Melissa Halas, MA, RDN, CDCES

FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION & PERSONALIZED NUTRITION COUNSELING EXPERT
Los Angeles

Melissa Halas, MA, RDN, CDCES is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and nutrition counseling expert with over 25 years of experience helping adults and families improve their health through evidence-based, personalized nutrition care. 
 
Melissa’s approach goes beyond traditional nutrition counseling. Her formal training includes undergraduate nutrition education, graduate-level nutrition education focused on behavior change, and a supervised year-long dietetic practicum/internship with rigorous preparation in medical nutrition therapy, clinical assessment, and counseling. She also brings extensive clinical counseling experience, clinical research background, FDA-regulated clinical trial experience, and 18 years of teaching functional nutrition to healthcare professionals. 
 
This foundation allows her to combine evidence-based medical nutrition therapy with functional nutrition principles to help uncover the underlying contributors to health concerns, not just manage symptoms. She integrates advanced biomarker interpretation, nutrition science, behavior change psychology, systems thinking, and lifestyle assessment to identify nutritional deficiencies, metabolic dysfunction, inflammation, gut health concerns, and lifestyle factors that may be influencing health, energy, and quality of life. 
 
Rather than offering one-size-fits-all advice, Melissa develops highly personalized and practical strategies that fit each client’s lifestyle, preferences, medical history, and goals. She uses positive psychology frameworks and strengths-based framing to help clients build on what is already working, increase confidence, and create meaningful changes that feel realistic and sustainable. When appropriate, she works collaboratively with a client’s healthcare team to support whole-person care. 
 
Her goal is to listen first, then help clients better understand their bodies, improve energy and resilience, optimize their ability to heal, reduce chronic disease risk, and build the knowledge and confidence to maintain healthy habits long after counseling is complete. 
 
As the founder of The Non-UPF Program, Melissa leads a team of international nutrition experts, scientists, researchers, and allied health professionals working to help reduce ultra-processed food intake and increase access to minimally processed, real-food choices. She is also a keynote speaker and educator known for translating complex nutrition science into engaging, practical, and actionable strategies that help professionals and consumers make healthier choices with confidence. 

 In her free time, Melissa loves hiking, cooking, gardening, and indoor cycling.