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Do Emulsifiers Affect the Gut Microbiome?
The PEN team was made aware of recent interest in the role of emulsifiers and gut microbiome and health. Dietary emulsifiers help to combine or stabilize substances that usually don’t stay together when mixed. They affect a food’s appearance, texture and shelf-life and are commonly found in processed and ultra-processed foods such as margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressings, sauces, nut butters, chocolate products, milk and dairy including ice cream products and commercially made baked goods.
Posted: 2025-04-17
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Does it Matter When You Drink Your Coffee?
It is rare that the PEN Team comes across a nutrition topic that has never been studied before, but that is exactly what happened a few weeks ago. A recent, large study published in the European Heart Journal reported the effect of coffee on heart health. The authors examined whether the timing of coffee intake (just in the morning or throughout the day) influenced people’s risk of dying over a 10-year period.
Posted: 2025-03-04
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Can Food and/or Supplements be Used To Stimulate GLP-1 Activity to Improve Health Outcomes or Reduce GLP-1 Medication Dose?
Interest in glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is transforming the health industry. Many, including health advocates and food and supplement companies, want to promote and develop foods and natural-based products that could increase GLP-1 effectiveness. Dietitians are wondering: do these products really boost GLP-1 activity to improve health outcomes and/or reduce medication dosage for those taking GLP-1 agonists?
Posted: 2025-03-01
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What Advice can Dietitians Tell their Clients Who Are Concerned About Liquid Smoke?
The Practice-based Evidence in Nutrition: PEN® team was recently asked to consider adding information about liquid smoke into the PEN System as dietitians have been asked questions about it by their clients. An example of a question was, “Are food products with liquid smoke flavour (e.g. smoked almonds, smoked tofu) associated with health risks?”
Posted: 2025-01-27
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Should Healthy Individuals be Monitoring their Blood Glucose?
Recently, there has been increased marketing for continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) directed towards non-diabetic populations. The PEN® Team looked for available research about the use of CGMs and whether supporting their use in the general population is beneficial.
Posted: 2024-09-03
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Is Tonic Water a Cure for Foot/Leg Cramps?
Earlier this year, one of the PEN Team members overheard a conversation where an individual was told by a family member to drink tonic water before going to bed to help with foot cramps. The PEN Team thought a review of recently updated PEN content on muscle cramps would help answer this question and assist practitioners.
Posted: 2024-08-07
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Anti-nutrients: Should They Be Avoided?
Should individuals avoid anti-nutrients, and the plants that bear them? Two dietetic practicum students along with the PEN® Team revisited the topic of anti-nutrients from a previous Trending Topic on Lectins to try to answer this question.
Posted: 2024-07-08
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What’s the latest on The Dirty Dozen?
The American not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) has recently published an updated 2024 Dirty Dozen, which lists the fruit and vegetables most contaminated with pesticides. The EWG maintains that children are most likely to be susceptible to pesticide exposure and related health consequences, which has led to the American Academy of Pediatrics listing the Dirty Dozen as a resource for information on pesticide residues in produce.
Posted: 2024-04-22