Supplements 201: A Smarter Approach for Health Coaches

On Wednesday, September 16th, FMCA hosted a special Ask the Expert webinar featuring Dr. Deanna Minich, PhD, nutrition scientist, educator, and internationally recognized expert in nutrition and lifestyle medicine. Hosted by Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum, this conversation offers a practical, systems-based framework for understanding where supplements fit within a food-first approach to health and how health coaches can discuss them responsibly.

In this conversation, Dr. Minich breaks down major supplement categories, from foundational and targeted nutrients to botanicals and specialty compounds, while exploring what influences quality, safety, and effectiveness. You’ll learn why factors such as form, dose, delivery system, purity, packaging, and manufacturing standards matter, along with important considerations such as drug–nutrient interactions, cumulative dosing, health conditions, and life stage needs. Most importantly, you’ll gain practical guidance for navigating supplement conversations within the health coach scope of practice, including when to support a practitioner’s recommendations and when to refer out.

In this webinar replay, you will learn:

How supplements fit within a systems-based, food-first approach to health
The key differences among foundational nutrients, targeted nutrients, botanicals, and specialty compounds
What influences supplement quality, safety, and effectiveness
Key safety considerations, including interactions, health conditions, life stages, and cumulative dosing
How to navigate supplement conversations confidently within the health coach scope of practice
When to support practitioner recommendations and when to refer out

Watch the Replay

Supplements 201: A Smarter Approach for Health Coaches, With Dr. Deanna Minich:

Meet the Guest

Dr. Deanna Minich

deannaminich.com

Dr. Deanna Minich is a pioneering nutrition scientist and thought leader with over 25 years of experience bridging science, spirituality, and art to redefine holistic health. Internationally recognized for her work on color-coded nutrition (“eating the rainbow”), detoxification, and hormone health, Dr. Minich brings a multidimensional lens to wellness that is both grounded in research and infused with a soulful approach.

For over a decade, she worked closely with the “Father of Functional Medicine,” Dr. Jeffrey Bland on R&D and functional medicine education with the Institute for Functional Medicine and assisting with the start-up of the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute (PLMI) and now on the Board for PLMI. In 2025, she was awarded the Linus & Ava Helen Pauling Award by the Institute for Functional Medicine — one of the highest honors in the field — for her groundbreaking contributions to science-backed integrative health.

As the Chief Science Officer at Symphony Natural Health, Dr. Minich leads the Science-Medical Team’s innovation in endocrine, metabolic, and circadian health, developing evidence-based approaches that empower people to reclaim vitality through rhythm, root-cause healing, and renewal. A passionate educator and communicator, she develops transformative curricula and continuing education for health professionals, while also creating accessible, inspiring resources for the general public. Her work meets people where they are — whether they’re practitioners seeking clinical precision, or individuals seeking deeper connection to their body’s wisdom.

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