ready to find peace with your gut and food?
Digestive issues are hard enough without adding diet culture to the mix.
Our registered dietitians in Amherst, MA provide compassionate, evidence-based nutrition support for GI conditions, without the restriction, fear, or shame.
What makes our gut health nutrition support different?
It's evidence-based GI care that doesn't make your relationship with food worse.
Non-Diet, Weight-Inclusive Approach
GI conditions don't discriminate by body size and neither does our care. We use a Health At Every Size® framework that focuses on managing your symptoms and improving your quality of life, not changing your weight.
Individualized Care
There's no universal gut protocol that works for every body. We tailor your nutrition plan to your specific diagnosis, symptoms, food history, and lifestyle. There are no generic elimination diets handed off without support.
Trauma-Informed & Compassionate Care
For many people with GI disorders, eating itself has become a source of fear and anxiety. We understand that, and we create a space where food gets less scary, not more, over time.
Insurance Accepted
Most major insurance plans cover nutrition counseling for gastrointestinal conditions. We'll help you understand your benefits so cost isn't a barrier to getting relief.
Your gut is not the enemy.
Living with a GI condition can feel like your body is constantly working against you. Symptoms that are unpredictable, painful, and deeply disruptive. A growing list of foods you're afraid to eat. The constant mental math of "will this be okay?" before every meal. And then on top of all of that, a wellness world full of "gut healing" protocols, restrictive elimination diets, and expensive supplements promising to fix you.
At Happy Valley Nutrition in Amherst, MA, we take a different approach. We know that many popular "gut health" programs lean on unnecessary restriction that can make your relationship with food significantly worse, and sometimes worsen GI symptoms over time. Our goal is to help you feel better in your body with as much food freedom as possible, not to give you a longer list of things you can't eat.
We work with you to understand your individual triggers, build a sustainable and satisfying way of eating, and expand your relationship with food rather than shrink it.
You deserve to eat without fear. Your symptoms deserve to be taken seriously. Both things are true.
A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM AMANDA MITTMAN,
Registered Dietitian and founder of Happy Valley Nutrition
WE TAKE INSURANCE
Coverage depends on individual plans and benefits.
Did you know that you can use your insurance to cover visits with a Registered Dietitian, often with no copay?
Contact us to learn how and forand for any specific questions about using insurance to cover GI nutrition counseling.
We do not accept MassHealth or Tufts Public/Direct plans as they do not credential private practice dietitians. We offer out of pocket rates for these clients.
While we do accept Medicare plans for nutrition counseling, only Diabetes (not “prediabetes”) and kidney disease are covered.
digestive concerns we support
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
IBS is one of the most common and most misunderstood GI conditions, affecting how your gut moves and feels without causing structural damage. We provide evidence-based nutrition support including low FODMAP guidance (with a structured reintroduction phase, so you're not eliminating forever), personalized trigger identification, fiber and hydration strategies, and stress-eating connection support. Our goal is the most food variety possible while managing your symptoms.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) — Crohn's & Colitis
Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory conditions that require careful, individualized nutrition support — especially during flares. We help you maintain adequate nutrition during active disease, identify foods that may aggravate symptoms during flares, support nutritional repletion and recovery, navigate eating during and after hospitalizations or surgeries, and build sustainable eating patterns during remission that support long-term health.
GERD & Acid Reflux
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is often managed with sweeping elimination lists that strip the joy out of eating. We take a more targeted, individualized approach — helping you identify your actual personal triggers rather than eliminating everything that appears on a generic list, incorporating foods that support esophageal health, managing meal timing and patterns, and finding a way of eating that reduces symptoms without unnecessarily restricting your diet.
SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth)
SIBO treatment often involves dietary changes alongside medical treatment — but the nutrition piece doesn't have to be as rigid or restrictive as many protocols make it. We support you through dietary strategies that complement your medical care, guide you through the reintroduction phase after treatment, and help you build back toward a varied, satisfying diet as your gut heals.
Celiac Disease & Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity
A celiac diagnosis requires a strict, lifelong gluten-free diet — which is a significant life adjustment that goes far beyond just swapping bread. We provide comprehensive guidance on navigating a gluten-free diet nutritionally and socially, identifying hidden sources of gluten, preventing cross-contamination, avoiding nutritional gaps common in gluten-free eating, and living well at restaurants, social events, and while traveling.
Gastroparesis
Gastroparesis (delayed gastric emptying) can make eating feel physically and emotionally impossible. We work with you to find foods and meal patterns that are tolerable and nourishing, support adequate caloric and nutrient intake, and adapt your eating approach as your symptoms shift.
Constipation & Diarrhea (Chronic)
Chronic constipation or diarrhea, whether standalone concerns or part of a broader GI diagnosis, significantly impact quality of life. We help you understand the nutrition factors that influence your bowel patterns, develop fiber, fluid, and meal-timing strategies that actually work for your body, and do it all without unnecessary restriction.
We don't do "gut healing" diet culture.
The gut health wellness space is full of expensive protocols, dramatic elimination diets, and the message that your digestive system is a problem to be fixed with the right combination of restriction and supplements. The list of things you “shouldn’t” eat keeps growing: seed oils, gluten, lectins, dairy, FODMAPs, nightshades…and so does your anxiety around food.
At Happy Valley Nutrition in Amherst, MA, we think most of that noise does more harm than good. Highly restrictive eating approaches can worsen your relationship with food, contribute to nutritional gaps, and in some cases, actually make GI symptoms more difficult to manage long-term.
We use evidence-based nutrition strategies, including structured approaches like low FODMAP when clinically appropriate, but we always use them as a tool, not a way of life. The goal is always to move toward more food freedom, not less. We take your symptoms seriously while also taking your enjoyment of food seriously.
Your gut deserves evidence-based care. Your relationship with food deserves protection. We hold both.
HOW IT WORKS
Step 1
LET’S TALK
The first step can feel like the hardest and we totally get that.
We'll begin with a free clarity call where you get to tell us all about you: your symptoms, your GI history, how food has been feeling, and what you're hoping support looks like. We'll make sure we're a good fit before you commit to anything.
Don’t want the call? No problem- we can just book an initial appointment!
Step 2
LET’S WORK
During your first session, we'll complete a comprehensive nutrition assessment, review your GI history and any diagnoses, and begin building your personalized care plan.
We'll create an approach that's realistic, sustainable, and actually fits your life, and discuss the best ways to support you between appointments.
Step 3
LET’S GO
Managing a GI condition is rarely a quick fix and we're in it with you for the long haul.
Building a peaceful, nourishing relationship with food while managing a digestive disorder takes time, patience, and expert support. We'll be with you through the frustrating stretches and celebrate every win along the way.
It takes courage to ask for help. We're glad you’re here.
Nutrition counseling services can be done in-person (Amherst office) or via Telehealth.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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At the present time, we are preferred providers with Aetna, BCBS, Medicare, Mass General Brigham/MGB (no ACO plans), GIC Unicare, Wellpoint, Cigna, Health New England, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, and Tufts (commercial plan only). Medicare only covers the visit if you have diabetes or renal disease. We do not accept MassHealth. Please note that each plan is different and nutrition benefits can vary and we often need a referral on file. Please contact our client coordinator at hello@happyvalleynutrition.com for any specific questions.
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We offer out of pocket and sliding scale rates as necessary. We will always work with you to try to get sessions covered!
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We ask that you verify your insurance benefits with our handy script to use. Also, complete all paperwork no later than 24 hours before your initial appt (intake form, etc) so that your RD can be best prepared for appointment. We send gentle reminders!
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Yes! We often can see clients via telehealth for clients outside of MA, but it does depend on the state that you live in during the time of the call. Please send us an email to hello@happyvalleynutrition.com to inquire specifically.
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Yes, we absolutely do and would love to support you or a loved one.
GET GI NUTRITION SUPPORT THAT ACTUALLY HELPS
If you're searching for a gut health dietitian near Amherst, MA who takes a compassionate, weight-inclusive approach — you've found the right place. Whether you're newly diagnosed, years into managing a GI condition, or just trying to figure out why your gut is so unpredictable, we're here to help. Let's find a way of eating that reduces your symptoms and lets you enjoy food again.