Institute for Optimum Nutrition

Who we are

The Institute for Optimum Nutrition (ION) is a higher education institution that trains registered nutritional therapists on fully accredited professional qualification programmes.   

Founded in by 1984 by Patrick Holford with the support of twice Nobel Prize winner Dr Linus Pauling, ION has been successfully training nutritional therapists for more than 30 years and is recognised as one of the most respected training bodies of its kind in Europe.

Our mission is to: 

"educate and enthuse, instilling optimum nutrition as the foundation of health for all"

Through all our activities we promote the principles of optimum nutrition as complementary to orthodox medicine, focusing on prevention of disorders through healthy eating and reducing reliance on remedial medicine. 

Through our work and as a charity we can increase awareness and provide evidenced based information to the public on the benefits of nutrition to health and wellbeing. 

We do this in a number of ways: 

• Our qualifying training courses for Nutritional Therapists 
• Our accredited professional CPD courses
• Our engaging Food Demo Days 
• Our innovative Optimum Nutrition Clinic
• Our informative monthly newsletter and our Optimum Nutrition magazine

ION is a forward-looking institution and our dedicated, expert team are continuously looking for new ways to deliver our services. We currently work across multiple platforms, enabling us to work with and train people from around the globe, not just those based in the UK.