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Nutrition Coaching: Getting to The Root Cause With Dr. Sheila Dean
In this episode, Health Coach Nation Podcast Host Hailey Rowe is joined by Dr. Sheila Dean, co-founder of the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy. Dr. Dean shares her transition from conventional dietetics to the functional medicine space. Offering valuable insight into how health professionals can better serve their clients through root cause nutrition. She introduces the STAIN framework— a powerful tool for evaluating chronic conditions.
By listening to this episode, you’ll learn why personalized, evidence-based care is in high demand and how advanced training can help you stand out as a coach or practitioner. Dr. Dean also discusses the Academy’s comprehensive 33-module program and its board certification opportunities for integrative and functional nutrition professionals.
In this podcast episode, you’ll learn…
- The key differences between conventional and functional nutrition
- What the STAIN framework is and how you could apply it to better support your nutrition coaching clients
- Why autoimmune disease rates are rising and what to do about it
- How to integrate personalized nutrition into your practice
- The benefits of advanced certification for health coaches and dietitians
Quotes from the episode on flow state
“I was a conventionally trained dietitian trying to help my patients. And, I I felt like the tools that I was offering them were okay. But I felt like basic calorie counts and low fat diets just weren’t cutting it. People were coming to me with pretty significant conditions. And, the cases of autoimmune diseases were just exponentially rising. I felt like I wanted and needed something more to try to get to the root cause of what was going on with these folks.” – Dr. Sheila Dean
“I think if you can solve the problem, or if you can really deliver, people will want to solve it. And, they don’t want to wait, and they don’t want to have to go through the medical system sometimes when it takes forever to even get appointments and do all the things. And as you said, regular people are not trained in all the things that you & your students are.” -Hailey Rowe
About Dr. Sheila Dean
Dr. Sheila Dean, DSc, RDN, LDN, IFNCP is a licensed and registered dietitian nutritionist and clinical nutritionist. She is also a board-certified integrative and functional medicine practitioner and an exercise physiologist with over 30 years of experience.
Dr. Dean was a Certified Diabetes Educator for 15 years. She’s earned degrees from Rutgers University, the University of Rhode Island, and UMDNJ. She completed her Doctor of Science in nutritional genomics and pharmacology at Hawthorn University and received advanced training from the Institute for Functional Medicine.
She founded and directed the Palm Harbor Center for Health & Healing in Florida for 17 years. Her work focused on root-cause nutrition and lifestyle medicine.
Dr. Dean has taught nutrition for nearly 30 years. She has held adjunct faculty positions at the University of Tampa, FIU, Nova Southeastern, MUIH, and USF Morsani College of Medicine.
She has contributed to medical textbooks, including Integrative Gastroenterology and Krause’s Food & Nutrition Care Process. Her writing has appeared in The St. Petersburg Times, Ms. Fitness, and Ironmanlive.com. She has also been featured on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, and WTSP 10 News.
She co-founded the Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy (IFNA™), a top online training program for health professionals. Dr. Dean has consulted for the Phillies, Buccaneers, and Blue Jays. She also authored Nutrition & Endurance: Where Do I Begin?
She is a member of the Baha’i Faith, a musician, and a proud mother of two.
Links & Resources for Flow State
- Dr. Sheila Dean’s LinkedIn
- Integrative and Functional Nutrition Academy
- Where to Start in Your Nutrition Coaching Business
- Free Message Mastery & Niche Training
Disclaimer
The advice given on this episode does not qualify as financial, medical, health, legal, or investing advice. Make choices at your own risk.
