Health coach Sarah Meier ’22 sees lifestyle and food choices merge to promote lifelong positive health.

Sarah Meier, a 2022 alumna of the National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM), had a goal very early on in her career to build awareness around food and its effect on physical health and wellbeing. 

Recently, Meier joined the Susan Samueli Health Institute (SSIHI) at the University of California, Irvine as a Health Coach and Culinary Education Specialist. Meier said this experience opened the door to other possibilities within her career and solidified her passion for the culinary side of nutrition.  

Before graduating from NUNM with her Master of Science in Nutrition, she had already worked as a virtual health coach to change perceptions and behaviors around diet in her patients. 

Growing up in her home state of Wisconsin, she was an athlete and worked at a local YMCA, conducting wellness center orientations and coaching members to set goals to improve physical fitness. She also focused on healthcare and wellness during her undergraduate study, examining how nutrition played a role in exercise and sports medicine.  

“We eat for reasons beyond just fueling our bodies, such as for pleasure, celebration and comfort—food also brings people together. While these things can contribute to overall well-being, the journey starts with what and how we eat.”

It wasn’t until a family health crisis that she set her sights fully on nutrition to bridge the gap between dietary choices, illness and chronic disease. 

Meier remembered lessons she had learned from observing how her grandparents lived. While they had faced various health challenges, they had both lived joyously past 80 years old.  

Staying physically active and maintaining strong social bonds, had helped them achieve longevity in a positive way, she said. They had also been avid gardeners, growing their own food and regularly cooking meals with whole, unprocessed foods.  

“We eat for reasons beyond just fueling our bodies, such as for pleasure, celebration and comfort—food also brings people together,” Meier said. “While these things can contribute to overall well-being, the journey starts with what and how we eat.” 

Now at SSIHI, Meier could coach patients through their journey to develop more agency over their own health. She could also help them feel more motivated and confident in the kitchen during her hands-on cooking tutorials.

Meier caught up with NUNM to share her experience at SSIHI and how it reinforced her passion for nutrition, as well as a few career lessons learned along the way.  

NUNM: Why did you decide to study nutrition at NUNM? 

Meier: My nutrition classes during my undergrad studies were pretty basic. They gave me the facts and knowledge to begin to understand the power of nutrition, but I always felt a higher degree of learning would further expand my understanding. The degree gave me the actual skills needed to work with people on so many different levels, and it was flexible (NUNM’s Online Master of Science in Nutrition program) as I worked full-time. I loved the connections I had with classmates, and learned so much from my peers and professors. We were encouraged to examine our own understanding and philosophy around nutrition, as well as how unconscious bias and cultural background might come into play with new patients. This challenged my way of thinking. I will always be learning as new research emerges and I work with different patients, but that baseline grounded my work in science to help crowd out trends and misinformation that can exist across the nutrition landscape.  

NUNM: Why were you drawn to work at the Susan Samueli Institute? 

Meier: I was drawn to the whole-person health perspective of the clinic and loved the idea of different providers working together to treat patients. It made sense to have different disciplines under one roof so patients could more easily navigate the healthcare system. I also felt drawn to the institute because it offered additional classes for patients, as well as a culinary medicine elective for medical students to work in SSIHI’s beautiful nutrition education center. Initially, I was hired as a health coach, working in-clinic and teaching for the health coaching certification program, but I knew from the beginning that I wanted to work in the kitchen. It’s exciting to know I might be part of something that makes a difference in how our healthcare system operates. 

NUNM: What have been some job highlights so far? 

Meier: Working at SSIHI has lived up to my expectations. Now, I’m able to support patients through education and coaching in both individual and group medical settings, as well as help patients gain confidence in the kitchen through cooking classes. I’ve also had opportunities to assist with nutrition research conducted in partnership with Harvard and teach cohorts of new health coaches through our AIM Health Coaching Certification program. Coaching patients has been a true highlight of my job, as I love being witness to their journey to health and wellbeing. Overall, I feel fortunate to be involved in so many different areas that directly relate to SSIHI’s mission: “to discover, teach, heal and serve.” 

NUNM: Can you share any stories or lessons learned through your work? 

Meier: The roles I have are so different, but each comes with some amazing “ah-ha” moments. There’s an amazing energy when you’re coaching, and things just “click” for someone. There are also moments in the kitchen when patients feel renewed confidence in their cooking abilities. The smallest things can matter, like incorporating more frozen vegetables into your diet or finally roasting Brussels sprouts and realizing you like them! Mindfulness is a big piece of the puzzle. I try to incorporate this philosophy into each lesson before we even eat, or I start coaching. Through the whole-person perspective, I teach people to look at the bigger picture. Sometimes it isn’t until you can look beyond something like a number on a scale that you can really start working towards your goal. 

NUNM: What advice do you have for someone interested in a nutrition career? 

Meier: This degree opened my eyes to the endless possibilities that exist within this profession, beyond just a hospital setting. I’m always encouraged when I see all the various interests and work being done by classmates and others in the field. I love being able to teach cooking skills while integrating my nutritional knowledge into each class setting. Many of my colleagues focus on special populations, such as gut health issues or women’s health, so if you enjoy research or policy there are opportunities for that as well. There’s truly no one-size-fits-all (just like in nutrition!).

Written by Ashley Villarreal, Content Marketing Specialist