Hi there this is Monica Reinagle and you're listening to the nutrition

divas quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous. Hippocrates famously advised us to let food be our medicine.

And today's show is about health concerns where the right diet can make all the difference

and yet the role of nutrition is often overlooked.

And now on with our show. I have great respect for medical doctors. I don't know what we do without them. But when it comes to

nutrition, they sometimes drop the ball. To be fair, nutrition is typically a very small part of their

medical training. That's why health professionals work as a team.

Most nutritionists are quick to refer patients to doctors for help with problems that are outside our domain.

Why then, are doctors so slow to refer patients? outside our

doctors so slow to refer patients to nutritionists

for help with conditions that are largely driven or mitigated by diet and nutrition.

A letter I received just this week is a perfect example of what I'm talking about.

Felicity saw a gastrointestinal enterologist for evaluation of some longstanding digestive issues.

After doing an endoscopy and a colonoscopy,

the doctor told Felicity that she suffered from excess stomach acid,

IBS, andibericulosis.

Then he got out his pad and wrote her prescriptions

for an acid blocker and antispasmotic

told her to eat more fiber and come back in six weeks.

Really?

Felicity has been diagnosed with three different conditions for which dietary interventions can be extremely effective, not to mention safer and less costly than drugs.

However, coordinating a dietary response to these three issues does present some challenges.

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