Focus on nutrition: dietary management of gastrointestinal disease

Nutrition plays a key role in the management of gastrointestinal disease, and some patients may be managed by dietary therapy alone. Dietary ingredients can have a negative or positive effect on the bowel. Negative factors in a diet may include toxins, allergens, toxic dietary excesses, or nutritional deficiencies. Diet also has a direct effect on intestinal physiology, affecting motility, cell renewal rate, intestinal microbiome, enzyme production, ammonia production, and volatile fatty acid content. This article discusses dietary therapy of acute gastroenteritis, chronic gastroenteropathies, and feline constipation.