learn the basics
Foundations of Five Element Nutrition
A Self-Paced Introduction to Food as Medicine. Start anytime from anywhere.
If you're curious about how food can support healing, vitality, and balance—this course is a beautiful place to begin.
Rooted in the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine, this on-demand foundational course helps you reconnect to the ancient wisdom of seasonal eating, food energetics, and holistic nourishment. You’ll gain practical tools for working with food in a way that’s intuitive, nature-based, and aligned with the rhythms of life.
Whether you’re a wellness seeker, a home cook, or a practitioner just beginning to explore the energetics of nutrition, this course is designed to meet you right where you are.
✨ What You’ll Learn
Here’s what’s included:
Lesson 1
Foundational principles of Five Element nutrition theory
Lesson 2
Traditions of food and healing from around the world
Lesson 3
Chinese nutrition theory and the energetics of food
Lesson 4
Food groups and functional properties
This isn’t a cooking course. It’s a way of seeing food as medicine—across all cultures, preferences, and walks of life.
Lesson 5
Balance through the seasons
What's Included
5 Core Modules with over 15 hours of video classes
Taught by Ellen Goldsmith & Mindi K. Counts
Downloadable Slides + Teaching Materials
1 Year Access to all content in the learning portal
Option to Upgrade to the full 3-month Immersion with discounted tuition
Eligible for CPDs (Australia/New Zealand acupuncture professionals)
$199
*This course is hosted by the Qi Food Therapy Institute located in Australia. While they do not have payment tiers like all of our Medicine People courses, they do offer generous partial scholarships and also payment plans. Once you click to join the program, you can learn about the payment options on their website.
Five Element Nutrition
🧡 Meet Your Guides
🧡 Mindi K. Counts
Mindi K. Counts, MA, LAc., is a wilderness and rites of passage guide, Five-Element acupuncturist, Somatic practitioner, and East-West folk herbalist. Founder of the Inner Ocean Center for Healing, Mindi is a keynote speaker, retreat leader and teacher. She is the author of Everyday Chinese Medicine, Tending Your Roots, and a contributing author to The Trauma Toolkit and Singing Our Heart’s Song.
She is the founder of the international nonprofits Medicine People & the Inner Ocean Empowerment Project, providing holistic healthcare and education to women and children through volunteer service missions to underserved populations around the world and in the U.S. She was featured in Dr. Oz’s The Good Life magazine for her work in Indian slum communities, Burmese refugee birth clinics and earthquake-ravaged areas of Nepal.
Mindi is a graduate of Naropa University’s Contemplative Psychology program and holds a Masters degree in Classical Five Element Acupuncture from the Institute of Taoist Education and Acupuncture. She lives with her family and rescued pit bulls in the foothills of Colorado.
🧡 Ellen Goldsmith
Ellen Goldsmith, MSOM, LAc, DipCH, is an educator, speaker, as well as a board certified and licensed acupuncturist and herbalist practicing Chinese medicine and nutritional therapy. She is author of "Nutritional Healing with Chinese Medicine: +175 Seasonal Recipes for Optimal Health," a book for practitioners, nutritionists and anyone interested in bringing the healing power of food into their everyday lives.
In practice, her integrative body centered and intuitive approach is grounded in decades of study and experience which are key to collaborating and working with people to help them restore health. She is known for her enduring confidence that each person has the power within to resolve challenges, grow and heal. She is a long time practitioner of meditation, Qi Gong and body centered therapies.
She speaks frequently on the value of understanding food as medicine from a Chinese medicine point of view and integrating a whole body approach to health and healing at conferences and schools in the USA and offers online classes through her website pearlnaturalhealth.com.
Ellen is a graduate of National University of Natural Medicine’s College of Classical Chinese Medicine and has a Masters of Science in Oriental Medicine> She is on faculty in the Classical Chinese Medicine program at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon and with the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine in San Diego teaching integrative medicine fellows. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
TESTIMONIALS
What people are saying...
"Excellent course for anyone interested in food, nutrition, cooking and health."
"The course is very professionally curated and delivered, all presenters are experts in their fields and very generous with sharing their knowledge and very engaging in both recorded and live sessions. There is so much content and information and variety of delivery methods. It is really worth the investment, and exceeds the quality and content of many online university courses I have attended. I have loved every minute of this course!
- Kelley G., Australia
"This course totally transformed my relationship with food."
"The faculty of teachers are impressive and I am so inspired by them.
I suffered from chronic inflammation and body pain, with the help of these course I have been able to recognize my unique body needs, identify and eliminate unfavorable foods and heal my long term inflammation and gut issues. It has been a blessing! My intuition towards my body has never been more keen.
It is a life transforming course and I think everyone from all backgrounds, healthcare or not, can benefit from taking this course, because food is life!
- Shama K., Nepal
"This course is so comprehensive!"
"The teachers are diverse. Their knowledge and perspectives are so refreshing and enriching. More richness of information than I expected and a great refresher for TCM foundations. I am definitely applying the learnings little by little everyday."
- J,L, Philippines
Begin your journey here.
This course is the first five modules of the full Five Element Nutrition Immersion.
If you choose to go deeper, you’ll be able to roll your tuition forward and join the full program with a discounted rate.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any prior experience with Chinese Medicine to take this course?
Absolutely not. This course is designed to be accessible for complete beginners while still offering depth and richness for more seasoned learners. Whether you’re brand new to the Five Elements or already on a healing path, you’ll find practical insights and guidance that meet you where you are.
How long will I have access to the course?
You’ll have one year of access to all course materials—including videos, audio files, transcripts, and downloadable PDFs—so you can revisit the content anytime and move through it at your own pace. You can return to each module as the seasons change or whenever your body calls for it.
How is this course different from other wellness or nutrition programs?
This course is rooted in classical Chinese Medicine, focused on aligning with the rhythms of nature—not just prescribing what to eat or do. You’ll learn how to understand your body, mind, and emotions through the lens of the Five Elements and seasons, giving you a holistic map for lifelong wellbeing. It’s not about fixing symptoms—it’s about coming back into relationship with yourself and the world around you.
This course is an on-demand, self-paced course that you can take from the comfort of your own home and kitchen.
If you are interested in a deeper nutritional experience, that is taught live, and comes with an international line up of incredible teachers and community, consider joining our 3-month immersion instead.
Copyright 2025 | Medicine People