Got GI Health Issues? Nutrition Resources Coming!

It's been my goal for a while to find the best diets (or at least some solid dietary advice) for the common conditions I saw while working as a nurse in the gastrointestinal ward at the hospital.

These were painful conditions that often ended up in patients needing emergent or urgent surgery. In the best case scenario, the surgery was a one-time deal and they went home to live on. However, in many cases patients became frequent repeat visitors at the hospital as their health issues were not resolved and they continued to have complications.

It was heartbreaking to see, and I felt that their trips to the hospital were mere band-aids to pull them out of crisis mode and onto their feet, rather than a path to optimal or even baseline health. But these patients didn't seem to have anywhere else to go - so they ended up coming back, time and time again.

I often wondered why patients were not getting any dietary advice after their operation.... or even better, preventative guidance for those fortunate enough to get discharged without needing surgery. I truly thought that diet could turn a lot of these conditions around for them, but as a nurse I lacked the necessary knowledge or time to provide such advice.

Unfortunately, dieticians were also a rare sight at this hospital ward, usually visiting only the patients receiving tube-feeds or IV nutrition.

I remember needing to put in a special request for the dietician to visit a patient who wanted to know what they should eat when they went home, and this request falling through because it would have delayed the patient's discharge. Suffice to say, dietician visits were not part of the standard care protocol.

Now, with a bit more knowledge under my belt, I'm going to write a serious of blog posts summarizing the best evidence I can find for dietary interventions to help people dealing with these common GI health issues: fatty liver disease, gallstones, diverticulitis, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable bowel disease, and colon cancer.

If you or your loved one is dealing with these challenges -or maybe you also had a rushed hospital visit where diet didn't get discussed - I hope these can be a resource for you.

To your health,

Karen