People often ask pharmacists for advice on what they should eat, particularly when they are ill or feel they are at risk of becoming so. Diet contributes to the risk of many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and is important in the management of others, such as diabetes mellitus and coeliac disease. There is also a range of conditions, including eczema, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, migraine and multiple sclerosis, where the case for dietary change is not necessarily proven, but people may be looking for something that they can do to help themselves. Clear dietary advice can give these people a feeling of being in control of their own health and may deter them from looking for other remedies that could be harmful.
We are starting publication this week of a series of "Dietary advice tips" (see p285). Presented in the same format as our popular "Advice for patients" tips on dispensed medicines, the new series is intended to be a reminder of the main points to be made by pharmacists when giving nutritional information to the public.