Overview
The Centers for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine offer a variety of services to help you manage your nutritional challenges. Our chef, dietitians and lifestyle practitioners specialize in:
- Weight loss/management.
- Chronic disease prevention.
- Special diets including vegan, low carbohydrate and FODMAP.
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
- Healthy cooking.
Our Services
Whether you’re trying to lose weight, manage a chronic disease or are interested in bettering your health, we offer multiple nutrition services that work in tandem with recommendations from your primary care provider and other health specialists. Many of these options are covered by insurance:
- Private Nutrition Consults: A dietitian works with you to design a custom health plan based on a comprehensive evaluation of your current dietary habits and health needs.
- Nutrigenomics: A personalized nutrition and fitness report based on your genes. The Nutrigenomix test is a 45-gene test that assesses how your genes impact your diet, and includes a full analysis of your diet from our nutrition experts.
- Culinary Medicine: Combines evidence-based science of food, nutrition, and medicine with the joy and art of cooking developed by our team of physicians, dietitians, and chefs. Take a closer look at your nutritional needs and gain the skills to prep and cook healthy meals. We offer both private and group sessions.
- Eating Well for Optimal Health: An integrative medical weight management program to help you stop yo-yo dieting and stress eating. Create a better relationship with food to improve your sleep and have more energy. This shared medical appointment is a series of six weekly, 3-hour, group medical appointments. In these appointments, you will learn medical strategies for weight loss along with mind-body practices such as mindfulness, relaxation and coping skills.
How do I get started?
Let us help you on your path to wellness. Start with a medical consult with one of our Lifestyle Medicine physicians. Our team works with you to create a personalized self-care plan that you can implement and sustain. Addressing your lifestyle habits will be the primary way of treatment and managing your chronic disease(s).
Nutrition Consult
An initial consultation includes a comprehensive evaluation to understand your daily lifestyle, work/family environment, diet preferences and stress. Our dietitians will design a custom health plan that addresses all of your needs, including:
- Weight loss
- Diets, including:
- Elimination
- Low-carb
- Low-fat
- Vegan
- Mediterranean
- Gluten-free and/or dairy-free
- Heart health
- Nutrigenomics testing
- Food intolerances
- Intermittent fasting
- Intuitive eating
Our dietitians practice lifestyle and integrative nutrition. We offer consultations for adults over the age of 18.
We know that no one is perfect, and understand the challenges people face every day in relation to their food. Let us help you get started on your journey to better overall health and wellness.
Nutrigenomics
A personalized nutrition and fitness report based on your genes
The Nutrigenomix test is a 70-gene test that assesses how your genes impact your diet and includes a full analysis of your diet from our nutrition experts.
The test is broken down into the following categories:
- Nutrient metabolism: How well do you absorb B12? Are you at risk of having too much iron?
- Cardiometabolic health: How do you metabolize caffeine? Are you salt-sensitive?
- Weight management and body composition: Would you do better on a high protein diet? Do you burn fewer calories than the average person?
- Eating habits: Are you more likely to have a sweet tooth? Are you more likely to eat in between meals?
- Food intolerances: Are you sensitive to dairy and/or gluten?
- Fitness and physical activity: Do you have a higher pain tolerance? Will you excel more in activities that are strength or endurance-driven?
The Science Behind Nutrigenomics
Nutrigenomics is the study of how our diets impact our genes and vice versa. It’s perhaps the only approach in the world of nutrition that incorporates a personal perspective into your own DNA and the impact your food choices have on your diet. For example, did you know that your risk of high blood pressure and heart attack are greater if you possess a certain gene variant that makes it difficult for you to metabolize caffeine? Or, did you know that your success in weight loss may depend on how your structure your macronutrient (protein, fat and carbohydrate) consumption?
The human genome consists of about 25,000 genes and all of these genes may exist in different forms. These variations in our genes are the reason why we don’t all look alike, why some of us have blue eyes and red hair and some of us have brown eyes and blond hair, in spite of the fact that we are 99.9% genetically identical. Genetic variation also determines how we metabolize and utilize the foods, nutrients and supplements we ingest.
Different versions of a gene can make us respond differently to certain components in food such as the lactose in milk, the gluten in bread, the caffeine in coffee, along with carbohydrates, fats, proteins vitamins and minerals found in various foods. But our genes are not the only side of the genetic story. The foods we choose to eat have a big impact as well, and can essentially turn genes “on” and “off.” This area of genetics is called epigenetics, and it determines how likely our genes will be expressed. The Pima Indians of Mexico and Arizona are a great example of the science of epigenetics. While both groups share the same genetics, one that makes them more likely of developing type 2 diabetes; only 7% of the Mexican Pima Indian population has diabetes while over 50% of the population in Arizona has it. The differences lay in the variations in diet and physical activity. The Mexican population is more active and adheres to a more nutrient-dense, whole plant foods diet and therefore, their genetic fate is not expressed as it is in their Arizona counterpart. Cleveland Clinic Wellness dietitians will walk you through how you can do the same thing with your genes and will work with you on creating the best diet for your genetic profile.
We believe that Nutrigenomix testing enables us to use nutrition to its fullest potential to prevent, manage or improve various health issues. Not only will the testing and Dietitian session help you to create the best diet possible, but it will also highlight factors that may increase your risk for certain diseases. Diet is not a one size fits all approach – isn’t it time you ate the right diet for your genes?
Step one: order the kit from Nutrigenomix
Order your test kit directly from Nutrigenomix. The cost is $249, payable directly to Nutrigenomix.
The kit will come directly to your home and will include instructions on how to submit the sample and mail it back. It will include a self-addressed envelope to send your kit back. Once you send your results back in, it will take anywhere from 3-6 weeks for your Cleveland Clinic Coordinator to obtain your results.
Step two: schedule a consult
Once your results are in, a scheduling coordinator will call you to set up a private appointment with Cleveland Clinic Wellness registered dietitian. The appointment will be 45-minutes in length and your test will be emailed to you at that time so you and the dietitian can go through the results together. The dietitian will call you on the day of the appointment. The cost of the consultation is $100 and is not covered by insurance.
You will have the option to choose to schedule a nutrition consultation with your dietitian in order to continue working to improve and personalize your nutrition plan and follow up with any additional questions. This may be covered by your insurance, please contact your insurance company to verify coverage for medical nutrition therapy if interested.
Our Team
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Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RDN |
Alexis Supan, MPH, RD |
Appointments & Locations
If you would like to schedule an appointment with one of our nutritionists or would like more information about Nutrigenomics, please call 216.448.4325 ext. 4.
Locations
Private nutrition consultations are held at many of our locations throughout Northeast Ohio, including:
Virtual Visits
Select patients can now see our providers for Culinary Consults and Nutrition Consults online using their smartphone or computer. To schedule your virtual visit, call 216.448.4325 ext. 4.
