2026 Nutrition Care Manual® Update Summary 

The Nutrition Care Manual® (NCM®) nutrition care sections and corresponding client education handouts are updated on a rolling basis. The reason behind this approach is to provide the most up to date and evidence-based nutrition information as soon as it is finalized, which positively benefits you and your patients and clients. 

We will keep you informed of updated nutrition care sections and corresponding client education handouts and you can also access this year-to-date summary anytime.  

IMPORTANT NOTE: The NCM® Diet Manual is updated on an annual basis. That way, you can continue the recommended process for annual diet manual review and implementation at your facility. 

Additional Client Education Handout Information 

• Shortly after each update, the following will be available:

  • The designed PDF format and Spanish translations for the updated client education handouts

  • Arabic, Chinese, and Vietnamese translations; and brief PDFs for most popular client education handouts

• All NCM® client education handouts reflect inclusive language. 

• Access the list of available translations here. 

• Access the list of available brief client education handouts here.

We hope you enjoy these NCM® Updates!  

Sincerely,  
The NCM® Team  

June 12, 2026

Introducing Brief Client Education Handouts!

We are excited to release our first batch of one-page, brief client education handouts. Each brief handout includes succinct and essential introductory content, along with graphics of foods. Use these accessible handouts for introductory or quick education sessions, or with patients/clients with limited literacy. Additional brief client education handouts for the most utilized and popular NCM^® handouts will be published in subsequent updates.

Access the brief client education handouts now available in NCM^® via the All Brief Client Education Handout page or the relevant topic area:

• Heart-Healthy Foods (Brief)
• Low-Sodium Foods (Brief)
• High-Calorie, High Protein Foods (Brief)

NCM^® Nutrition Care Clinical Updates

Review updated clinical content featuring comprehensive nutritional management and evidence-based practice recommendations for the following:

Nutrition care sections

• Colostomy (Updated)
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) (Updated)
• Hypertension (Updated)
• Parkinson's Disease (Updated)
• Ileostomy (Updated)
• Obesity Medications (Updated)

Note: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) has been renamed Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS).

NCM^® Client Education Handout Updates

Don’t miss the new and updated NCM^® client education handouts:

Cardiovascular

• Hypertension Nutrition Therapy (Updated)

Gastrointestinal

• Colostomy Nutrition Therapy (Updated)
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) Nutrition Therapy (Updated)
• Ileostomy Nutrition Therapy (Updated)

Weight Management

• Nutrition Tips for Managing Obesity Medications (Reviewed)

NCM^® Resources

The new resource Estimated Protein Needs provides evidence-based protein needs recommendations for 20 conditions and lifecycle stages.

Retired NCM^® Content

Client Education Handouts

Musculoskeletal

• Rheumatoid Arthritis Nutrition Therapy (access General, Healthful Mediterranean Nutrition Therapy)

March 25, 2026 

NCM® Nutrition Care Clinical Updates 

Review updated clinical content featuring comprehensive nutritional management and evidence-based practice recommendations for the following: 

 
Nutrition care sections 

• Gallbladder Disease (Updated) 

• Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) and Metabolic-Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) (New) 

NCM® Client Education Handout Updates 

Don’t miss the new and updated NCM® client education handouts: 

Gastrointestinal 

• Gallbladder Disease Nutrition Therapy (Updated) 

• Low-FODMAP Diet Nutrition Therapy (Updated) 

• Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) and Metabolic-Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) Nutrition Therapy (New)