What Health Coaches In South Africa Are Doing With Their Functional Medicine Education

Functional Medicine Health Coaching is growing around the globe! The Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA) in partnership with the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), represents the gold standard in Health Coach Certification, and our international partnerships help us to better serve our students and alumni in each region.

FMCA partners with Functional Medicine South Africa (FMSA), which provides and partners with organizations to help bring cutting-edge Functional Medicine education and up-to-date training to practitioners in South Africa, through a multitude of online events. The Functional Medicine Health Coaches Association of South Africa (FMHCASA) is a professional body recognized by Functional Medicine South Africa (FMSA) that is dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of the role of Functional Medicine Health Coaching. All FMCA graduates are automatically approved to join FMHCASA with proof of graduation.

In a recent webcast, FMCA’s Co-Founder Elyse Wagner, MS, CN, LMHCA and our International Relations Coordinator, Mahnaz, explore how three health coaches in South Africa are using their Functional Medicine education. They interviewed Functional Medicine Certified Health Coaches (FMCHC) Loren Hilton, Renny Letswalo, and Nikki Temkin. 

Meet our alumni who are actively working as health coaches in South Africa:

Loren Hilton, FMCHC

Cape Town, South Africa | August 2017

Loren is a graduate from the August 2017 class. She has been in the health and wellness field for over 25 years. Loren is highly passionate about Functional Medicine and was among the first in South Africa to participate in the First Line Therapy program by the Institute for Functional Medicine. After that, she completed Applied Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice. She set up a practice where, using the principles of Functional Medicine and the First Line Therapy program, she began helping people make significant changes to their lives, enabling them to achieve substantial health enhancements. Loren also uses a wide variety of energy-based healing modalities to help others obtain quality longevity through lifestyle change.

Loren was the driver behind setting up the FMHCASA. The association launched officially in April 2020, and she heads a group of amazing coaches.

Renny Letswalo, FMCHC

South Johannesburg, South Africa | September 2018

Renny is a graduate from the September 2018 class. Her personal, career and health experiences, spearheaded by her FMCA certification, led to the establishment of the Inheritance Academy, to help others be their best, despite their circumstances. This, Renny believes, is her life purpose. 

Her life journey started with growing up in Soweto, the biggest township in South Africa where prospects for success were limited for young black women. She moved on to study in the rural homelands of the then apartheid South Africa and began her career on the outskirts of the Eastern Cape in post-apartheid South Africa.  After a successful corporate career that spanned over 25 years, in various leadership and executive roles, Renny’s health challenges forced her to find her own health solutions. Now, as the founder of Inheritance Academy, Renny encourages people to search for the resilience and resources that she knows exist within themselves to heal. Renny’s ultimate goal is to offer cost-effective healing modalities to low and middle-income South Africans and continues to design and redesign her coaching offer to help any ordinary South African achieve optimal health.

Nikki Temkin, FMCHC

Randburg, South Africa | September 2018 

Nikki is a graduate from the September 2018 class. Nikki has been through her own significant health journey, leading her to the Functional Medicine approach. NIkki is now a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach and she’s dedicated to helping people suffering from anxiety, burnout, and stress to be empowered and feel vibrant, joyful and balanced in their journey towards optimal health, sustainable lifestyle changes, well-being and personal transformation.

Are you ready to start on your path to becoming a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach, or have any questions? Schedule a call with our Admissions Team to learn more!