimen days, weeks, and months down the road. Health coaches can work side-by-side with doctors, nurses, and dietitians to help people take their prescribed treatment plan and make it a reality.

Media’s respect for health couches

Integrative Nutrition scam accusations also ignore the fact that health coaches have already achieved a high level of respect from many reputable sources. In an interview on CNN, Dr. Oz explained how health coaches could change the current crisis with the healthcare system in America:

“If we can change the culture of wellness in America … for example, health coaches, which could be a tier of healthcare providers which don’t cost a lot to train but could actually provide that infrastructure to people to make it easy to do the right thing. If we can make that happen in America, we could cut our costs, and then everything else would fall into place.”

Conclusion

In the end, claims about an Integrative Nutrition scam and criticisms about the health coaching profession don’t seem to be founded in much reality. In fact, Integrative Nutrition scam accusations divert the focus from a much-needed, solution-oriented approach to America’s health crisis and do a disservice to the millions of sick people in need of help and support.

Bethany D'Angelo has her own private practice as a health coach. Her goal is to help people get healthy by making realistic and incremental lifestyle changes. There's no one-size-fits-all diet, so she helps her clients find the foods that make them feel their best and builds a plan to help each individual achieve his or her own personal wellness goals.