PEN eNews 11(6) June 2021
PEN
® eNews is a monthly e-newsletter shared with the global PEN Community and created to help dietitians position themselves as leaders in evidence-based nutrition practice. In addition, users of the PEN System will find articles on the new evidence, resources and features available and how to maximize one's use of PEN.
Gastritis and Peptic Ulcer Disease – Are You Up-to-Date?
Have you looked at the Gastrointestinal System - Gastritis and Peptic Ulcer Disease Knowledge Pathway lately? All of the practice questions were just updated:
Looking for more gastrointestinal disease content? There are:
25 Knowledge Pathways
145 Practice Questions
85 Client Handouts
And so much more!
Type "gastrointestinal disease" into the PEN Search and check out the results!
Reactive Hypoglycemia - What is the Latest?
The Question
What is the recommended dietary management of reactive (postprandial) hypoglycemia?The Recommendation
Low quality evidence suggests that interventions that slow glucose absorption and reduce insulin response are recommended for individuals with reactive hypoglycemia (RH). These interventions consist of:
- consuming frequent small meals
- limiting or avoiding high glycemic index (GI) foods
- including fibre, in particular soluble fibres
- limiting mixed alcoholic beverages
- following a mainly vegetarian dietary pattern emphasizing low fat, high complex carbohydrates with fermented products.
To see the full practice question, including the Evidence Summary, Remarks, Evidence Statements, Comments, and References, click here.
Want to know what else is new and updated? Bookmark these pages:
New Knowledge Pathway Content (Knowledge Pathways, Practice Questions, Summary of Recommendations and Evidence, Practice Guidance Toolkits, Backgrounds)
Tools and Resources.
The Autism Knowledge Pathway is Updated!
The Autism Knowledge Pathway was just updated. Do you know the answers to these questions?- Do interventions for reducing restrictive eating improve food acceptance in children with autism spectrum disorder who exhibit restrictive eating behaviours?
- Do children with autism spectrum disorder experience a reduction in the symptoms of autism when a gluten-free/casein-free diet is followed, and does this diet affect diet quality?
- Do individuals with autism spectrum disorder taking a daily multivitamin mineral supplement experience a reduction in symptoms of autism?
- Are children with autism spectrum disorder deficient in peripheral iron levels and does supplementation improve symptoms of ASD?
- Do children with autism spectrum disorder experience a reduction in autistic symptoms when supplemented with magnesium and vitamin B6?
- Is polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation an effective intervention for the reduction of autistic symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder?
- Do children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit reduced gastrointestinal and/or improved behavioural symptoms with probiotic supplementation?
- Is melatonin safe and effective for the management of sleep problems in children with autism spectrum disorder?
Check out this
knowledge pathway for the answers and for additional information.
Interested in being a PEN Reviewer?
We need reviewers for:
- Allergic Disease - Probiotics and Prebiotics, Adult
- Cancer - Nutritional Implications
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Celiac Disease
- Fertility - Female and Male
- Gastrointestinal System - Postoperative Feeding
- Infant Nutrition - Infant Formula
- Nephrology - Kidney Stones
- Nutrition Assessment - Adults; Community-based practice
Open Access to COVID-19 Content Continues
Although the Open Access to the entire PEN® System is now closed, we continue to make COVID-19 information, Trending Topics and PEN® eNews available to all with no PEN subscription or access credits required:
If you are interested in continuing your access to the entire PEN System and you are not a current subscriber, please view the different subscription options available at:
https://www.pennutrition.com/signup.aspx. Revenue from PEN subscriptions is reinvested in the system to keep the content up-to-date and constantly growing while positioning you on the leading edge in your practice. The PEN System does not accept industry revenue or advertising.
We hope you'll be an active member of our PEN community and stay connected with us:
Stay Safe,
The PEN Team
Surprising Findings: Insects - Friend, Foe or Feast?
Insects are on my mind lately. As an avid gardener, I spend a fair bit of time capturing the destructive ones in my garden at night and reading about means to combat these foes. In some cases, my strategy includes adding beneficial insects, whom I welcome as friends to my garden. Reading and watching the recent news on cicadas, especially the cicada gourmet snacks, made me wonder about insects and food safety.
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently released an overview on edible insects from a food safety perspective (1). Some of the key challenges outlined include:
- biological agent (bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic) and chemical contamination (pesticides, toxic metals, flame retardants) that can occur in the growth and harvesting of wild and farmed insects and as a result of the environment
- the consumption of wild and/or raw insects
- allergic reactions to new allergens as well as potential cross-reactions with crustacean allergies
- the quality and safety of the feed provided to the farmed insects.
Regulated farming and trade, as well as research into the various aspects of food safety involved in edible insect production and consumption, are noted as means to address these challenges.
There are potential safety issues with all foods. As dietitians, it is helpful to consider these issues as part of the whole picture. There is a new PEN background coming soon that provides a comprehensive overview of entomophagy (the consumption of insects as foods). For now, I will keep an open mind and look forward to reading more about the topic. I will also continue to hunt my garden foes, but not for lunch (yet!).
References- FAO. Looking at edible insects from a food safety perspective. Challenges and opportunities for the sector. 2021. Available from: https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4094en
Written by:
Heather Alaverdy MA, RD
PEN Editor
How do I use tags to find nutrition information in the PEN® System?
Being asked about detoxification? The Paleo diet? Are you busting nutrition myths? We have '
Tags' to help you find information in
Trending Topics and
PEN eNews!
What are tags?
Tags are similar to categories and are used to describe the prevalent topic(s) found in Trending Topics and PEN eNews. Tags are limited to a small number of words or concepts that describe the article or main theme(s). They are different from keywords which can be broad or specific terms. In the PEN System, keywords are only used for knowledge pathways, tools and resources to improve search results.
How are tags useful?
Tags are like a shortcut to common topics. They were created to help users retrieve multiple articles and resources classified under common topics/similar themes and help to cross link resources between the Trending Topics page and PEN eNews editions, in addition to finding information in knowledge pathway(s).
Here's an example of how a tag will lead to other related information in the PEN System, starting from
Trending Topics home page:
When you click on "View PEN eNews articles tagged with 'Cancer'" you will see the following screen:
To find information in the PEN database related to the tag ‘Cancer’, you can click on the 'Search the PEN Database for Cancer' as noted in the above screen or you can also do a traditional search of the PEN knowledge pathway content to find the following information:
The tags form a word cloud on the right side of the website and the size of the tag clouds will be related to the number of articles with the relevant tag.
We hope you find the addition of tags helpful when searching for information in the PEN System. As tags are always evolving, we welcome your feedback.
Reposted and Updated from the December 2015 eNews article
PEN eNews
June 2021 Volume
11 (6)
A Publication of the PEN® System Global Partners,
a collaborative partnership between International Dietetic Associations.
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