Navigating Food Advice After a Diagnosis—Without the Overwhelm
I recently had a client get a new health diagnosis that sent her searching for answers (AKA diving deep into Reddit rabbit holes…we’ve all been there). Every Redditor seemed to have a story about how cutting out some food—gluten, dairy, sugar—changed everything for them. After taking all of that in, she came into session and asked, “Do I need to change my diet now?”
Getting a new diagnosis can bring up a lot of emotions—fear, overwhelm, confusion, maybe even guilt. Whether it’s diabetes, a digestive condition, or an autoimmune disease, it’s totally understandable to wonder: Do I need to change how I’m eating?
Especially when we live in a culture that constantly tells us that food is the root of all health problems—and the answer to fixing them.
But is that actually true?
Food and movement can absolutely influence our health, but most conditions are way more complex than just what we eat. Still, it’s common for diet changes to be the first thing people are told to focus on. Sometimes that advice is grounded in strong evidence—more often than not, it’s rooted in weight stigma, oversimplified narratives, or the understandable urge to feel like we’re doing something.
Wanting to take control in the face of uncertainty makes total sense. But sometimes that urge can lead us to hyper-focus on food in ways that add more stress than support. So before diving into food rules or restrictions, let’s zoom out a bit and look at the bigger picture.
Rethinking the Role of Food in Health
We’ve been taught to think that diet and exercise are the biggest factors in health—and if you’ve ever sat in a doctor’s office and been told to “just lose weight” or “stop eating sugar,” it’s easy to see how that belief gets reinforced.
The reality? Food is just one piece of a much larger picture.
Here are some other factors that shape our health:
Social determinants of health 📚 👋 – Things like income, education, housing, and access to social support all have a huge impact on health outcomes. People with more stability and resources tend to have better health—not necessarily because of their food choices, but because their environments reduce stress and enable access to care.
Genetics and biology 🧬 👨👩👧 – Many health conditions run in families. Some people are predisposed to certain illnesses, no matter how much kale they eat. Conditions like Familial Hypercholesterolemia, Type 1 Diabetes, and even Type 2 Diabetes often have strong genetic roots.
Environment and healthcare access 🏥 🏠 – Pollution levels, safe housing, clean water, and access to quality, affordable care all matter. A lot.
Personal behaviors 🍎 😴 – This includes how we eat, move, sleep, manage stress, and care for ourselves. But, even these behaviors are shaped by the resources we have access to.
That’s not to say food doesn’t matter—it can support health in meaningful ways. But when it becomes the only thing we focus on, we risk missing other important factors that may have a bigger impact.
When Food Becomes the Default Focus
It makes sense that when something in our body feels off, we want to fix it—and food feels like a tangible place to start. We can control what’s on our plate, right? That can feel comforting when everything else feels uncertain.
But here’s the thing- sometimes that focus on food can actually distract from what’s really going on.
It’s like taking a magnifying glass to one part of a page in a book…
That part will look big and important, but there’s a lot of context that is being left out.
Let’s explore this with a couple common health conditions that frequently get blamed on food.
Type 2 Diabetes-
People with type 2 diabetes are often led to believe that their condition is their fault and caused by their food choices.
The reality? It’s a complex condition with many risk factors including family history and genetic factors (Galicia-Garcia et al. 2020).
How does food fit in? Food choices can be a part of blood sugar management, but cutting out carbs won’t make type 2 diabetes go away. In fact, trying to eliminate carbs is much more likely to result in patterns of restriction and rebound eating.
Digestive concerns-
Someone with digestive issues might be told to start by following a strict elimination diet, which assumes that food is the ultimate culprit.
The reality? Stress, disordered eating, nervous system dysregulation, and medication side effects are all factors that can contribute to many digestive issues. Eliminating foods can put our nutrition status at risk, cause stress, create social isolation and even lead to the development of an eating disorder.
How does food fit in? Elimination diets can be warranted in some situations, but should not be the first line treatment and the goal should always be to reintroduce as many foods as possible. If you aren’t already eating at regular intervals throughout the day, doing so can have a big impact on our digestive health.
Autoimmune conditions-
People with autoimmune conditions often turn to food as the answer when faced with the realities of our limited understanding of these conditions.
The reality? The science on dietary impact is often limited and the conditions themselves are largely driven by genetics and immune system function.
How does food fit in? There are some conditions, like Celiac disease where diet changes are completely warranted. This is because we have clear evidence that gluten is the agent triggering the errant immune response in people with this condition. However, that doesn’t mean that gluten is inherently harmful to people without Celiac disease.
When faced with a new diagnosis, making nutrition changes can feel empowering—or even urgent. But when food becomes the only thing we focus on, it can leave us feeling stressed, isolated, or even more unwell. And sometimes, the changes we make don’t actually help.
The intense focus on food can also shift attention away from medical treatments that are well-researched and effective. In some cases, that can even lead to delayed care or worsening health outcomes—not because people aren’t trying hard enough, but because the system puts too much pressure on individual behavior.
It’s completely understandable to want to support your health in ways that feel natural and empowering—and sometimes that includes making changes to what you eat. But when food is treated as the only solution, especially in place of other evidence-based treatments, it can unintentionally create more harm than good.
The Nutrition Advice Avalanche
Once you have a diagnosis, it can feel like everyone has something to say about what you should or shouldn’t eat. Doctors, friends, family, strangers on the internet—suddenly everyone’s a nutrition expert.
This is how I picture your average random internet person cosplaying as a nutrition expert
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And while some of that advice might be rooted in good intentions or even solid evidence, a lot of it ends up being:
❌ Oversimplified ("Just cut out sugar and you’ll be fine!")
❌ Rooted in diet culture ("Weight loss is the answer!")
❌ Not actually helpful ("Have you ever tried celery juice?")
It can feel overwhelming trying to sort through all of this—especially when you’re already dealing with symptoms or stress about your health. That’s where a weight-inclusive dietitian can be such a helpful resource.
A good RD won’t give you a list of "good" and "bad" foods. Instead, they can help you:
Explore whether dietary changes might actually help you, based on your body, your health history and the most up-to-date evidence.
Avoid unnecessary restrictions that could make things harder, not better.
Find a way of eating that supports your well-being without spiraling into fear or obsession.
So… Should You Change the Way You’re Eating?
Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on you, your diagnosis, and what feels supportive for your body and your life.
If nutrition changes might help you feel better or manage symptoms more easily, that’s worth exploring. But that doesn’t mean food needs to become the center of your life.
Getting a new diagnosis can be scary, and it’s completely valid to want to take action. But before jumping into big food changes, it helps to pause and look at the bigger picture.
✅ Your health is shaped by more than just what’s on your plate.
✅ Food may or may not be a major factor in your condition.
✅ If you do make changes, they should feel realistic and flexible—not fear-based or restrictive.
✅ You deserve support that treats you like a whole person, not just a lab value.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, a weight-inclusive dietitian can help you navigate all of this without adding extra stress. You don’t have to carry it all on your own.
If you are looking for 1 on 1 support, please reach out. You can schedule a free intro call here or get in touch here. Or, if you’d like to stay in the loop about happenings at Unravel Nutrition Counseling, sign up for our newsletter.
Remember, no matter your diagnosis or health status, you deserve to be supported, nourished, and cared for.
Reference:
Galicia-Garcia, U., Benito-Vicente, A., Jebari, S., Larrea-Sebal, A., Siddiqi, H., Uribe, K. B., Ostolaza, H., & Martín, C. (2020). Pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(17), 6275. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21176275
