General Practitioners and Clinical Nutrition the Slender Solutions Team

General practitioners (GPs) play a central role in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of a wide range of health conditions. One area that is gaining increasing recognition in primary care is clinical nutrition. Nutrition is not just about weight management—it directly impacts chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and gastrointestinal disorders. Given that GPs are the first point of contact for most patients, they are in a unique position to identify nutritional issues early and provide guidance that can prevent disease progression or improve patient outcomes.

Doctors should be more informed about nutrition than the general public, but this is not always possible, as their primary focus is on diagnosis and disease management, often with or without pharmacological intervention. There are, however, many practitioners with a depth of knowledge and the ability to provide disease-appropriate nutritional advice. Nevertheless, GPs generally rely on registered dietitians, nutrition specialists, or certified educators to provide specific dietary guidance to their patients.

GPs recognize the vital role that nutrition plays in disease management, alongside medication, exercise, and regular monitoring, more than ever. Most healthcare professionals will introduce personalized dietary plans, emphasizing, for example, the importance of eliminating saturated and trans fats and following a low-glycemic index (GI) carbohydrate diet. (See our three-part blog series on “Complex versus Simple or Processed Carbohydrates” at https://slendersolutions.co.za/general/complex-versus-simple-or-processed-carbohydrates-part-1/ and

The dynamic duo at the “Paulhof Medical Suites” where medical science meets compassion (Doctor Sonia Doubell (MBChB) and registered nurse Isabel de Carvalho (B. Soc. Sc.  Hons.) are passionately committed to helping you achieve not only your weight loss goals but also your wellness goals through medication and preventive clinical nutrition.