Why Work with a Gastrointestinal Dietitian?
Nutrition plays a central role in managing most GI conditions, yet dietary guidance for GI disorders is often overly restrictive, poorly individualized, and disconnected from the psychological aspects of eating. A skilled dietitian for gut health takes a different approach: assessing your full clinical picture, understanding what is driving your symptoms, and developing an evidence-based, minimally restrictive approach aligned with your goals and lifestyle.
Our GI dietitians work collaboratively as part of your broader healthcare team, including gastroenterologists, primary care physicians, and therapists, to ensure your nutrition care is coordinated and comprehensive. We are also highly attuned to the significant overlap between GI disorders and disordered eating: restrictive elimination diets, fear of eating, anxiety around food and symptoms, and body image concerns are extremely common in people with GI conditions, and our eating disorder-informed approach ensures these dimensions are always addressed.
IBS Dietitian
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common GI conditions, and one of the most nutritionally complex to manage. Our IBS dietitians are trained in evidence-based dietary approaches, including the low-FODMAP protocol, one of the most rigorously studied dietary interventions for IBS, as well as other gut-directed nutrition strategies. Critically, we understand that low-FODMAP is a diagnostic tool, not a permanent diet, and we guide clients through proper implementation and structured reintroduction to identify their individual triggers without unnecessary long-term restriction.
IBD Dietitian (Crohn’s Disease & Ulcerative Colitis)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, requires ongoing nutritional management through flare and remission cycles. Our IBD dietitians help clients maintain adequate nutrition during flares, identify foods that worsen inflammation, support nutrient repletion when malabsorption is a concern, and build a sustainable long-term eating pattern that supports remission and overall well-being.
Celiac Disease
Managing Celiac disease requires strict, lifelong avoidance of gluten, but it also requires ensuring that a gluten-free diet is nutritionally complete, addressing the risk of disordered eating that can arise from strict elimination diets, and supporting the emotional challenges of navigating a highly restrictive dietary requirement in daily life.
GERD and Reflux
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and chronic acid reflux are commonly managed with dietary modifications. Our dietitians help clients identify their individual food triggers, make targeted adjustments, and avoid unnecessarily broad eliminations that can compromise nutritional quality and enjoyment of eating.
Other GI Conditions
- Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
- Gastroparesis
- Microscopic colitis
- Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders
- Post-surgical GI nutrition (colostomy, ileostomy, bowel resection)
- Constipation, bloating, and undiagnosed GI symptoms
GI Disorders and Eating Disorders: An Important Intersection
There is a well-documented overlap between gastrointestinal disorders and eating disorders and disordered eating. Restrictive GI diets can trigger or worsen disordered eating behaviors, and anxiety around food and symptoms can take on a life of its own even after GI symptoms improve. Our eating disorder-specialized team is uniquely positioned to address this intersection with clinical sophistication that most GI dietitians cannot offer.
IBS Dietitian, In-Person & Telehealth Appointments
Our gut health dietitians see clients in person at offices throughout the Triangle Area and in Charlotte, NC. If you are searching for an IBS dietitian, a gastrointestinal dietitian, or a gut health dietitian near you, we encourage you to reach out. Telehealth appointments are also available throughout North Carolina and Oregon for clients who prefer to meet virtually. We can also work with individuals in many other states virtually, depending on each state’s dietetic licensure laws.
