Graduate Certificate in Functional Sports and Performance Nutrition

Students taking this course will expand upon their knowledge of basic nutrition science to gain a foundational understanding of the functional approach to nutrition. The course reviews the fundamental principles and perspectives of conventional, traditional, integrative, and functional medical models to identify best practices for nutrition care. In this course the fundamental concepts of functional medicine, including: genetics and disease risk, biochemical individuality, environmental factors, triggers and mediators of disease, and common clinical physical, mental, and emotional imbalances will be explored. The personalized, whole-person, integrated systems approach of functional medicine will be compared and contrasted to conventional approaches of health care. A foundational look at specialized clinical assessments, whole foods and supplementation, diagnostic functional tests and measures, and biomarkers of health and disease will be explored, along with common core therapeutic approaches used in many patients. This course is foundational for many courses that follow in this degree program and must be taken in the first quarter of the program. 

This course examines one of the most common modalities of functional medicine: dietary and herbal supplements as well as provides an overview of the entire dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, phytonutrients/phytochemicals and functional foods aspect of nutritional advice used in current health practice. In addition this course provides a practical overview of pharmacologic therapy used in chronic illnesses or non-life-threatening acute illness management including: mechanism of action (pharmacodynamics), the absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of drugs (A.D.M.E. of pharmacokinetics), potential toxic effects of medications, factors affecting the effectiveness of drugs, and interactions with drugs. The course provides an overview of the regulations that govern manufacturing, sales, and marketing of dietary supplements. Students will use reliable and peer-reviewed resources, as well as integrative care case studies to critically evaluate the proposed benefits, efficacy, and safety of supplements and pharmaceuticals in order to inform client recommendations. 

This course explores the roles and requirements of macro and micronutrients in fueling energy systems and the applications to make nutritional recommendations for physically active persons at all levels of performance (beginners, youth, and elite athletes) to meet training demands. Nutrition assessment and examination of popular performance enhancing ergogenic aids, supplements, functional sports nutrition methodologies, and the fundamentals of energy balance, exercise and body composition are discussed. 

This course expands on the concepts of NUTR 6212 to include the athlete specific variability from genetics, environment, sport-type, and training-level components and the role of functional nutrition to optimize athletic health and performance.

This course explores the growing role of diagnostics and technology in functional and personalized nutrition intervention. Students will examine and evaluate current and emerging technologies and tools for their potential efficacy in patient treatment. Students will learn more in-depth about the methods of various diagnostic assessments and technology used in functional medicine and how to interpret data from those sources to be applied in patient care planning.