Add Functional Nutrition to your Chiropractic Practice
Most people initially call Dr. Myles Brooks for his chiropractic services. However, he is passionate about multidisciplinary treatments that incorporate nutrition. “That’s what I’ve found gets you the best outcomes,” says Dr. Brooks, a Northwestern Health Sciences University alum with a Doctorate in Chiropractic and a Master of Health Science in Applied Clinical Nutrition (now called an MHS in Functional and Integrative Nutrition). “From what I’ve seen, people will get better so much faster with just micro changes in their diet,” he says. Read on to learn how nutrition has enhanced his practice, and why you should Add Functional Nutrition to your Chiropractic Practice.
How Nutrition Improves Patient Outcomes
During his first few years in practice, Dr. Brooks kept chiropractic, rehab, and nutrition services separate. As his waiting list grew, he realized he could “demand more” of his patients by offering all three modalities at once. “I never forced them to do it,” Dr. Brooks explains. “I just kind of gave them an ultimatum and said, ‘Hey, you’re very inflamed, and/or you’re overweight, and/or you’re anemic, and if we don’t address these concerns, you’re not going to get better.’”
“It’s tying it all together about how metabolism works, how cell health works, how pain works in the body, and how that’s going to help them get over whatever they come in for — low back pain, neck pain, joint pain, whatever it is,” he elaborates. “Tying it all in is where nutrition has made the biggest step forward into getting people better so much faster.”
Employing Evidence-Based Solutions
As a student, Dr. Brooks says the best part of NWHSU’s nutrition program was also the most painstaking. “The program really challenged me to do the thing that I always hated to do. [We had to] absolutely read the research, understand the methodology, understand how they test each group. Was it a double-blind, was it prospective, was it looking back at a group of people? That was the biggest eye-opener for me. How hard it actually is to figure out what’s actually evidence-based, and what’s actually placebo,” he explains.
Dr. Brooks says he has seen a lot of what he calls “magical thinking” in the profession where certain treatments are prescribed without robust supporting evidence. This can not only be detrimental to patients, he says, but it can get chiropractors into trouble when they’re audited by insurance companies.
“That’s where the master’s program opened my eyes to actually getting into a research paper, grabbing a highlighter and taking 15 minutes to go through it, and making sure this is something that you want to fight when you’re referencing information to a patient on a treatment plan,” Dr. Brooks adds.
Why Add Functional Nutrition to your Chiropractic Practice
Improved patient outcomes are a clear benefit of incorporating nutrition into a chiropractic practice. But health professionals also see financial benefits, Dr. Brooks says. His career status today is a “perfect example” of how nutrition credentials have enriched his business.
Currently recovering from knee surgery, Dr. Brooks has paused his chiropractic care but continues to offer nutrition consultations via telehealth. With his payment system, he charges customer’s credit cards as soon as the session is over.
“On a business practice level, for health professionals to bring on nutrition and actually be good at it, it’s a great way to make more money, besides getting people better,” Dr. Brooks says.
What Makes NWHSU’s Nutrition Program Stand Out
Northwestern’s Functional and Integrative Nutrition curriculum emphasizes a whole-person approach to nutrition. You’ll learn how to craft personalized nutrition recommendations while also developing strategic business and research skills.
If you’re a chiropractor or other health professional, this program is a perfect fit for you. We also designed it to develop future leaders in fields such as functional medicine, health care, wellness and higher education. With the employment of nutritionists and dietitians projected to grow 7% from 2022 to 2032, this educational investment is on track to pay off.
Complete Your Degree Even Faster: Apply Your Chiropractic School Credits to Your MHS
Wherever you earned your chiropractic degree, you likely completed coursework relevant to functional nutrition. At NWHSU, you can apply that coursework directly to your MHS in Functional and Integrative Nutrition. Chiropractors can transfer up to 1/3 of the credits required. This leaves you with fewer classes to complete and a lower cost.
Without transferring in credits, our flexible, fully online program can be completed within a year or taken at your own pace. From 2020-2023, 100% of our graduates earned their MHS in just two years or less.
Ready to add functional nutrition to your chiropractic practice? Learn more about NWHSU’s program and connect with an admissions representative today.
