Diet and nutrition

Not always. If you want some general advice about diet and nutrition, you’re welcome to give us a call and book a direct appointment with one of our knowledgeable dietitians. 

However, if you want to book directly to see one of our dietary consultants for help with specific condition, you’ll need a referral from your GP or another consultant. If you already have a referral, you can find a consultant here and make an appointment.  

It’s a good idea to bring a list of any medications and nutritional supplements you’re taking, and any recent test results. If you can keep a food diary for at least three days before your appointment, that’ll also help your dietitian to get a more accurate picture of your nutritional health. 

Your dietitian will want to know about your eating habits and day-to-day nutrition in detail, but they might also ask you about other aspects of your life and health, including:

• Bowel function
• Gut symptoms
• Sleep patterns
• Activity levels
• Stress
• Medical history
• Medications
• Nutritional supplements

It depends on your specific condition and the treatment your dietitian recommends, but most patients have an initial consultation and two more consultations for review after that. Your dietitian will talk to you in detail about what’s right for you. 

Most major medical insurers recognise HCA UK as a provider of dietetic services. You should always check with your insurer to make sure you’re covered before making any appointments. 

The dietitians we employ at HCA aren’t registered as individual practitioners, so any invoices for their services will come directly from the HCA UK hospital itself. 

We can carry out a Hydrogen Breath Testing (HBT), which checks for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and to see if you have an intolerance for fructose or lactose. We don’t currently offer any other food allergy or intolerance tests. 

FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols. They’re a group of short-chain carbohydrates that your gut often finds difficult to absorb. A low FODMAP diet is a way to eliminate foods that are high in FODMAPs and then slowly re-introduce them to see if they trigger specific symptoms. It’s scientifically proven to be an effective treatment for irritable bowel syndrome. 

All our dietitians at HCA UK are qualified to recommend and manage a low FODMAP diet, and they can create a specific programme for you, tailored to your precise needs. 

The right dietary and nutritional support is a key part of treating and managing a wide range of conditions. Your dietitian can devise a specific programme to support your treatment and recovery for the following:

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), including the low FODMAP diet 
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis) 
• Disorders of the gut brain interaction (DGBI’s);
• Functional bowel disorders 
• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
• Bile Acid Malabsorption (BAM)
• Histamine Intolerance 
• Eosinophilic oesophagitis (EOE)
• Reflux
• Coeliac disease 
• Diverticular disease 
• Pancreatic diseases 
• Heart disease 
• High cholesterol 
• Type 2 diabetes 
• Weight management 
• Nutritional support (unintentional weight loss, poor appetite) 
• Oncology – including cancer survivorship 
• Kidney disease 
• Liver disease 
• Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome 
• Women’s Health