“We call our building Nourish House because we believe that everyone who comes through our doors finds nourishment physically, mentally and emotionally,” explains Dianne Koehler, Nutrition Therapy Institute (NTI) owner and director.

NTI’s Nourish House is located in the center of Olde Town Arvada, Colorado, a vibrant community with a diverse array of shopping and dining experiences. Nourish House provides a cozy, welcoming environment that fosters appreciation and inspiration to choose a lifestyle rooted in wellness, as Koehler puts it.

The space holds a hefty significance in the town of Arvada; Nourish House is a historic building, built in 1893 as the original Arvada City Mayor’s house. Over the past several decades, it has been home to a variety of businesses. “Now that NTI is here, it shines as the perfect building to showcase our premier education in holistic wellness,” Koehler shares.

“In 2019, I purchased the school with a desire to maintain the central guiding principal of the school — to provide high quality, reliable nutrition education that enables our students and graduates to achieve confidence and competence in whatever way they choose to work in the field of holistic wellness,” Koehler says.

While NTI is best known for its holistic nutrition certification program — the Nutrition Therapist Master Certification program (NTMC) — it is also home to a one-of-kind culinary program, the Natural Food Chef Certification program (NFC). NTI focuses on holistic and science-based nutrition based on the philosophical pillar that one’s health is an expression of the interplay between the physical and chemical, mental and emotional, as well as spiritual and environmental aspects of one’s life and being.

Many students looking to pursue their passion for helping people on their healing journeys through nutrition have found NTI to be the perfect place to learn and grow. However, part of what makes the space so special is the people it’s filled with. Nutrition therapist master-in-training and Well. contributor Anna Blue shares, “NTI’s Nourish House is a warm, welcoming space full of passionate, kind and inspiring people who have a talent for teaching their in-depth knowledge to their students.”

With its whimsical, flower lined pathway and rustic red and cream exterior, along with its bright and airy interior layout, Nourish House immediately feels like home (which sets the stage for great cooking and ample learning). The kitchen at Nourish House was designed and built with professional cooking instruction in mind. The open, light-filled space is inviting and homey, while the equipment and appointments meet the demands for expert instruction. Students cook and eat two nutrient-dense meals per class day, and in the process, build lasting friendships.

“Because students of both of our programs participate in classwork at Nourish House, they get full sensory immersion into what each other is doing on a daily basis — hearing bits of the lecture, smelling the food aromas coming from the kitchen and even eating and sampling what’s cooking that day. This provides an opportunity for ‘cross-pollination,’ where students in one program can be motivated to pursue the other,” Koehler explains.

Fret not, If you want to experience NTI’s empowering approach to holistic nutrition education but you don’t reside in or near Arvada, you can complete the NTMC online. There are plenty of opportunities to experience Nourish House as an in-person student, online student or nutrition enthusiast; NTI provides regular continuing education for students and graduates as well as a variety of learning opportunities for personal interest open to the public.

ntischool.com

Originally published in Summer + Fall 2024 issue of Well.