Food Matters Framework: 15 Rules I Use Daily
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need.”
— Ayurvedic Proverb
My Food Matters Nutrition Coach certification
In 2023, I completed the certification course from the Food Matters Institute. It is a deep dive into nutritional healing, detoxification, gut repair, hormone balance, and the toxic burden we carry in the modern world. The self-paced, 10-module, virtual course wasn’t a surface-level overview. It got into the biochemistry, the ancestral context, and the practical ways to improve your health. And I’ve used what I learned every single day since.
What I loved is that you didn’t need to memorize molecular pathways or learn to fear every ingredient label. It taught me to zoom back from the headlines of X is good and Y is bad and, instead, to use a grounded framework that makes health simple, personal, and powerful.
Below is a very simplified version of the key takeaways I apply with my patients, my kids, and myself.
15 Food Matters Nutrition Principles
1. Minimize Toxins, Maximize Nutrients
One of the most common themes in the course was that we’re exposed to too many chemicals, and not enough nutrients to detox them. As one instructor put it: "We’re drowning in toxins and starving for micronutrients."
This module incorporated the 80/20 principle, where you focus on getting the big things right most of the time instead of stressing over perfection. Some of the main strategies include:
Choosing organic (especially for the Dirty Dozen). Organic foods reduce exposure to harmful pesticides, especially in the Dirty Dozen, which have the highest residue levels.
Filtering your water (using reverse osmosis with minerals added back). Reverse osmosis removes toxins from water, while adding minerals helps maintain essential electrolytes (this is how we do it).
Filtering the air in your home. Air purifiers reduce pollutants like dust, chemicals, and allergens, improving indoor air quality (these are what we use).
Minimizing ultra-processed foods. Reducing ultra-processed foods lowers your intake of unhealthy seed oils, sugars, and additives, supporting better health.
2. Heal the Gut First, Always
"You can’t out-supplement a broken gut." That’s something I heard multiple times. The instructors covered how nearly every chronic condition—from fatigue and brain fog to anxiety and autoimmune disease—has roots in the microbiome.
They emphasized reducing inflammatory foods (gluten, sugar, seed oils) and adding gut-healing options like bone broth, resistant starches (sweet potatoes, green bananas), and fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir).
One surprising takeaway? It only takes three days of consistent changes to start shifting your microbiome in a positive direction.
3. Eat for Your Ancestry, Not Someone Else’s Macros
This course challenged the idea that there’s one perfect human diet. Your genes matter. Mediterranean ancestry? You may tolerate olive oil and legumes well. Japanese ancestry? More fish and fermented soy. The instructors made it clear that food culture matters just as much as food content.
"It’s not about paleo or vegan. It’s about your personal evolution—and digestion."
4. Support Your Hormones Daily
This was one of the most robust sections of the course. Hormonal health is about far more than estrogen and testosterone. It’s also cortisol, insulin, leptin, and the cascade of metabolic hormones we influence every day.
Some of the more common foods that came up are ones I incorporate on a weekly basis. Sweet potatoes were highlighted for their role in blood sugar balance, estrogen detox, and microbiome support. Cruciferous veggies help in clearing excess estrogen through the liver’s phase II detox pathway. Turmeric, rosemary, and omega-3s help reduce inflammation, improving hormonal communication.
"Hormonal imbalance is a symptom of cellular overwhelm. Simplify, support, detox."
5. Respect the Cortisol Curve
One of the most eye-opening moments had to do with the stress hormone cortisol? Learning that your cortisol slope is one of the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality, even more than smoking. A flat or reversed cortisol rhythm (high at night, low in the morning) signals significant internal stress.
Here are some of the many strategies to address this: High-protein breakfasts, morning sunlight, grounding, stress management techniques, lower carb intake earlier in the day, then reintroduce carbs at dinner. This supports natural melatonin production and stabilizes cortisol overnight.
"You can be doing everything right on paper, but if your cortisol rhythm is off, you’ll feel off."
6. Optimize Detoxification—Don’t Hijack It
Juice cleanses make the headlines, but detoxing is really about daily support for your liver, lymph, kidneys, skin, and gut. Some tips: dry brushing, sauna use (preferably low-EMF infrared), liver-loving herbs like milk thistle and cilantro, and binders (think charcoal) to help toxins leave the body instead of getting reabsorbed.
They also noted that glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant, but most people are deficient. IV or liposomal forms work better than oral tablets. Tylenol depletes it. So does stress.
7. Cravings Are Clues, Not Character Flaws
When someone craves sugar, it’s not always emotional. It can be physical, linked to low serotonin, dysregulated blood sugar, nutrient deficiency, sleep deprivation, or stress.
One instructor said, "If you crave sugar, you might just need protein or sour food." Adding lemon water, sauerkraut, or a small amount of fat before meals helped reduce sweet cravings in study participants.
8. Use Spices as Medicine
I clicked into the module on spices with some hesitancy but left it more interested than ever. These weren’t fluff tips, they cited studies, traditions, and clinical applications. For example:
Basil can raise dopamine when consumed daily.
Ginger contains a compound (shogaol) that targets cancer stem cells, especially when dried.
Turmeric works on inflammatory pathways similar to ibuprofen but with fewer side effects.
Cilantro helps bind and eliminate heavy metals.
We now have a Gardyn in our house, which I cut or tear from daily to add fresh herbs and spices to our meals.
9. Fix the Microbiome, Support the Mind
“If your gut is inflamed, your brain is inflamed,” one instructor said.
We now know that 90% of serotonin is produced in the gut. A dysbiotic microbiome can directly lead to mood disorders, including anxiety and depression, thanks to the gut-brain axis connection.
Incorporate more fermented foods (kefir, kimchi, etc.), prebiotic fibers (like Jerusalem artichokes and yams), and diverse vegetables to restore balance. And: get dirty. Over-sanitizing robs the gut of microbial challenges it needs to stay resilient.
10. Rethink Dairy and Gluten (for a while)
One of the challenges was to consider removing dairy and gluten for 30 days to track how you feel. Why? Because both can be inflammatory for people with hidden sensitivities, especially those dealing with IBS, acne, fatigue, or hormone issues. If we’ve never had a break from these common triggers (while being aware of the break) then we likely don’t know how much better we can feel.
If tolerated, fermented dairy (like kefir or sheep’s milk yogurt) may be reintroduced later. As for gluten, the course discussed how modern wheat has 10x more gluten than older varieties, and often includes gliadin, a protein linked to gut permeability.
11. Detox Your Kitchen and Bathroom, Too
Nutrition isn’t just what you eat. It’s also what you absorb and what you’re exposed to. While I pride myself on having a very low-toxin house, this course pushed me to go a bit deeper. It spoke of the common toxins like mold, lead, and radon, but it also spoke about less common ones like cookware, fragrances, and cosmetics.
I reduced the plastic, double-checked ingredient labels, and even swapped out some clothes. These small swaps significantly reduce your load of endocrine disruptors, parabens, and VOCs.
"What touches your skin ends up in your bloodstream—sometimes faster than what you eat."
12. Hydration Is More Than Just Water
Hydration came up often, especially in relation to digestion, energy, and detoxification. But not all hydration is equal. The course suggested avoiding cold water with meals, and instead drinking room-temperature water between meals to aid digestion.
Furthermore, adding minerals (like a pinch of sea salt or trace minerals) makes water more bioavailable. Caffeine, stress, and alcohol were flagged as dehydration triggers. That’s not to say avoid them, but to be mindful of getting enough water into your body when you do consume them.
13. Track Your Symptoms by Time of Day
Tracking symptoms by time of day can reveal underlying causes. For example, waking up at 4 a.m. with a racing mind may indicate cortisol dysfunction, while crashing at 2 p.m. could point to adrenal fatigue or blood sugar instability. Similarly, noticing symptoms like headaches or fatigue at regular intervals may provide insights into hormonal fluctuations.
Symptoms that occur on a predictable schedule are often linked to hormonal or neurological factors. Pay attention to any patterns, as cyclical issues can help pinpoint the root cause of chronic conditions, from digestive issues to mood swings.
14. Test, Don’t Guess
The course strongly recommended microbiome testing, such as stool tests, food sensitivity panels, and organic acid tests, as essential tools to take the guesswork out of healing. These tests provide valuable, objective data that can help identify underlying imbalances or sensitivities that may be contributing to health issues. One quote I wrote down from the course that really stood out to me was:
“Don’t keep eliminating foods blindly. Find out what’s actually happening inside.”
This resonated deeply because so many people go through cycles of food elimination without truly understanding the root causes of their symptoms, which can lead to unnecessary restrictions or missed solutions.
It’s also crucial to retest over time as part of the healing process. Gut healing, for example, is rarely quick and can take months, depending on the severity of the issue. Regular testing allows you to track progress and adjust your approach as needed, ensuring that the treatment plan is working effectively.
15. Let Sickness Be a Wake-Up Call
One instructor shared, “The people most desperate to change are the ones most willing to heal.” Sometimes illness is the nudge we need to finally do the deep work on nutrition, mindset, boundaries, and stress. Setbacks don’t have to be permanent.
Feel the emotions that come with these setbacks, embrace getting better, and be willing to put in the hard work to see it through.
Why I Recommend the Food Matters Institute
This certification is practical, empowering, and well-rounded. It wasn’t dogmatic, it wove through trends and fads, and focused on quality over quantity. It pulled from a host of instructors who blended wisdom and modern research.
Whether you're a parent, practitioner, coach, or lifelong learner, I highly recommend this course. When you complete it, you are technically a nutrition coach but you can also use this as an educational tool for yourself. If you want to know more details on how to enroll, what it entails, etc. then check out my review here.
Let me know if you enroll, I’d love to hear your favorite insight.
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