Diet and gastrointestinal disease.

Diet therapy in the treatment of gastrointestinal disease has become better defined. Because maldigestion or malabsorption frequently occurs, malnutrition is a common complication. Careful assessment of nutritional status by the health care providers is mandatory. Diet therapy, by eliminating offending foods such as lactose or gluten or by addition of specialized enteral formulas containing MCT, or elemental diets can be instituted with marked relief in symptoms. The role of dietary fiber is now better defined in the treatment and prevention of many diseases. Further refinement and rational uses of diet therapy can be expected in future years.