What I Do
What is Integrative Nutrition? Integrative nutrition takes a whole-person, root-cause approach to health. Instead of focusing on a single symptom or condition in isolation, it looks at how your body’s systems connect and influence each other, and builds a plan around you, not just your diagnosis.
How it differs from conventional nutrition counseling:
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Root causes, not just symptom management - Conventional nutrition counseling often centers on managing a specific condition (like diabetes or heart disease) by adjusting your diet to meet clinical targets. Integrative nutrition asks why that condition showed up in the first place. Hormonal imbalances, gut dysfunction, chronic inflammation, nutrient gaps, stress: these are the kinds of root-level drivers that integrative work is designed to uncover and address.
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Your whole life, not just your plate - Conventional counseling tends to focus on what you eat and whether you’re meeting nutritional targets. Integrative nutrition looks at the full picture: sleep, stress, movement, relationships, environment, and how all of these interact with your nutrition to shape how you feel day to day.
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Functional testing for deeper insight - Integrative practitioners often use functional lab testing (such as hormone panels, gut microbiome analysis, and detailed metabolic markers) to tailor your protocol to your actual biochemistry. Conventional approaches tend to rely on standard clinical markers like blood sugar, cholesterol, or BMI, which are valuable but don’t always tell the full story.
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Complementary strategies alongside dietary guidance - Integrative nutrition frequently incorporates tools like targeted supplementation, herbal support, and lifestyle interventions alongside food-based recommendations. Conventional counseling typically stays closer to diet and standard clinical guidelines.
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Collaborative care - Integrative health honors the complexity of your body. Sustainable change happens when all aspects of your care are addressed together, not in silos. That means working alongside your primary care physician, specialists, and any other practitioners involved in your health, so everyone is aligned and nothing gets lost between providers.
Your health is too important for isolated care.
What is a CNS®?: The Certified Nutrition Specialist® (CNS®) is an advanced clinical credential in personalized nutrition and medical nutrition therapy (MNT), issued by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists (BCNS), a division of the American Nutrition Association (ANA).
What it takes to earn the CNS®: The CNS® is not an entry-level certification. It requires:
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A master’s or doctoral degree in nutrition or a related field from a regionally accredited university
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A minimum of 36 semester credit hours in graduate nutrition science, biochemistry, physiology, clinical/life sciences, and behavioral science
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1,000-1,5000 hours of supervised clinical practice under a BCNS-approved supervisor, covering nutrition assessment, intervention, and monitoring
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Passing a 200-question certification board exam covering the full scope of applied nutritional science
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Ongoing continuing education (75 credits every 5 years) and adherence to a professional code of ethics
CNS® vs. RDN: What’s the difference?: Both are legitimate, qualified nutrition credentials. They come from different professional pathways and tend to emphasize different approaches.
Credentialing body:
Education:
Clinical training:
Exam:
Typical focus:
MNT practice rights:
Recertification:
CNS®:
Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists (BCNS), under the American Nutrition Association (ANA)
Master’s or doctoral degree in nutrition or related field (has always been the minimum)
1,000 hours of supervised clinical practice in personalized nutrition under a BCNS-approved supervisor
200-question certification exam covering the full scope of applied & personalized nutritional science, MNT, and public health
Root-cause, functional, and personalized nutrition; often in private practice or integrative settings
Varies by state (see below)
75 continuing education credits every 5 years
RDN:
Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), under the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Master’s degree in dietetics or related field (required for all new RDNs as of 2024; previously a bachelor’s was sufficient)
~1,200 hours through an ACEND-accredited dietetic internship
CDR registration exam covering clinical nutrition, food service, community nutrition, and public health
Clinical, institutional, and public health nutrition; hospitals, community programs, private practice
Recognized in all 50 states
75 continuing professional education credits every 5 years
Where I Can Legally Practice: Whether a CNS® can practice Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) depends on individual state laws. There is no single national standard.
States that formally recognize the CNS® (24 jurisdictions):
In these states, the CNS® credential qualifies me to apply for a state nutritionist license, which authorizes MNT practice. Holding the CNS® alone is not automatic licensure; each state has its own application and approval process.
Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington.
States where CNSs can practice without formal recognition (27 states):
These states permit some level of nutrition counseling but do not formally recognize the CNS® through their own licensing system. In many, nutrition practice is unregulated or governed by title-protection laws. Scope, exemptions, and restrictions on MNT vary by state.
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
States where CNSs cannot practice (2 states):
Alabama and South Dakota.
Telehealth: Your location at the time of our session determines which state’s laws apply. If you’re in a state where I’m permitted to practice, we’re good to go. If not, I can offer general nutrition education and wellness coaching, but not MNT. Not sure? Just ask!