– Case Study1 –

Dietary Counseling in Florida: A Case Study on Licensing and First Amendment Rights

Do you have the right to advise what to buy at the grocery store?

The State of Florida says NO, you don’t

Photo Courtesy of Institute for Justice. https://ij.org/

Heather Kokesch Del Castillo is well-known for fighting for the freedom to give dietary counseling without a license. In California, she began a health coaching business providing food guidance. However, when she relocated to Florida, she was fined for providing nutrition counseling without a license because the state has stronger laws about who can provide dietary guidance.

Heather’s case highlighted the larger problem of occupational licensing and the right to free expression. She challenged Florida’s statute, claiming that it violated her First Amendment rights, with the help of the Institute for Justice.

While Heather’s case raised attention to the issue of occupational licensing, it is also critical to ensure that those providing health advice have the qualifications to do so safely. NAIC Legal Shield

Heather Kokesch Del Castillo built a niche in California’s crowded avenues with Constitution Nutrition, a refuge for holistic health guidance she founded in 2014. With the knowledge she gained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2015, she gracefully extended her skills through a precisely constructed 6-month digital health program and intimate face-to-face sessions.

However, as luck would have it, the winds shifted when she relocated to the sun-kissed Florida beaches. In an unexpected move, Florida issued Heather a cease-and-desist order in May 2017. A substantial fine of more than $750 was added to the gravity of this ruling.

Heather, undeterred, decided to fight this decision. However, by July 2019, the judgment was clear: governments had the authority to require licenses for people providing health services in exchange for monetary compensation.

The layers reveal that Florida’s Dietetic and Nutrition Practice Act (DNPA) is the sentinel that monitors registered dietitians and nutritional counselors. This Act classifies these experts as health guardians because unqualified practitioners could risk public health.

Despite her distinction as a qualified dietitian, Heather became entangled in the DNPA’s complicated web. Heather had yet to meet the Act’s stringent requirements, which included academic and professional milestones and a licensing exam. Her holistic health coaching degree was significant but needed to meet Florida’s high academic requirements.

Heather petitioned the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida in October 2017 to restore her voice. She claimed that the DNPA’s restrictions on her holistic venture violated her First Amendment rights by limiting her ability to disseminate dietary and nutritional knowledge.

However, by July 2019, the court’s gavel echoed a different sentiment. Heather’s guidance constituted an act, not a statement, and thus fell outside the scope of the First Amendment.

While Heather considers her next move, her story serves as a sobering reminder of the complex restrictions that govern holistic health businesses. With its unique patchwork of regulations, each state frequently requires high academic and professional credentials. Those who deviate from this route, whether they are celebrated doctors or lowly yoga instructors, may find themselves in legal tangles.

Case Study #1 emphasizes that it is illegal in the United States to provide health, wellness, healing, medical, or therapeutic counseling, advice, or treatment to anyone without a clear, statutory, or legal basis.

N.A.I.C. Legal Shield Licentiate-license Authorization Program Provides Solutions For Healing and Medical Ministry

Most states have some version of the Florida Dietetic and Nutrition Practice Act. The name will vary from state to state. However, amid this challenging terrain, organizations like the Native American Indigenous Church Inc. (N.A.I.C.) Tribal organizations Faith-Based Humanitarian Aid Mission offer hope by ensuring that Native American Christian or Christ-centered religious ministers who use holistic practices as fundamental ministry can practice legally across state lines.

What is suggested?

Join the N.A.I.C. today if you are a person of conscience, a religious practitioner adhering to or following Native American and Christian healing ministry and principles, and start your journey out from under the legal table and into the light of being able to practice your healing and or Medical Ministry without fear. NAIC Authorized Full (AFM) or L.C.H.T. Level Members can enjoy a level of Protected Person” status, enabling their ministry to be exempted from impeding secular governmental regulations on both federal and state levels under specific federal codes and as part of an International Humanitarian Aid Mission.

Please remember that N.A.I.C. membership requires prequalification and prerequisites, which may include completing NAIC Seminary, religious therapy, or Chirothesia Ministry courses.

Attention Holistic and Alternative Practitioners, Therapists, Nurses, Ministers, and Physicians: Do you want or need a Legal Basis for your practice? The NAIC Legal Shield Licentiate-License can protect you from government overreach, Medical Experimentation and your ability to offer Holistic and healing services. Click the link below for a free “N.A.I.C. Legal Shield Guide download.”