Checklist

Questions for your doctor or dietitian

Nutrition advice that fits one person can be wrong for another, which is why a conversation with a doctor, pharmacist or registered dietitian is worth preparing for. Tick the questions you want to ask, print the page and take it with you. Your ticks are kept in this browser.

Your ticks are saved only in this browser, on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Why bring the full list of what you take

Supplements and herbal products can affect how medicines work and how some blood tests read, so clinicians ask about them. People often leave them off lists because they do not think of them as medicine. Bringing the bottles removes the guesswork about the amounts, which is also what a pharmacist needs to check for interactions.

Who can help

A doctor can look at your medical history and tests. A registered dietitian is trained in turning that into a workable eating plan. A pharmacist is often the quickest route for a question about whether a supplement mixes with a medicine. If cost is a barrier, ask your clinic whether there is a lower-cost route, such as a community health service.

Go deeper

• Are multivitamins worth taking?
• Do you need to take vitamin D?
• How much protein do you actually need?
• Food label reading checklist

Where this comes from

The advice to keep a full list of supplements and to discuss them with a health professional follows guidance from the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, including its point that supplements can interact with medicines and affect tests. The question list itself is our own arrangement, written for readers rather than clinicians. It is general information, not medical advice.