Functional Medicine Health Coach vs Nutrition Coach | Well Humans

Jan 7, 2026

There are benefits of having both a Functional Medicine Health Coach and a Functional Nutrition Coach in one!

When it comes to restoring your health and uncovering the root cause of chronic symptoms, understanding the difference between a functional medicine health coach and a functional nutrition coach can help you decide what kind of support you need. While both roles aim to empower clients to achieve optimal wellness, they do so through slightly different approaches. At Well Humans, I integrate both—using a blend of coaching, education, and functional lab testing—to help you get to the heart of what’s holding your body back from healing.

A functional medicine health coach is trained to help you make meaningful, sustainable changes that support your healing journey. This type of coach focuses on behavior change, mindset, and lifestyle strategies—such as stress management, sleep quality, movement, and emotional well-being—all through a functional medicine lens. The goal is to help you understand how your daily habits and environment impact your health and to guide you step-by-step toward lasting transformation.

A functional nutrition coach, on the other hand, focuses on how food and nutrient balance influence your body’s systems and overall health. By addressing gut function, inflammation, and nutritional deficiencies, a functional nutrition coach helps you understand how diet can be used strategically to support healing. At Well Humans, this often includes reviewing functional lab results to identify imbalances and creating personalized nutrition and lifestyle plans tailored to your unique needs.

So, what do you need and how it helps?

If you’re looking for a holistic approach that combines mindset, lifestyle, and nutrition with root-cause testing, the integrated model at Well Humans offers the best of both worlds. As both a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (FMCHC) and a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Professional (FDN-P), I help clients uncover hidden imbalances, rebuild resilience, and create sustainable wellness from the inside out—guiding you toward the energy, clarity, and balance you deserve.

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Fix Your Gut and Feel Your Best

carla alpert functional medicine practitioner

Hello and Welcome! My name is Carla Alpert, and I’m a Board Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach and Diagnostic Practitioner, focusing on the gut and how it affects your overall health. Think of me as a health detective and wellness coach working in partnership with you to restore your health. We work together to uncover the contributing factors to your chronic symptoms, to eat well, sleep well, move more and stress less.

I love the GI MAP test because it helps my clients and I discover gut dysfunction that may be contributing to daily digestive issues as well as other chronic symptoms like anxiety, fatigue and brain fog. I created this GI MAP Coaching Package to help you stop struggling with your health and get back to living your best life.

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What Clients Are Saying

Carla really helped me to figure out my gut pain and issues after so many years. I finally feel like I have energy and clarity around my health! She was so easy to talk to and helped me discover problem areas that were causing me so much distress, when no other doctors could help.
VICTORIA

Well Humans changed my life. I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis accompanied by chronic hives. It sprang up out of nowhere and caused bizarre “food allergies” that I’d never had before. Because of Carla’s coaching and dietary recommendations as well as GI Map testing, I can happily say that I am now symptom-free, and I have been in remission for over a year now. All of the doctors I saw told me I would have to deal with my symptoms because there was no cure, but here I am, back to living a mostly normal life. I highly recommend Carla and Well Humans for anyone looking for real answers and treatments that work.
KALYN

When working with Carla, you are in capable, compassionate, knowledgeable and caring hands. Carla truly cares about your well being and wants to help you be the healthiest that you can be. My health was truly suffering and with her guidance and suggested testing, we uncovered some issues that nobody else had uncovered, despite my going to some of the top rated medical institutions. My health and pain improved greatly due to Carla’s sleuthing…she knew where to look. Through many health challenges, I was quite emotional and Carla showed me what compassion looks like. If you want to truly improve your health, start with Well Humans.
BETH

Over years, I’ve tried various “alternative” medicine as well as conventional “western” medicine approaches. Skin ailments are hard to treat – so many aspects of a life can produce skin symptoms. I enthusiastically recommend Well Humans and Carla for a simple reason – I’ve experienced sustained, substantial improvement! I have hardly ever posted a review of anything, but writing this was an easy choice to make. I wish you all the best in your journey towards better health!
JON

I searched the U.S. to find someone who does what Carla does. Carla has used her knowledge, support and expertise to optimize my health and well-being with a blend of scientific medical tests, supplements and diet changes. I wasted a lot of time on my hunches, the internet and experiments with supplements and food and NOW i have an actual plan. Superb supportive knowledge and guidance. I highly recommend Carla. Grateful.
LISA

I never knew that I had a gluten allergy and intolerance until Carla discovered it in my blood work! I’m so grateful that she made this discovery and I have been gluten free ever since. I sleep better, don’t feel bloated and have much more energy. It was a life-changing insight.
ROB

Carla is very knowledgeable and kind. She helped me navigate a health issue with grace and the utmost care. Carla goes above and beyond with her clients and I highly recommend her. She genuinely cares!
ALLISON

I have been working with Carla for quite some time and she has helped me turn my life and health around. She is non-judgmental, and always wants the best for her clients. She is extremely knowledgeable and has a fantastic bedside manner. She has truly changed my life for the better and I will always be grateful for everything she has done.
ROB

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