PEN eNews 10(7) July 2020

Coconut Oil - What is the Latest?

• What is the evidence on the safety of sweeteners (e.g. nonnutritive, artificial, intense, low calorie, sugar substitutes)?


• What is the evidence on the safety of sugar alcohols?

• Are there any specific considerations with regard to the use of sweeteners (e.g. nonnutritive, artificial, sugar substitutes, intense, low calorie) in pregnancy/lactation?

Are there any specific considerations with regard to the use of sugar alcohols as sweeteners in pregnancy/lactation?


• Are there any specific considerations with regard to the use of sweeteners (e.g. nonnutritive, artificial, intense, low calorie, sugar substitutes) and sugar alcohols in children?


• What effect do sweeteners (e.g. nonnutritive, artificial, intense, low calorie, sugar substitutes) have on cardiometabolic health?

• What effect do sweeteners (e.g. nonnutritive, artificial, intense, low calorie, sugar substitutes) and sugar alcohols have on weight management?

• All individuals with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) should be screened for celiac disease.
• Individuals with iron deficiency without anemia (IDWA) are at low risk of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancy. However, individuals who present with IDWA and are >50 years or have not been screened for GI malignancies should be investigated for gastrointestinal malignancies.

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Farewell, Dear Friend & Colleague: Here’s to It

It is with deep sadness that we share that Beth Armour passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on June 28th, 2020. Beth lived a vibrant life filled of rich relationships and never missed an opportunity to make a friend, make someone laugh or have fun. She was the life of every party and never showed up without goodies (e.g. oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!) and jokes.

Over a career that spanned more than four decades, Beth worked as the Clinical Coordinator of McGill University’s Dietetic Internship Program, as the Manager of Clinical Nutrition for the McGill University Health Centre, as an entrepreneur dedicated to producing and distributing gluten-free oats and as the Content Manager for the PEN System. She also spent countless hours volunteering both within the dietetics profession and in her community. Throughout the years, Beth served on the Board of Directors for Dietitians of Canada and on dietetic practice committees too numerous to name, contributed to the Canadian Celiac Association and provided her special brand of kindness to nursing home residents in her Montreal community. Along with Barb Anderson, Beth was instrumental in establishing the Dietitians of Canada Morgan Award that recognizes the research achievements of dietetic students and interns as a tribute their friend and colleague Susan Morgan.

Beth established herself early on as a valued and visionary leader in dietetics as she tirelessly devoted herself to advocating for the profession and for dietetic students in particular. Beth loved working with students and was an extraordinary mentor of hundreds of students, engaging and supporting them as they learned about critical appraisal and applying evidence to practice. Noor Naqvi, a former student of Beth’s, wrote, “They say the mediocre mentor tells, the good mentor explains, the superior mentor demonstrates, but the greatest mentors inspire. Over the course of my dietetic internship across Montreal, I met a number of people who had been mentored by Beth. One told me how Beth had saved her from throwing away years of hard work and quitting internship and others spoke fondly of her. Working with her was one of the highlights of my academic career in dietetics. The experience was a lesson in professionalism and the power of positive reinforcement. I consider myself lucky to have been mentored by Beth. She was the greatest!” A former dietetic intern, Lesley French, remembers, “I came to know Beth in my Royal Victoria Hospital Internship in Montreal. Beth was our internship coordinator for our 1st and 2nd Stage of McGill MacDonald Campus Internship, 1982-1983. I remember that we had regular Friday afternoon meetings, which were picnic lunches on the hospital ground’s beautiful grassy lawn overlooking Montreal. There may or may not have been a bottle of wine involved! At the end of our two stages with her, she invited us to her apartment for a meal and the food was fantastic. She was always fair, respectful and fun as an internship coordinator. She was down to earth and kind. She was always rooting for her Ontario sports team (we were in Montreal, so rival teams). But she’d do it in such a fun way. She was certainly a dietitian to look up to, and aspire to have her caring and kindness for others as a part of our own practice.” 

Beth was involved with the PEN System from the beginning serving as a volunteer member of the original advisory committee in the early 2000s. Officially, Beth was the PEN System’s Content Manager, internationally coordinating the development and update of PEN content between authors and reviewers. This position suited her well because she had the largest social and professional network of anyone we knew and she had an incredible talent for strategically connecting people. Unofficially, Beth was so much more for the PEN Team. She was a master of thoughtful and helpful feedback, an asker of tough questions that enhanced work products, an early adopter of the latest and greatest technologies, a brilliant systems thinker who could zero in on the smallest details without ever losing sight of the bigger picture and an embracer of diverse input. She had an unparalleled work ethic.

Beth Armour had a special way of connecting with people. For instance, while representing the PEN Team at a reception hosted by the Japanese Dietetic Association, Beth in her usual fashion, began circulating amongst the delegates. Wherever she was in the room, there were giggles, laughter and much flailing of hands as rudimentary sign language was attempted to aid the conversation. She spoke no Japanese and the Japanese delegates spoke little English, but nevertheless Beth “connected”. Her warmth and genuine interest in dietetics in Japan sowed the seeds of a new partnership.

In addition to being a committed team member, Beth was a dear friend. She placed a high value on friends and family and was always there for them even if it meant travelling across the country to support them. She always had our back – whether it was staying up all night to load PEN content for the original launch or reviewing a presentation the night before it was delivered. She was quick to volunteer to take on tasks to help manage the workload of others or to support their success. While she has been central to the success of the PEN System, she never sought centre-stage and instead delighted in supporting and celebrating the successes of her colleagues.

Beth exuded a zest for life; she had a willingness to try anything! She will be fondly remembered for her love of dressing up as Santa at holiday parties, for her ability to heckle speakers in a way that made everyone, including the speaker, laugh and for the way she effortlessly filled the awkward silences of large Zoom meetings. She’ll also be remembered for her kindness, her generosity, her wicked sense of humor and her love of Archie, her Tibetan terrier. We are so sad to say goodbye. Beth, you left us with so many fond memories and as you often toasted us: “ Here’s to it and from it and if you get to it to do it, do it as you may never get to it to do it again.”

The PEN Team & Friends

• Gastrointestinal System - Gastritis and Peptic Ulcer Disease Summary of Recommendations and Evidence
• Diabetes - Sweeteners Summary of Recommendations and Evidence
• Diabetes - Nephropathy Summary of Recommendations and Evidence
• Allergic Disease - Occupational Allergies Summary of Recommendations and Evidence
• Cancer - Colorectal Summary of Recommendations and Evidence