After years of following research and health trends in the industry, ITN Founder, Cynthia Garcia decided there was a missing link in health coaching and how coaches were getting their client’s results — or the lack thereof.

She set out on a mission to find an approach that takes into account more than just meal plans and cookie-cutter diets — to create something that focused on personalized health.

She got to thinking, “What are the most important components of the mind, body, and spirit being in balance?”

It dawned on her that to truly heal your body, you must deeply understand the science of nutrition. (And when we say nutrition, we are referring to what your mind, body, and soul are truly hungry for — not just food wise.)

Alongside the science of nutrition comes the psychology and the spirituality of nutrition. She realized that in order to find true balance, you must allow these three key players to work together harmoniously.

What happens when these elements combine? You get the Transformational Nutrition Model, personalized nutrition, and you get real results.

Now that we’ve cracked the code on the mind, body, and soul nutrition, let’s break each one down so you can clearly understand how the “Science of Nutrition” plays into Transformational Nutrition.

TRANSFORMATIONAL NUTRITION: SCIENCE

THE SCIENCE OF NUTRITION

Science, oh science!

We realize that not everyone is a science nerd; however, when it comes to understanding how the body works and how you can biohack it, it’s essential that you understand at least the basics of science.

While we do focus on breaking down the science of nutrition, the body, and how food interacts with us, we do our best to keep it simple, relatable, and easy to comprehend. (We get it, science can be a doozy!)

Let’s break it down into three scientific approaches: anatomy and physiology, how your body interacts with the food we put in it, and scientifically proven ways to nourish and feed your body!

ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY

Okay, stay with us for this one — we promise it’ll be worth it!

Understanding (at least on a fundamental level) how your body functions is part of your human responsibility.

We’re not asking you to name every process in your body or be able to draw every part of a cell (feel free too if that’s your thing!)

What we do ask of you is that you understand the main processes in your body and that your body interacts with everything it comes into contact with daily.

Using basic science to understand how your body should feel and how it shouldn’t feel is an excellent place to start.

That’s why we make science a foundational component in our Transformational Nutrition pyramid! At ITN, we know that having scientific data to support the body, your coaching tools, and how your clients get results is essential.

Next up, let’s discuss how food interacts with your body and why this is a scientifically important part of the Transformational Nutrition method.

FOOD INTERACTION

Have you ever eaten something that disagreed with your body?

You know the feeling — a little bit of a gut ache, maybe a little nausea sets in, and holy Hannah, “Move outta the way!” as you beeline it to the bathroom.

Or maybe you’ve had a less dramatic experience. Perhaps you feel a little off, and you experience brain fog and drowsiness. Either way, these side effects from a negative body-food experience are no fun!

How your body interacts with different kinds of foods, ingredients, minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients is a HUGE part of your overall health.

If you are constantly feeding your body something that it dislikes, you’re going to feel like you know what more often than not. #truth

Understanding how our body interacts with food and how big of a role food plays in our overall health and day to day energy is an essential part of not only becoming healthy but staying healthy.

This is why we’ve made it an essential part of the Transformational Nutrition Model.

If you can understand how food is interacting and either giving you energy or depleting it, you’ll be able to successfully take the actions needed to set your body and health up for the best possible conditions.

For example, removing gluten has proven (for many) to decrease or eliminate brain fog, to minimize inflammation, and improve digestive health!

Wow! That’s a lot of improvement just by removing one simple component.

Conversely, we understand that by upping your veggie intake, you’ll experience weight loss, improved immune system, mental clarity, better detoxification, more energy, and the ability to minimize some harmful diet-related diseases.

Pretty cool, huh?

Now let’s chat about using the science of nutrition to set you up for longevity and success!

PREPPING FOR HEALTH SUCCESS

Certain action items, like food prepping, have been scientifically proven to improve health! #funfact

At ITN, we take into account these easy proven steps to support your health. We look at scientifically proven action items and use them to continue to build that strong Transformational Nutrition foundation.

Just by implementing simple actions like food prepping, strategic grocery shopping, supporting your body’s natural detox process with warm lemon water, and other practices like this, have shown to create strong building blocks of health.

THE OTHER KEY FACTORS

When we talk about the science of nutrition, there are three other elements we like to take into account:

1. Genetics: Nutrition influences genetic expression. That is, specific genes can be turned on or off like a light switch depending on what you eat. These three branches of science come into play when we talk about nutrition and genes: epigenetics, nutrigenomics, and nutrigenetics.
2. Exposome: The exposome is a fancy name for the internal, environmental, and behavioral factors that influence genetic expression. The exposome is broken down into three parts: internal environment, specific external environment, and general external environment.
3. Health History: This includes information about birth, childhood, past diagnoses, medications, and hospitalizations. By taking a complete health history, you will get a full picture of the many things that could have contributed to the current state of disease.

IN CONCLUSION

Using science as a building block of Transformational Nutrition, not only shows that this model is scientifically backed, but also that it is based on proven, tested approaches and facts.

While science is a leading player in ultimate health, it’s rare to experience true health without the other vital components: spirituality and psychology. Head here to read about the Psychology of Nutrition!

For more information on the Transformational Nutrition Model, head here!

What scientific approach do you think is most fascinating when it comes to health?