Gastrointestinal conditions, both acute and chronic, can impact negatively on nutritional status and/or quality of life. Many patients experience malnutrition because they do not absorb their nutrients properly. Others who aren't malnourished may still have a poor quality of life due to persistent symptoms such as diarrhoea, bloating, wind and pain.
The dietitian works with the gastroenterology team to optimise a patient's nutritional status and assist with symptom management, minimising the impact such symptoms can have on an individual's quality of life.
Advice and support is given on:
- Management of all forms of feeding either enterally (orally or via a feeding tube) or parenterally (intravenously), including advice on the most appropriate route and type of feed
- Liquid / modified texture diets for gastroparesis (stomach emptying problems) or dysphagia (swallowing problems)
- Lactose free diet for lactose intolerance
- Gluten free diet for coeliac disease
- Low fibre diets for strictures (narrowing in the bowel) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) flare ups
- Diets low in fermentable carbohydrate for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or non active IBD