Over 7 years ago, we launched India’s first Integrative and lifestyle model of helping patients across the country and globe. The model consists of medical doctors, nutritionists, clinical dieticians, emotional counsellors, lifestyle experts, yoga therapists and elite trainers. Every patient was diagnosed and had his /her program designed based on a root cause approach and the integrative team assigned for a particular patient was decided based on what symptoms and root causes needed to be addressed. Using nutrition, medicines, changes in lifestyle, improvements in emotional wellness, sometimes alternative medicine like Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Yoga in conjunction with conventional medicine, we found a more holistic way of working with the patient and phenomenal results with a focus on the person as a whole, and exactly the treatment plan he or she required.
Eventually this integrative and holistic approach towards health became our key to success and the reason why clients and patients all across the globe have and continue to experience phenomenal improvements in their health and well-being at all levels through our nutrition and dietetics courses and protocols.
The beauty and power of Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine
The biggest flaw in the field of health care currently is that all the powerful systems of medicines be it Allopathy, Naturopathy, Ayurveda, Nutrition, etc are working in isolation and are scattered. This eventually becomes a game of which medicine is better and superior. We do not need that anymore. True healthcare focuses on what lies in the best interest of medicine without comparing any system of medicine with one another.
Integrative Medicine on the other hand, brings everything together and respects all forms of medicine and lifestyle and carries a 360-degree approach. It works as a team with all forms of medicine, keeps the patient in the centre and focuses on providing what finally works for the patient, be it nutritionists, dieticians, health coaches, emotional coaches, exercise specialists, yoga, homeopathy, allopathy, Ayurveda and other alternative medicine practitioners. We need to inculcate a respect for all streams of medicine as long as it’s authentic and run them with integrity. Each system has its own power, beauty, limitations and wins.
Along with this, Integrative medicine also focuses on lifestyle in a huge way. Today, while people need medicine during certain times, they also need to make parallel lifestyle changes, which is what true wellness talks about. The future of wellness, that we as a team foresee today is something where people know that there is a lot more beyond medication. There is nutrition, your environment, mental health, quality of sleep, exercise. So, Integrative and Lifestyle medicine is definitely going to expand over the next couple of years.
My team and I have realised this over the course of years that nutrition alone doesn’t work. It has to be a focus on every aspect of life and health. Nutrition courses also have to go through a change and revision in order to educate and teach students at the time of their basic learning in the field of nutrition and medicine, how lifestyle and an integrative approach along with a focus on addressing the root cause and seeing the patient as a whole. Imagine what possibilities open up for a client or patient when it works together, with the interest of the patients healing and recovery being the only goal.
Me and my core team decided to work with various recognised Education bodies to put together an educational 3 – year accredited course on Nutrition and Holistic Lifestyle to empower students with the skill set they require to make an impact in the health and wellness of people across the world. This is a recognised courses shall be recognised by the Industry and the qualification shall be awarded by credible Institutions.. , so students who are passionate about health and want to pursue this course can eventually look for jobs and employment in the field of health, wellness and nutrition.
Mentored by Luke, the core team involved in building up nutrition and dietetics courses and content are leading professionals from the field of nutrition, dietetics and medicine and they bring in years of experience and expertise to put this course together. The content of the course is mostly experiential learnings where experts have put together content that is effective and practical. We have professors and qualified experts in the field of health who have curated the curriculum and have the medical expert overlooking the content.
While our experts in nutrition and lifestyle have put together the content, we also have Dr. Akshat, who heads the medical content in relation to lifestyle and lifestyle diseases.
Vision
With a vision to educate , empower and also create sustainable livelihood for people, we believe this course will take health and integrative nutrition and lifestyle to the next level and it is while I also have a personal vision to build and leave a legacy of holistic wellness and nutrition for the generations to come as well as help people put their passion together with skill and earn from it, our team has worked closely with leading experts across the country to put this course together. We have always had the vision of turning wellness into an integrated model because the best of all forms of healing (conventional as well as alternative) is what the world needs now. Based on the years of experience we hold in this field; we realise this is the need of the hour if we need to change the way people look at and approach healthcare in future. Integrative Lifestyle Medicine is the way forward for preventative as well as curative health and this course is going to be a revolution and a major breakthrough in the healthcare industry
This is perhaps for the first time in our country, individuals who are looking at launching career in health, wellness, nutrition and lifestyle coaching, will now be able to educate and skill themselves up on nutrition and lifestyle – the integrated way.
Focus on Preventative healthcare
Preventive healthcare and medicine are the future and will require an integrative approach at the highest level. Medicine and nutrition alone cannot fix ill health, but using lifestyle along with all the systems of medicine and nutrition science is the future should we want to see a root cause approach and a possible end or reduction in chronic sickness. True healthcare talks about prevention as well as healing, it talks about nutrition, movement, the importance of sleep and emotional health, it addresses the core of every health issue instead of just addressing the symptoms and finally it treats the human body as a “whole” and never a disease in isolation.
Looking at the statistics of disease and sickness today, more and more people are now open to the idea of investing in their health to prevent the onset of disease, suffering and expenses that follow and hence preventative healthcare is booming. The future of healthcare is preventative medicine.
Courses & its Scope
Spanning across 3 years, the course is very elaborate and intensive and will enable the aspiring students to look at health, wellness, nutrition is a way. Designed on the foundations of Integrative Lifestyle Medicine, the USP of these courses is that it provides exactly what students need to know in order to have a truly successful career in this field. The course covers a wide range of topics – nutrition, exercises, fitness and sports nutrition, clinical nutrition, diet therapy, healthy cooking, nutrigenetics, lifestyle, food psychology, bach flower therapy, yoga therapy, food and drug interaction, alternative therapies, microgreen growing, sourdough baking and a lot more, including research practicals and projects.
The UG course and PG course courses offer a lot more than what a typical nutrition course does and thus the career scope after this course is also quite broad. Through this course, aspiring students can explore various career opportunities, from being a nutritionist, clinical dietitian, clinical nutrition researchers, nutritional therapists, sports nutritionists and a lot more.
It also has a scope in the field of preventative health care, because with the amount of sickness and disease all around today, focus needs to be brought on taking care of health proactively to avoid falling sick, especially in relation to lifestyle diseases because it can be prevented. No amount of investing in material possessions helps once our health starts deteriorating. Hence this course is a promising one and will enable the students to finally open up a new stream and market in preventative healthcare.
Being a course that looks at covering aspects more than just nutrition like understanding behaviour and mindsets, it helps teach additional skills that can further open opportunities to become a lifestyle coach in the field of health, nutrition and lifestyle, which is an immense value add in today’s times. People are in need of an expert who doesn’t just guide them on diet plans, but coaches and empowers them on lifestyle, the way one must eat, sleep, think and move and work with them to co-create the dream life they desire. Almost everyone can benefit from working with a lifestyle coach at some point in time.
In short, by the end of this course, the student will be ready to partner with clients or patients on developing a plan of integrative health care that fits their needs and preference as well as work in an environment like that.
On the placement and recruitment front, there is a possibility that the top performers may even be absorbed by the Luke Coutinho team subject to clearing interviews, training and other rounds.