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Nutrition 220 — at a Glance
| Course: | Management of Autoimmune Disorders — Rheumatoid Arthritis · 2 PACE-approved CE hours |
| Faculty: | Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN · Clinical Nutrition Faculty, CCEDseminars |
| Format: | On-demand online video with assessment · downloadable handouts · instant certificate |
| Pricing: | $20/hr · automatic 10% off at 6–9 hrs, 20% off at 10+ hrs in one order · no promo codes |
| Approval: | PACE Provider #34015544 · co-sponsored by Texas Chiropractic College · acceptance varies by state |
Board-approved · PACE Provider #34015544 · CE Broker auto-reporting for states served · Instant certificate
Autoimmune disorders are rising, and rheumatoid arthritis is the one that walks into the chiropractic office as joint pain — with gut-barrier dysfunction, toxic burden and a dysregulated stress axis underneath it. Nutrition 220 examines the nutritional and environmental drivers of autoimmune disease with focused clinical application to rheumatoid arthritis, and the targeted diet and supplementation strategies that reduce disease expression.
Dr. Howard Benedikt works through the epidemiology, mechanisms and clinical presentation of autoimmune disease and rheumatoid arthritis, gut-barrier dysfunction — leaky gut, microbial dysbiosis and immune activation — as the origin of autoimmune attack, the role of toxins through xenobiotic burden, molecular mimicry and environmental triggers, vitamin D as an immune modulator with its supplementation implications and cofactors, and HPA axis dysfunction — stress, cortisol dysregulation and its immune consequences — in rheumatoid arthritis flares and therapeutic response.
Choose Your Nutrition Path — Three Lanes, One Curriculum
The Nutrition library — sixty-eight courses by Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN — organizes into three working lanes: the gut, the brain, and the conditions you already treat. Nutrition 201–210 is the foundation block, 211–220 the second, 221–230 the third, 231–240 the fourth, 241–250 the fifth, and 201–224 together form the 48-hour Clinical Nutrition Certification (CNC). Two hours each.
1 · Gut, Microbiome, Digestion and Detoxification
Where nutrient status is decided and where systemic inflammation is won or lost — from the intro principles of micronutrients and absorption to the microbiome, the liver’s biotransformation pathways, the GI disease files, the gut/brain connection, functional GI testing, and digestive enzymes.
201: Introduction to Clinical Nutrition
205: Detoxification
207: Microbiota & the Musculoskeletal System
208: Detoxification II
213: Gastrointestinal Disease & Nutrition
214: An Integrative Approach to Gastrointestinal Disease II
221: The Gut/Brain Connection
225: Functional Medicine Testing for GI Disturbances
248: Maximizing Health Through Proper Digestion and Absorption
258: Oxidative Stress Detoxification — Better Responses to Chiropractic Care
2 · Brain, Mood, Stress and the Nervous System
Nutritional neurology — the headache patient, the stress physiology your patients carry through the door, the brain-game files on how food drives cognition, the nutrition-and-mood pair, the fatigued patient, memory and dementia, nervous-system function, chronic fatigue with myofascial pain, the concussion protocol, the maladaptive stress response, and the fatigue work-up.
203: Nutritional Management of Headaches
204: Chiropractic Nutrition for Stress Management
211: The Brain Game — How Nutrition Impacts Brain Function
212: The Brain Game II — How Food Impacts Brain Function
218: Nutrition and Mood
219: Nutrition and Mood II
228: Dealing with Fatigue in Clinical Practice
233: Memory, Dementia, and Chiropractic Care
234: Optimal Nervous System Function & Nutrition
237: Chronic Fatigue and Myofascial Pain Syndrome — an Integrative Approach
240: Nutritional Management of Concussions in a Clinical Setting
242: Maladaptive Stress Response & Musculoskeletal Disease
244: Managing the Fatigued Patient
247: Optimizing Nervous System Function with Nutrition
251: Autonomic Nervous System Regulation
253: Stress Management II
254: Stress I — How Managing Stress Leads to Better Patient Outcomes
263: Stress Update — Supporting Our Patients During Uncertain Times
264: Brain Game III — How Food Impacts Brain Function
3 · Musculoskeletal, Immune, Hormonal and Clinical Conditions
Nutritional management layered onto what you already treat — arthritic and autoimmune joints, neuropathy and neuropathic pain, immune resilience and the cold-and-flu season, lipids and cholesterol, antioxidants, endocrine disruptors, the thyroid and hormone-testing files, menopause and estrogen, vitamin D, sports injuries, diet and chronic disease, women’s musculoskeletal health, the pain files, the pediatric pair, osteoporosis, and the commonly seen conditions. You are here: Nutrition 220.
202: Nutritional Management of Arthritic Disease
206: Management of Neuropathy
209: Nutrition & the Immune System
210: The Fat Story & Cholesterol
215: Antioxidants in Health and Disease
216: Antioxidants in Health and Disease II
217: Endocrine Disruptors in Health & Disease
220: Management of Autoimmune Disorders — Rheumatoid Arthritis
222: Assessing Thyroid Health in Clinical Practice I
223: Assessing Hormones in Clinical Practice I
224: Assessing Hormones in Clinical Practice II
226: Women’s Health Issues — Focus on Menopause and Estrogen
227: Vitamin D & Musculoskeletal Health
229: Nutritional Management of Sports Injuries
230: A Primer on the Role of Diet and Chronic Disease
231: Women’s Health Issues and the Musculoskeletal System
232: An Integrative Approach to the Musculoskeletal System
235: Pediatric Nutrition & Chiropractic I
236: Pediatric Nutrition & Chiropractic II
238: Chiropractic and Osteoporosis
239: Treating Commonly Seen Conditions in Chiropractic Practice
241: Strengthen Your Immune and Musculoskeletal System through Nutrition and Chiropractic
243: Joint Pain & Inflammation
245: Natural Remedies for the Pain Patient
246: Keeping Healthy During Cold and Flu Season
249: New Strategies for Pain Management in the Chiropractic Setting
250: Neuropathic Pain Management
252: Special Topics in Nutrition
255: Autoimmune Disease II
256: Sports Injury Management in a Chiropractic Office
257: Bone Health
259: Path to Wellness
260: Nutrition and Musculoskeletal Health
261: Wellness and Chiropractic
262: Women’s Health and Nutrition
265: Neuropathy — Pathophysiology and Therapeutic Approaches
266: Comprehensive Approach for Treatment of Joints, Tendons and Ligaments
267: How Nutrition and Chiropractic Go Hand in Hand
269: Nutritional Management of Neuropathy
Every course in the series is 2 PACE-approved CE hours at $40, and the automatic bundle discounts apply across the whole lane. The full 68-course catalog continues on the Nutrition category page.
What You’ll Learn in Nutrition 220
Understand the increasing prevalence of autoimmune diseases and the environmental, dietary and lifestyle factors driving the epidemic.
Explain gut-barrier dysfunction — leaky gut, microbial dysbiosis and immune activation — and the molecular mimicry that drives autoimmune attacks on joint tissue.
Identify how toxins contribute to autoimmune disease and rheumatoid arthritis through xenobiotic burden and gut permeability pathways.
Analyze the role of vitamin D in rheumatoid arthritis — its immune-modulating mechanisms, serum targets, cofactors (vitamin K2 and magnesium) and supplementation implications.
Recognize HPA axis dysfunction in rheumatoid arthritis — stress, cortisol dysregulation and the loss of the natural anti-inflammatory brake — and its effect on flares and therapeutic response.
Implement diet and nutritional strategies to manage rheumatoid arthritis and reduce inflammatory burden in affected patients.
Your Nutrition Faculty
Howard Benedikt, DC, DCBCN — instructor of this course. Board-certified chiropractic clinical nutritionist, Diplomate and President of the Chiropractic Board of Clinical Nutrition, with more than 30 years in clinical nutrition and functional medicine. He authors all 68 courses in the CCEDseminars Nutrition library and the Clinical Nutrition Certification (CNC) track at its core, and is known for translating complex nutritional biochemistry into practical, office-ready protocols — here, the gut, toxin, vitamin D and stress-axis drivers of rheumatoid arthritis.
Full bio and the complete instructor roster: CCEDseminars faculty page.
Where Nutrition CE Hours Count — State Rules Worth Knowing
Nutrition coursework is clinical subject matter — assessment, clinical reasoning and nutritional management of patient conditions — which is exactly what several state boards ask for. In Iowa, these hours serve the 36-hour clinical case-management minimum; in Rhode Island, they address the 50-of-60 clinical requirement; and in Vermont — where practice-building coursework earns nothing — patient-care education like this counts fully under the clinical-focus rule.
Online-format allowances still vary by state — some accept every hour online, others cap distance learning or require in-person blocks. Check your state’s guide in the full state directory before building your renewal plan.
Build Your Nutrition Block — or Take the Credential
Every course in the Nutrition series runs 2 hours at $40, so the automatic discounts do the bundling for you: 6–9 hours in one order earns 10% off, and 10 or more earns 20% off — any ten courses from the series is 20 hours, which clears the 20% tier at roughly $320 instead of $400, with no promo codes. Autoimmune Disorders pairs naturally with Nutrition 202 on arthritic disease and Nutrition 213 on the gut barrier; the three together reach 6 hours and the 10% tier. Pursuing the credential? The Clinical Nutrition Certification (CNC) packages Nutrition 201–224 — 48 hours — in a single $960 checkout. Browse Nutrition Courses
Nutrition 220 — Frequently Asked Questions
What does Nutrition 220 cover?
Nutrition 220 covers the nutritional management of autoimmune disorders with clinical application to rheumatoid arthritis: why autoimmune disease is rising, gut-barrier dysfunction and molecular mimicry, the role of toxins and xenobiotic burden, vitamin D as an immune modulator, HPA axis dysfunction in RA, and diet and supplementation strategies that reduce inflammatory burden. Also known as rheumatoid arthritis nutrition, autoimmune diet for RA, or leaky gut and autoimmune disease.
How is this different from Nutrition 202 on arthritic disease?
Nutrition 202 categorizes the arthritic processes — degenerative, rheumatoid, gout, psoriatic — and the nutrients that manage each. Nutrition 220 is the autoimmune deep-dive: the gut-barrier, toxin, vitamin D and HPA-axis mechanisms behind rheumatoid arthritis, and the strategies that reduce disease expression. Many clinicians take both.
How does leaky gut contribute to rheumatoid arthritis?
A compromised intestinal barrier allows incompletely digested proteins, bacterial fragments and environmental toxins into systemic circulation. These antigens trigger chronic immune activation, inflammatory cytokine production and — in genetically susceptible patients — the molecular mimicry that drives autoimmune attacks on joint tissue. Restoring gut integrity through dietary intervention is a central strategy in the course.
What is the role of vitamin D in managing rheumatoid arthritis?
Vitamin D functions as an immune modulator, regulating T-cell differentiation and suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokines including TNF-alpha and IL-6; low vitamin D status is consistently associated with higher RA disease activity. The course covers evidence-based supplementation protocols, optimal serum targets for autoimmune patients, and the cofactors — vitamin K2 and magnesium — required for effective vitamin D utilization.
How many CE hours is it, and where does it sit in the Nutrition series?
It is 2 PACE-approved CE hours. Nutrition 220 sits in the musculoskeletal, immune, hormonal and clinical-conditions lane of the Nutrition series with Dr. Howard Benedikt, alongside Nutrition 202, 206, 209, 210, 215, 216 and 217, and is a core module of the Clinical Nutrition Certification.
State Approval and Licensing Reminder
Continuing education requirements — including online-hour caps and clinical-hour minimums — vary by jurisdiction. Review the online chiropractic CE guidelines page and contact CCEDseminars with questions about your specific licensing requirements before registering.
Ready to Enroll in Nutrition 220?
The RA patient’s joints are downstream of the gut, the toxic load and the stress axis. Two hours here give you the mechanisms and the diet, vitamin D and HPA strategies to reduce disease expression alongside the care you already provide.
CCEDseminars · PACE Provider #34015544 · Reviewed by Monte Horne, DC · Last updated September 2026 (CT)