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Nutrition 225 — at a Glance
| Course: | Functional Medicine Testing for GI Disturbances · 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
Standard GI work-ups screen for pathogens and structural disease — and miss the subclinical dysbiosis, inflammation and permeability that drive most of what walks into a nutrition-minded practice. Nutrition 225 provides a comprehensive framework for functional gastrointestinal assessment: the four primary testing modalities — comprehensive stool analysis, SIBO breath testing, intestinal permeability testing and microbiome profiling — and how each reveals a distinct clinical problem behind GI dysfunction, systemic inflammation and chronic disease.
Dr. Howard Benedikt guides the clinical application from patient selection and test ordering through interpretation and intervention: defining the problem (IBS, IBD, SIBO, dysbiosis and leaky gut in clinical context), reading a stool analysis for microbial markers, calprotectin and lactoferrin, parasites, yeast and digestive-function markers, the hydrogen-versus-methane patterns of the SIBO breath test, the lactulose-mannitol ratio and zonulin as permeability markers, what the Microbiome Project means for practice, and the dietary, probiotic, prebiotic and antimicrobial protocols that restore the microbiome.
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. You are here: Nutrition 225.
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.
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 225
Gain an in-depth understanding of comprehensive stool analysis — microbial markers, inflammatory indicators (calprotectin, lactoferrin), parasites, yeast and digestive-function markers.
Gain insights into small intestinal bacterial overgrowth — breath-test methodology, hydrogen versus methane patterns and the clinical management implications of each.
Understand intestinal permeability and dysbiosis — how leaky-gut testing (lactulose-mannitol, zonulin) reveals immune-activation risk and how dysbiosis profiles guide microbiome restoration.
Define the problem — IBS, IBD, SIBO, dysbiosis and leaky gut in clinical context — and select the right functional test for each presentation.
Translate the Microbiome Project and microbiome-diversity assessment into clinical nutritional practice.
Support the microbiome effectively through targeted dietary, probiotic, prebiotic and antimicrobial nutritional protocols.
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, functional GI testing and what each modality reveals.
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. Functional GI Testing pairs naturally with Nutrition 213 on gastrointestinal disease and Nutrition 221 on the gut/brain connection; 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 225 — Frequently Asked Questions
What does Nutrition 225 cover?
Nutrition 225 covers functional medicine testing for gastrointestinal disturbances in chiropractic practice: comprehensive stool analysis, SIBO breath testing, intestinal permeability testing and microbiome profiling — what each reveals, how to select the right test for IBS, IBD, SIBO, dysbiosis and leaky gut, and the dietary, probiotic, prebiotic and antimicrobial protocols that follow. Also known as functional GI testing, gut testing for chiropractors, or the stool-analysis-and-SIBO course.
What does a comprehensive stool analysis reveal that standard GI testing does not?
Standard testing screens for pathogens and obvious structural disease. A comprehensive stool analysis profiles commensal and pathogenic bacteria, detects parasites and yeast overgrowth, measures inflammatory markers such as calprotectin and lactoferrin, assesses digestive-enzyme activity and evaluates short-chain fatty acid production — the functional picture that exposes subclinical dysbiosis, inflammatory burden and digestive insufficiency behind systemic symptoms.
How does the SIBO breath test work, and what do hydrogen and methane results mean?
The test measures exhaled hydrogen and methane produced by bacterial fermentation after a lactulose or glucose challenge. An early hydrogen rise above 20 ppm within 90 minutes indicates bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine; methane of 10 ppm or more at any point indicates intestinal methanogen overgrowth, which tracks with constipation-predominant IBS. The course covers protocols, interpretation thresholds and the nutritional management each gas pattern calls for.
How is intestinal permeability tested, and why does it matter clinically?
The lactulose-mannitol ratio test — an elevated ratio signals compromised tight-junction integrity — and serum zonulin, the protein that regulates tight-junction opening. Elevated permeability lets bacterial endotoxins, food antigens and microbial fragments into circulation, driving chronic immune activation and neuroinflammation, which is why identifying and addressing it sits at the center of managing chronic inflammatory and autoimmune conditions nutritionally.
How many CE hours is it, and where does it sit in the Nutrition series?
It is 2 PACE-approved CE hours. Nutrition 225 sits in the gut, microbiome and digestion lane of the Nutrition series with Dr. Howard Benedikt, alongside Nutrition 201 (Introduction), 205 and 208 (Detoxification), 207 (Microbiota & the Musculoskeletal System), 213 and 214 (Gastrointestinal Disease) and 221 (The Gut/Brain Connection).
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 225?
The gut you cannot see is the one that is running the inflammation. Two hours here give you the four functional tests, the interpretation thresholds and the protocols to find and fix what a standard work-up misses.
CCEDseminars · PACE Provider #34015544 · Reviewed by Monte Horne, DC · Last updated September 2026 (CT)