Standard Process educates the educators with nutrition symposium

06-Jul-2013 - Last updated on 07-Jul-2013 at 21:56 GMT

Related tags Standard process Health care

Standard Process grows its ingredients on its own organic farmland.

Organic whole foods supplements manufacturer Standard Process has strengthened its connections to a key market with a nutrition symposium targeting chiropractic educators.

Fifty five educators and clinicians representing 15 of the 17 chiropractic schools in the US attended the recent Whole Food Nutrition Symposium at the company’s headquarters in Palmyra, WI. Attendees discussed the benefits and values of combining nutrition and chiropractic therapies, practical applications of nutrition in a clinic setting, and the research initiatives needed to clarify the role that nutritional supplements can play in supporting a healthy body.

“This is the first time we’ve done t his. We are very excited about the results we’ve had from this,” John Nab, DC, director of professional development for Standard Process told NutraIngredinets-USA.

“Chiropractors are the largest portion of the business for Standard Process; they represent about 60% of our total business,” he said.

“The (symposium) was a great opportunity to see my colleagues from the other chiropractic colleges and to learn about the ways that they are incorporating Standard Process into the classroom and clinics,” said Ralph Davis, D.C., dean of Life University’s chiropractic college.

First outreach aimed at educators

It was the first time that chiropractic clinicians and faculty members had the opportunity to visit Standard Process, the company said. In addition to the education sessions, participants had the opportununity to visit the company’s organic farm, where the ingredients that go into the supplements are grown, and its manufacturing facilities.

“We walked the chiropractic educators through the entire research cycle we do with our products,” Nab said.

Over the last five years, Standard Process, which markets its products exclusively in the practitioner channel, says it has reached out to health care schools, investing more than $10 million into long-term educational outreach efforts to involve current and future health care professionals in the study of whole food nutrition. The company has now extended its efforts to include staff, faculty and clinicians of chiropractic colleges.

“We have had programs in place to encourage current health care professionals and students to study the vital role that whole food nutrition plays in achieving and maintaining health,” Nab said. “Now we are focusing on supporting our health care educators in the classroom.”

“They are working with students. They have identified that nutrition is something they need to do a better job of with students. We want (the students) to be confident should they choose Standard Process as a brand that they would carry in their future practices,” he said.

Professional development

Symposium topics ranged beyond just nutrition, Nab said.

“We did some professional personal development for them,” he said. “We had a program on change and in being a change agent and a catalyst for change.”

Nab said the company plans to build on this first experience with educators (as opposed to active practitioners) to look at ways to expand the program in the future.

“We’re soaking in all the evaluation and comments. Our intention is to make this more of a research symposium that is directed by the educators themselves. We are looking to expand that with other disciplines, such pharmacy schools, acupuncture and oriental schools, osteopathic and naturopathic schools and even veterinary schools as well,” he said.