Nutrition Counseling Clinic
Eating the right foods is key to good health and preventing disease and can be essential in managing health problems such as diabetes, obesity and digestive disorders. At UCSF's Pediatric Nutrition Counseling Clinic, we provide nutritional support for parents and children of all ages, from babies to young adults. Our registered pediatric dietitians can assess your child's growth, eating habits and nutritional adequacy, provide nutritional recommendations, and help with meal planning. They also are experts in nutritional therapy, which involves modifying diets to treat specific diseases and designing eating plans that improve or maintain the health of children whose diets require close monitoring. Our goal is to ensure all our patients have the diet they need to thrive.
Our Services
During counseling sessions, the dietitian will provide:
- Assessment of your child's current eating habits and medical conditions
- Nutrition recommendations based on current scientific evidence
- Strategies to help your child and family achieve a healthy and balanced diet
- Individualized meal planning guidelines
- Medical nutrition therapy
We also offer a nutrition class for kids ages 5 to 18 and their parents. It’s a one-hour, one-time class taught by a registered dietitian and requires a doctor referral. To learn more about the class, including how to enroll, see our flyer:
Medical Nutrition Therapy
The management of medical conditions through nutritional intervention is called medical nutrition therapy (MNT).
Common conditions in which nutrition intervention plays an important role include:
- Weight problems and obesity
- High cholesterol and other lipid disorders
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Digestive problems such as celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease, as well as constipation, heartburn or other more general concerns
- Food allergies and intolerances
- Growth concerns, inadequate nutrition
General Nutrition Counseling
The Nutrition Counseling Clinic offers general nutrition counseling to promote wellness and disease prevention. This service does not require a referral from your child's physician or nurse practitioner. These appointments are self-pay only.
Our locations (3)
Awards & recognition
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Ranked among the nation's best in 10 specialties
Plan your visit
What to Bring
- For medical nutrition therapy, a written referral from your child's doctor or nurse practitioner is required. Please bring the referral to your appointment, if it has not already been mailed or faxed to the Nutrition Counseling Clinic. By law, you must have a written referral to receive medical nutrition therapy.
- A copy of recent lab results (non-UCSF patients only). You may ask your child's doctor to fax labs results to us at (415) 514-4359.
- A three-day record of everything your child eats and drinks. Be sure to include portion sizes, using measuring cups and spoons if possible.
- Your child's growth history including pediatric growth charts, if possible.
Support services
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