Nutrition answers
Nutrition questions, answered by a dietitian
Short, direct answers to the questions people most often ask a registered dietitian. Each one is clinically reviewed, cites its sources and is grounded in what patients say about their care.
Browse the questions
Liver health
Can a dietitian help with fatty liver?
What a dietitian does for fatty liver, and what your doctor still owns.
Blood sugar
What does a dietitian do for prediabetes?
How a dietitian supports prediabetes alongside your doctor.
Blood sugar
Can a dietitian help lower my A1c?
What A1c measures, and how a dietitian works on the eating side.
Diabetes
Can I manage diabetes on a vegetarian diet?
Planning vegetarian meals around diabetes with a dietitian.
Hormones
What does a dietitian do for PCOS?
How a dietitian supports PCOS alongside your doctor.
Blood sugar
What should I eat for insulin resistance?
Plate habits for insulin resistance, and when to see your doctor.
Gut health
Can a dietitian help with IBS?
How a dietitian guides IBS eating, and which symptoms need a doctor first.
Gut health
How does a dietitian help with SIBO?
What a dietitian does for SIBO, and what your doctor handles.
Lab results
Should a dietitian look at my blood work?
Why your labs belong in the room when a dietitian builds your plan.
Lab results
Which lab results should I bring to a dietitian?
The results worth bringing to a first visit, and what to do if you have none.
Approach
What is a functional nutrition dietitian?
A plain-language look at the root-cause, whole-person approach and its limits.
Supplements
Do dietitians recommend supplements?
How a dietitian decides whether a supplement belongs in your plan, and how to start safely.
Online care
Does online nutrition counseling work as well as in person?
What we know about video visits with a dietitian, and what we do not.
Visits and cost
How many dietitian sessions will I need?
The usual first-visit-then-follow-up rhythm, and how to choose a plan.
Digestive health
Can a dietitian help with bloating?
How a dietitian works through bloating, and the red flags that need a doctor first.
GLP-1 nutrition
What should I eat on a GLP-1 medicine?
Protein, portions, fluids and fiber while on a GLP-1 medicine, with side effects going to your prescriber.
Gut health
What is histamine intolerance?
What histamine intolerance is, the symptoms it can cause, and why it is recognized as a pattern.
Gut health
What can I eat on a low-histamine diet?
What to eat, what to limit and how long a low-histamine phase should last.
Gut health
Can antibiotics cause histamine intolerance?
What the gut has to do with histamine, and how a dietitian works through symptoms that began after antibiotics.
Gut health
Can NSAIDs cause bloating?
How anti-inflammatory painkillers can affect the gut, and why the next step is a talk with your prescriber.
Weight management
How much weight loss makes a difference to your health?
Why modest weight loss matters for health, and how to make it last.
Gut health
Can histamine intolerance cause dizziness, palpitations or brain fog?
Why histamine intolerance can show up as dizziness, palpitations or brain fog, and which symptoms need a doctor first.
Gut health
Does a DAO enzyme help histamine intolerance?
What DAO enzyme products are, what the limited evidence shows, and why they belong in a plan, not instead of one.
Women’s health
Can your menstrual cycle make histamine symptoms worse?
Why some women notice histamine symptoms at certain points in their cycle, and how to track the pattern with your care team.
GLP-1 nutrition
How much protein do you need on a GLP-1 medicine?
A practical protein range on GLP-1 medicines, why it matters for muscle, and how to eat enough when you are rarely hungry.
GLP-1 nutrition
How can you tell if you are losing muscle on a GLP-1?
How to tell whether weight loss on a GLP-1 medicine includes muscle, and what to do about it.
Diabetes and prediabetes
What is a good vegetarian breakfast for type 2 diabetes?
Why breakfast can be the hardest meal for blood sugar, and how to build a vegetarian one around protein.
Diabetes and prediabetes
Can a CGM help with type 2 diabetes if you are not on insulin?
How a continuous glucose monitor can help people with type 2 diabetes who do not use insulin, and how to read it.
Diabetes and prediabetes
Can a vegetarian diet or metformin lower your vitamin B12?
Why vegetarians on metformin are at higher risk of low B12, and what to ask your doctor about testing.
Gut health
Why am I still bloated on a gluten-free diet?
Why bloating can carry on after cutting gluten and dairy, and the causes worth looking at before cutting anything else.
Looking for a full guide to one condition? See the condition guides.