Cutting out food you can eat is its own kind of problem.

It can involve it, but low-FODMAP is a structured clinical process with a strict reduction phase followed by a systematic reintroduction — not a permanent way of eating, and not something to run off an internet list. Whether it suits you depends on your symptoms and history, which we work through at the first consultation.

The reduction phase is time-bound rather than open-ended, and reintroduction is deliberately unhurried because rushing it is what makes the results meaningless. I'd rather give you a realistic timeline once I've seen your symptom pattern than quote a number that turns out to be wrong for you.

See your doctor first if you have symptoms that need excluding medically — unexplained weight loss, bleeding, anaemia or a family history of bowel disease all need proper investigation before we start changing your diet. Once anything serious is ruled out, this is exactly the sort of thing dietary work is good at.

Not necessarily from scratch, but we do usually need to establish a clear baseline, because if several things came out at once we can't yet tell which one mattered. Often the most useful first step is bringing some foods back in a controlled way to see what actually happens.

That's specifically what we're trying to avoid. Many people find their trigger is a quantity rather than a food — fine in a small portion, not in a large one. The end point is the widest, most normal diet your symptoms allow.

Yes. I consult online across South Africa and in person at my Sea Point rooms, and this work translates well to video — the tracking and daily check-ins run through the app either way.