Diet clinic

Diet clinic provides advice on the nutrition for healthy people, children, adolescents and adults, as well as help in arranging diets for people with food intolerance, allergies, various dietary restrictions and diseases. Diet clinic provides advise for pregnant women, especially those suffering from diabetes or gestational cholestasis. It also helps people after operations and patients undergoing radio or chemotherapy.

The diet clinic provides advice and a specially designed diet plan for:

• active, practicing sports

• with food allergy or food intolerance

• overweight or obese

• underweight and with nutritional deficiencies

• children and youth

• pregnant women and nursing mothers

• cancer patients

• patients with diseases of the digestive system, stomach, liver, intestines or gallbladder (peptic ulcer disease, chronic diarrhoea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, gallstone disease, intestinal colic, gastroesophageal reflux)

• patients with heart and circulatory system diseases (arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, hyperlipidaemia)

• patients with metabolic diseases (diabetes, gout, osteoporosis)

• patients with kidney stones

Diet clinic also educates healthy people on rational nutrition, as well as preventive activities aimed at raising the awareness on how to stay healthy for a long time.

Diet clinic employs dietitians who obtain a professional degree after graduating. Doctors of various specializations can also work in the diet clinic because the diet has an impact on many systemic diseases.

During the course, dietitians studie medical subjects such as anatomy and human physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, biochemistry, paediatrics, allergology, parasitology, genetics, clinical psychology, immunology, basics of oncology, the basics of diabetology, internal diseases and first aid. Most of the classes concern nutrition of infants and children, nutrition in allergies, in internal diseases, oncology, surgery, diabetes, as well as the nutrition of pregnant women and during breastfeeding. Dietitians learn about nutritional prevention, food chemistry, food hygiene, quality assessment and food storage. Thanks to a versatile knowledge, dietitian is able to work in various medical centres, in hospitals and in diet clinics.

Two days before the planned consultation, do not consume alcohol and do not have any drinks or food for four hours before your visit. Avoid intensive physical exercises and a hard work. Do not use diuretic drugs and come to the examination with an empty bladder.

You should dress in comfortable clothes. Before performing a body composition analysis, do not moisturise your feet with any cream and you need to be ready to show your bare feet. Inform the diet clinic specialist in advance if there are any contraindications for body composition analysis. It is also good to bring a list of meals consumed in the last few days and a list of medications and supplements taken.

Diet clinic consultations vary depending on the problem, and whether this is the first visit or a follow-up. A professional dietitian is always calm, patient and devotes the necessary amount of time to each patient. 

First visit

First visit to a diet clinic usually lasts from 40 minutes to even two hours. During this time, a dietitian asks patients about their lifestyle, health, and physical activity. Patients must prepare for questions about their and immediate family medical history, as well as about nutritional habits.

All previous test results should be brought with you, and they will be useful in health assessment. The tests should include FBC, lipid profile, glucose, aminotransferase (ALT and AST), uric acid, creatinine, TSH and CRP. This is especially important in people who face diet-related diseases (type two diabetes, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis).

During the first visit dietitian takes the following measurements:

• anthropometric (weight, height, waist, hips, arms, and thighs circumference)

• body composition by bioimpedance (body fat, water, muscle mass)

They can also ask the patient to arrange additional tests, such as glucose levels, cholesterol and triglycerides, vitamin D levels, tests for allergies and food intolerances. Based on conversation with the patient, test results and measurements taken, the dietitian arranges the diet.

The nutritional plan is determined individually for each patient based on age, lifestyle, diseases, medications taken and even nutritional preferences.

Further consultations

Follow-up consultations are also set-up individually, usually every two or four weeks. During these visits, you can discuss how the arranged diet works for you. You will also find out how to correctly compose the meals, to cope with stress or the impact of the diet on health.

New measurements are carried out on each consultation, and in cases of chronic diseases also updated laboratory tests are required. Each time, based on the results and measurements dietitian modifies the diet used, adapting it to the current patient's situation. An activity program and a further therapy plan are also established. The number of follow-up visits depends on the set plan or the actual condition of the patient and their needs.

Diet clinic is very important for patients who, thanks to diet therapy, recover faster, deal with their symptoms better, or more easily absorb medicines. The diet clinic also plays a significant role in educating healthy people so that they enjoy their health and fitness for a long time.