FMCA Events

LIVE WEBINAR // Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 1:00 PM ET / 12:00 PM CT

Supplements 201: A Smarter Approach for Health Coaches

With thousands of supplements on the market and endless advice about what to take, how much, and why, how can health coaches help clients navigate the conversation with confidence?

Join FMCA for an Ask the Expert webinar featuring Deanna Minich, Ph.D., MS, CNS, FMCP. Deanna is a nutrition scientist, educator, and internationally recognized expert in nutrition and lifestyle medicine.

Hosted by Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum, this conversation will offer 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.

Dr. Minich will break 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.

What You’ll 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