![Top 5 reasons why you should see a dietitian before inititating a low FODMAP diet [Part 2]](https://fodmap-publicsite.s3.amazonaws.com/qa/media/images/Top_5_reasons_why_you_should_see_a_dietitian_be.original.png)
2. Ensure your nutritional status isn't compromised!
Over-restriction of FODMAPs may compromise your intake of calcium, B vitamins, dietary fibre (both soluble and insoluble) and the variety of foods which you get your nutrients from. This is where Point 3 becomes important. A dietitian can recommend which food groups to focus on to ensure your nutritional status isn't compromised. This is particularly important for vegetarians because common vegetarian foods are high FODMAP, meaning protein, vitamin B12, iron and zinc intake may be inadequate.
1. Determine the long-term plan with being on a low FODMAP diet
Once symptomatic relief is achieved on a low FODMAP diet, it might be easy to remain on the diet long-term. However, as pointed out by our previous blog post <enter link here>, there are many reasons why a low FODMAP diet should not be followed in the long-run. Unfortunately, as with a lot of elimination diets, there is limited high quality research describing these risks or the outcomes of failing to reintroduce restricted foods back into the diet.
Dietitians provide a systematic way of identifying which FODMAPs are problematic for you and the quantity that can be included in your diet in the long run. It may be that long-term, you only need to restrict a few very high FODMAP foods, building your tolerance to these slowly.
To find a gut-specialist dietitian in Australia: Visit www.daa.asn.au - Find an Accredited Practising Dietitian page and select "Gastrointestinal (Bowel) disorders" in the area of practice dropdown box.
For all other countries, visit the webpage and search under "gastrointestinal" or "digestive disorders"
New Zealand http://dietitians.org.nz/find-a-dietitian/
[Update: https://www.monashfodmap.com/blog/top-5-reasons-why-you-should-see/ to see Part 1, the top 3-5 reasons]
![Top 5 reasons why you should see a dietitian before inititating a low FODMAP diet [Part 1]](https://fodmap-publicsite.s3.amazonaws.com/qa/media/images/Top_5_reasons_why_you_should_see_a.2e16d0ba.fill-400x280.png)