الحمية العلاجية

What are therapeutic diets?

Therapeutic diets are special diets adopted in order to prevent or treat a given condition.

An unhealthy diet not only leads to fat mass build-up, it also makes you feel tired and fatigued. Furthermore, if you have a condition which could improve with a specific diet, the condition may worsen if you don’t adopt a new diet regimen.

What are therapeutic diets for?

As an example, if you are being treated for obesity or for being excessively overweight, weight loss depends, partly, on decreasing your calorific intake. Your energy balance will need to be negative, that is, your calorific intake should be lower than your calorific expenditure. You can reach this goal by changing your eating habits and, at the same time, incorporating an exercise routine into your daily life.

However, therapeutic diets are not just about weight loss. Healthy eating habits can effectively prevent and improve many other conditions. The specific diet regimen goal and modality will vary according to the nature of the condition you need to deal with. Here are a few examples of what a diet therapy can treat (together with other medical treatments):

• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Osteoporosis
• Alcoholism
• Ulcers
• Hypothyroidism
• Hyperthyroidism
• High blood pressure
• Atherosclerosis
• Cholecystitis
• Ulcerative colitis
• Crohn’s disease
• Lactose, gluten or carbohydrates intolerance
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Diabetes
• Anaemia
• Hypercholesterolemia

What does a therapeutic diet involve?

A specialised doctor will create a customised eating plan for you, based on your lifestyle and general state of health. Some foods will be excluded while others will be included.

How can I prepare for a therapeutic diet?

Before starting a new diet, you will need to see a specialised doctor, who will look at your medical history. It is important to try and follow your eating preferences as much as possible, otherwise the diet will be considered a depriving regimen which could be hard to commit to in the long-term.

Other treatment options

It is likely that a therapeutic diet will be one part of your treatment plan, and you may also be on medication or need surgery, depending on what your condition is.