Keeping a diary can help you to learn about your symptoms, eating and drinking. You could also include activities, exercise, mood, sleep or medication.
Such information can help you and your healthcare professional understand any pattern of your symptoms.
Which diary?
There are many ways to keep a diary.
You could try keeping a note on a phone, laptop, tablet or on paper of everything you eat and the time you eat it. Add in the time of any symptoms.
You may want to include feelings, any activities, exercise or even sleep problems. Keeping a note of any medication taken could also be helpful.
Many NHS Trusts have food diaries which can be printed for free with some also including symptoms and mood. Examples are:
There are several food-symptom apps available for free that you might want to try. For example, mySymptoms Food Diary and Food Diary: Diet and Health Log.
How to use a food diary
You can watch a video about how to use a food diary and its benefits by our expert, Hannah Hunter: “Is there a link between food and my symptoms?”