Nutrition

New Patient Appointment or 214-645-8300

Nutrition plays a vital role in the management and prevention of many illnesses. UT Southwestern Medical Center’s nutrition program offers a comprehensive assessment of nutritional needs based on your medical condition, laboratory test results, physical evaluation, and dietary history.

Two women are engaged in a discussion about nutrition, with one holding an orange and various dietary materials on the table in front of them

Our caring physicians and dietitians collaborate to help patients make dietary changes. We carefully monitor patients' progress and make recommendations as needed to help them be successful in their journey.

The nutrition team at UT Southwestern is knowledgeable in complications associated with a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions and surgical procedures, enabling us to effectively identify nutrition-related problems and plan for their provision of care.

Our nutrition team frequently attends educational sessions to provide the most up-to-date nutritional care for patients. Additionally, dietitians plan, develop, and conduct formal and informal education programs for medical and nursing staff and students on various aspects of nutrition care or wellness topics.

Together, our specialists and patients have achieved extraordinary results in using nutrition to help regain health and improve quality of life.

Nutrition Services at UT Southwestern

Outpatient Clinics

Registered dietitians see patients at outpatient locations across UT Southwestern, such as the Internal Medicine Subspecialties Clinic, Cancer Center clinics, and clinics for bariatric surgery and transplant surgery.

Our dietitians provide nutrition advice and therapy for the treatment and prevention of conditions such as:

Malnutrition
Obesity
Osteoporosis

We also offer pre- and post-surgery nutrition advice. We collaborate with your health care team to create a nutrition care plan specific to you.

Clements University Hospital

Nutrition Therapy and Treatment

William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital (CUH) has a team of more than 15 inpatient registered dietitians to assist patients in meeting their nutritional needs while they are admitted to the hospital.

A person is writing on a dietary assessment form at a table with a bowl of fresh fruits and a glass of water

The dietitian team coordinates and provides individualized nutrition therapy for patients with various medical conditions, partnering with other members of the health care team to develop nutrition care plans.

Our dietitians also assess the learning needs of patients and provide appropriate education as a component of the nutrition care plan. If needed, we work with an in-house interdisciplinary team to establish a nutrition support regimen of enteral or parenteral nutrition (see more detail in “Nutrition Support Team”).

CUH dietitians collaborate with the CUH Nutrition Services culinary team to communicate any specific patient preferences or accommodations to special diets as needed. Our goal is to ensure patients are receiving nourishment during their hospital stay to meet both their nutrition needs as well as their personal preferences.

A healthcare professional in a white coat is speaking with an elderly patient who is lying in a hospital bed

Nutrition Support Team

About 25-50% of patients enter the hospital showing some signs of malnutrition. Malnutrition can lead to complications, including longer stays and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.

Our Nutrition Support team provides specialized nutritional consultation services for high-risk patients at Clements University Hospital to help ensure patients get focused nutritional care. The team comprises certified nutrition support physicians and providers, registered dietitians, and pharmacists working together to optimize nutrition based on each patient’s specific medical condition.

The Nutrition Support team will:

Perform a nutrition history assessment that includes past and recent appetite, food intake, weight and body composition changes, vitamin or supplement regimens, and whether anything is affecting the patient’s ability to eat (such as changes in taste or difficulty swallowing)
Make recommendations in the setting of the patient’s active and chronic medical conditions regarding:
- Energy and protein needs
- Mineral and vitamins needs
- Fluid and electrolyte needs
- Drug-nutrient interactions
Provide nutrition education from register dietitians, covering weight management and how to read nutrition labels, among other topics

These services are available for:

Total parenteral nutrition patients (who receive nutrition via IV)
Cancer patients
Transplantation patients after surgery
Older patients with multiple conditions
Otherwise healthy people have gone through a complex operation or medical condition