Accredited Online Holistic Nutrition Training

American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) announces two new courses for 2010 starting January 18, Personal and Community Health (HLTH 101) and Introduction to Nutrition (NUT 101), in response to the growing demand for accredited health and nutrition training.

 

As interest in complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and “emphasis on disease prevention through improved dietary habits,” increases, so is the demand for health care and wellness professionals with accredited training to provide food and nutrition counseling in hospitals, residential care facilities, schools, prisons, community health programs, and home health care agencies, as reported by “Top 10 Fastest Growing Allied Health Careers” featured on HealthDegrees.com.

 

“Prevention is the future of health care,” says ACHS President Dorene Petersen. “It’s not just about curing a particular problem, but about using a series of health-related tools to identify the root cause of health challenges so that we can make valuable lifestyle changes to help promote optimum health. Health and nutrition education are key for making healthy lifestyle choices. Most people aren’t taught how to read food labels, for example. If we don’t know how to evaluate our food, we can’t make the best choices. There’s a gap in our education. These new courses will teach students how to make good choices for their own health and life, and how to help others do the same for sustainable, long-term wellness.”

 

ACHS’s new courses—Personal and Community Health and Introduction to Nutrition—are designed for personal interest and as an introduction to holistic health and wellness for healthcare professionals who want to integrate CAM.

 

Personal and Community Health (HLTH 101) introduces concepts and skills to identify and help students develop a healthy lifestyle for themselves, their family, and their community. The focus of the course is on day-to-day choices and challenges, and includes stress management, basic nutrition, physical fitness, substance abuse, reproductive health, body weight, environmental health, and death and dying.

 

Introduction to Nutrition (NUT 101) focuses on introductory nutrition concepts and tools for healthy eating. The components of food (including protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals) are examined, and curriculum includes discussion of hunger in the U.S. and abroad.

 

Both courses earn credit towards the Associate of Applied Science in Complementary Alternative Medicine (AAS), and can be applied to some certificate programs, including the Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting. 

 

American College of Healthcare Sciences is an accredited, fully online college offering degrees, diplomas, and career-training certificates in complementary alternative medicine. Founded in 1978, ACHS is committed to exceptional online education and is recognized as an industry leader in holistic health education worldwide. For more information about ACHS courses, enrollment, and community wellness events, visit www.achs.edu, call Admissions at (503) 244-0726, or stop by the College campus located at 5940 SW Hood Ave., Portland OR 97239.

Take the pledge and grow a garden for the greater good. As you start your spring planting, ask yourself, "What would it cost to plant one more row? One more container? One more vegetable, fruit, grain?"

According to the Plant a Row for the Hungry website, there are more than 84 million households with a yard or garden in the U.S., and if "every gardener plants one extra row of vegetables and and donates their surplus to local food agencies and soup kitchens, a significant impact can be made on reducing hunger."



History
PAR was founded in Anchorage, AK, in the garden column of Jeff Lowenfels, former Garden Writers Association president. Lowenfels asked his readers to Plant A Row of vegetables for Bean’s Cafe, an Anchorage soup kitchen. The program was so successful, he introduced it to GWA as a national program.

It took five years to reach the first million pounds of donated produce. The next million was reached in only two years, and in the next eight years, more than a million pounds of food was donated each year. This is a significant contribution considering that each pound of produce supplements four meals.

Since 1995, over 14 million pounds of produce providing over 50 million meals have been donated by American gardeners.

We are living in an organic world, and I am an organic girl—sing along if you know the words. However, most people would read this title and think that I have more money to spend on food than the average family does. I don't. I just shop savvy. I know how hard it is to feed a family wholesome foods in today's tough economy. We have a healthy vibrant brood of five children, and they all seem to demand meals consistently day to day. Not to mention the snacking kids can do— that hits hard on any budget but especially for those who want to live organically.

For instance, if I head to my local market place at a certain time of morning I can be sure to find marked-down produce, meats and dairy items for lower than generic prices. Usually the products marked down are the high priced organic foods most people cannot fit into a family budget as well. An example here, one day for my shopping trip I purchased 14 boxes of organic strawberry yogurt tubes. Each box had 12 tubes of strawberry flavored yogurt, which typically costs $3.69 a box. Pre-sale for those 14 boxes I would have paid $51.66. However, I paid just $14 for all $14 boxes — saving me $37.66! Yogurt tubes freeze wonderfully and make a nice afternoon snack or even a school snack which won't spoil before lunchtime. If you want to save even more on that yogurt deal, you can find coupons in healthy living style magazines which can be used on those products. So let's say I have coupons for $0.50 off per box--you can see how much more I would have saved! ($44.66 if you want me to do that math for you.)

CLICK HERE to read the full article Hunter and Gather Organic Foods on a Budget by ACHS alumni Maureen Jeanson.

Homeopathy is based on the Law of Similars, or “like cures like.” In other words, homeopathics are minute doses of medicines, which, if given in larger doses, would produce similar symptoms to what the client is already suffering from.

However, in small doses, homeopathics have been shown to cure what they also cause. When homeopathic medicines are tested on healthy humans, symptoms appear. This is known as a “ medicine induced state of disease,” and the symptoms can be related to the symptoms of many natural disease states, whether of an emotional or physiological nature, or a mixture of both.

A homeopathic practitioner, then, is trained to link the natural disease state with homeopathic medicines, and to choose a homeopathic which, in minute doses, will relieve the specific symptoms of their client and bring about a curative effect.

Did you know...homeopathics are:

• Natural and holistic medicines
• Effective in crisis situations (In 1801, Hahnemann, the Father of Homeopathy, used Belladonna to treat and prevent scarlet fever.)
• Fast-acting for trauma situations, both emotional and physical

Homeopathy Travel Tip: The homeopathic Rhus tox has been shown effective for use with air travel, especially when there is nausea.

For more information about at-home use of homeopathy, check out Homeopathic Self-care by naturopathic doctors Robert and Judyth Reichenberg-Ulman.

World Homeopathy Awareness Week, April 10-16, is sponsored by the World Homeopathy Awareness Organization to create an international network of support for homeopathy and homeopathic practitioners. For more information, click here.

Caring for pets with homeopathy is a very satisfying experience. The secret is simple: Treat your animals like people.

Stress has many harmful effects on the body. The demands of modern life have been shown to weaken our immune systems and to increase our risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. Although we may not be able to eradicate stress altogether, we can minimize negative effects by consciously maintaining a healthful lifestyle.

In addition to relaxation and exercise activities, one of the best ways to reduce stress and boost overall health is through nutrition, specifically the daily use of nutritious herbs. Adding herbs to daily meals is important, because it builds health over time. Consistently eating nutritious herbs bolsters the body’s vitality, which makes it easier to fend off health challenges.

CLICK HERE for a free ACHS download with tips for using antioxidants and herbs.


1. Sweet Basil (Ocimum basillicum)

The health benefits of eating basil include: vitamins and minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins B2, A, and C), healthy digestion, and the essential oil, which has a clove-like aroma, eases anxiety.


2. Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

The health benefits of eating fennel include: vitamins and minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, and vitamins B2, A (as beta carotene), and C), healthy digestion (including indigestion), and healthy respiration.


To learn more about holistic nutrition for personal health, or training to be a holistic nutrition consultant, CLICK HERE.

"At Australasian College of Health Sciences, a career change can be stress relieving," Elizabeth Grattan Teater writes in the Sunday, March 15, Learn On special section of the Oregonian.

"The college's new certificate in wellness consulting is already one of its most popular programs. Entrepreneur magazine calls wellness coaching one of the hottest career trends in 2009. The program costs $4,500 and can be completed in as little as four months.

"The holistic nutrition consulting and aromatherapy programs are also in demand.

"Where do graduates work? Some practice in holistic health clinics or develop programs for health care organizations like Kaiser. Some work as managers for nutrition departments in high-end grocery stores. Many are self-employed--creating natural body care products, for example."

"Sometimes when you face losing a job, you start to look at: 'What's important to me?'" says [ACHS President Dorene] Petersen. "Your life takes a turn for the better, and you start to live what you're learning."

Click here to request more information.

To learn more about wellness and nutrition consulting, aromatherapy, and holistic health programs offered by ACHS, go to www.achs.edu or call (800) 48-STUDY.

Click here to read the full-length Oregonian article.

The Australasian College of Health Sciences (ACHS) in Portland, Oregon, launches seven new career-oriented credential programs beginning January 2009. The College developed these one-of-a-kind programs to meet growing industry demand for accessible, holistic health career training. Specially designed to meet the needs of higher education’s fast-growing population—non-traditional students—ACHS now offers greater access to viable CAM-based careers and businesses.

ACHS is the only DETC accredited, fully online college offering programs and degrees in Complementary Alternative Medicine available in the United States. To date, more than 60,000 students have used their ACHS, distance-learning education to build satisfying and sustainable careers. As alternative health continues to increase in visibility and desirability, the College will continue to develop course offerings and programs that service the needs of a growing profession.

Programs include: Certificate in Herbal Retail Management, Certificate in Natural Products Manufacturing, Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting, Certificate in Iridology Consulting, Certificate in Homeopathy, Certificate in Dynamic Phytotherapy Consulting, and Certificate in Wellness Consulting.

The Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting includes:

Graduates of the Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting will be able to implement tools for increased health and well-being and a more natural, balanced way of life. Students also learn how to implement principles of nutrition, nutritional biochemistry, acid alkaline balance, fasting, food combining, transitional daily diet, wheat grass therapy, and sprouting as well as additional lifestyle modifications and holistic health protocols.

The Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting provides training in how to legally and successfully operate a nutritional consulting practice including how to create lifestyle plans to support optimal health. Graduates will be able to successfully operate a consultancy by implementing clinic management tools, including case taking, ethics, and informed consent.

Career Goals:

• Certified Holistic Nutrition Consultant
• Nutritional Consultant
• Wellness Educator
• Addition to current health care practice

CLICK HERE to request information, call ACHS at (800) 487-8839, or visit www.achs.edu.

Portland, OR—February 4, 2009—The Australasian College of Health Sciences (ACHS) is now an approved member of Green America’s Green Business Network, America’s oldest network of socially and environmentally responsible businesses. To earn approval, the College passed Green America’s stringent screening process, including examination of the College’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions, increasing sustainable energy, and sourcing the most eco-responsible botanicals and essential oils available. Green America’s Green Business Network recognizes the College’s 30-year-commitment to advancing their green approach to distance-learning education.

Green America’s Green Business Network is a network of progressive business leaders, who are working to solve today’s social and environmental problems by growing the green economy. For ACHS, the only accredited, fully online holistic health college, the work of greening has some unique challenges and decidedly more rewards.  

“The sustainability movement is no longer a niche thing at most colleges,” Peggy F. Barlett once told the New York Times. As she predicted: “There’s going to be a real cultural transformation in the coming years in this area.” At ACHS, this “cultural transformation” not only involves growing the green economy through an emphasis on eco-friendly coursework and course materials; the College is greening their approach to education in total.

In 2005, ACHS put their course lectures online, rather than printing and mailing them, which, over the past three years, has resulted in a 70% reduction in printing. This is one example of the College’s commitment to reducing their carbon emissions where and whenever possible. When in-house materials are required, the College has partnered with Xerox (their complete sustainability policy is available on the Xerox website), and for outside print jobs, like catalogs, ACHS uses only soy-based ink.

In addition, to further reduce carbon emissions, in 2009 ACHS launched their Sustainability Committee, which recently launched a tree planting initiative: the College will plant 10 trees through the American Forests organization for every participant in their 2010 study-abroad Summer School in Greece program.

The cumulative result of these decisions reduces environmental impact and waste, and equally important, supports the ethics and practices of green business. To that end, ACHS employs equally stringent standards when selecting botanicals for use in their coursework (which are also available for use by the community through the ACHS Apothecary Shoppe College Store). ACHS only sources their botanicals and essential oils through manufacturers that adhere to strict environmental standards, including the ban on child labor, forced labor, and unfair wages. College President Dorene Petersen and Vice President Erika Yigzaw visit the majority of essential oil and herb suppliers in person to verify that they are meeting environmental and labor standards, including every distiller the College has purchased from in the last two years: distillers in the U.S., Turkey, India, New Zealand, and France.

Green business is more than an idea. It is “a practical and powerful way to help create a more just and environmentally sustainable economy.” Green American’s Green Business Network provides resources for “socially and environmentally responsible businesses to emerge and thrive in communities across the U.S.,”  and as a responsible business, ACHS models, as well as educates about and promotes, healthful living.

For more information about the Australasian College’s commitment to greening the economy, go to www.achs.edu and select “About.” To see the College’s listing on the Green America website, or to read more about the Green America screening process, go to: www.coopamerica.org.

Four-week Discover Courses are for anyone wanting to explore holistic health protocols. Courses are for general interest and provide key information, which will help you to begin to integrate holistic health into your life.

Discover Herbs will teach you: how to identify what makes herbs work; describe the concept of standardization; describe how to reduce dosages for certain groups; create herbal preparations; recognize and confidently use eight common herbs (chamomile, dandelion, horehound, and lavender; and cook with herbs, edible flowers, and weeds.

Discover Courses begin April 20, 2009. For full course descriptions, go to achs.edu and click on “Aromatherapy” or “Herbal Medicine” under Departments. To speak with your Admissions Advisor, call (800) 487-8839 or email admissions@achs.edu.