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Consumer Reports on Protein Powders: Are Lead Levels Cause for Concern?
In October 2025, Consumer Reports, an American organization, published their findings that many protein powders sold in the United States of America (USA) had concerning amounts of lead in them. The safe intake levels defined by Consumer Reports are lower than the safe intake levels determined by Health Canada and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). PEN Team asked: what data are these organizations using to determine their safe intake levels, and why do they differ?
Posted: 2025-11-06
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Consumer Reports on Infant Formulas: Are They Really Contaminated, and is this Cause for Concern?
Consumer Reports, an American organization, recently published a report on contaminants (such as arsenic and lead) that may be found in infant formulas. The PEN Team asked: what were the findings, and are they relevant to people living outside the USA?
Posted: 2025-11-06
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The NiMe Diet: What is it, and How Might it Affect Dietetic Practice?
A new diet, the NiMe diet, has been designed to restore our industrialized gut microbiomes to their “ancestral” state. The PEN Team asked: what is this diet, and what does it mean for dietitians in practice?
Posted: 2025-09-29
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Evidence-Based Practice in 2025: Filling the Knowledge-to-Practice Gap
Dietitians know, and care about evidence-based practice (EBP) - but do they apply it regularly in their jobs? Some evidence has suggested that allied health professionals, including dietitians, may begin to feel uncomfortable (or out-of-date) applying their EBP skills within 5 years of entering clinical practice, “particularly for those activities involving critical analysis of published studies”. The PEN Team asked: does this alleged discomfort stop dietitians from applying EBP?
Posted: 2025-09-15
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Seed Oils: A Case Study In Explaining Pseudoscience to Clients
As dietitians, we tend to have a sixth sense about whether a nutrition claim might be legitimate or not, which can be difficult to explain to clients. A current example would be the fuss surrounding “seed oils” (certain refined vegetable oils, including canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soy, and sunflower), spurred by the American health secretary’s recent claims that they are harmful and the subsequent media (and social media) attention.
Posted: 2025-08-14
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Are Iodine Supplements Needed?
Consumer eating habits and resultant diet quality has changed over the years. Individuals are eating away from home more often and are eating more processed and ultra-processed foods which contain lower levels of iodized salt. At the same time, consumers are decreasing their intake of iodized table salt (a major source of iodine) and opting for non-iodized salt options, including kosher, Himalayan pink or sea salt that contain little to no iodine. Concerns have been raised that iodine supplements may be needed to prevent mild to moderate iodine deficiencies that have been increasing.
Posted: 2025-07-02
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Trending Topic: New Canadian Guidelines: Pediatric Obesity
New Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of obesity in children and adolescents were released in April. The Practice-based Evidence in Nutrition: PEN® [PEN] team was asked: do these new guidelines change dietetic practice and how will the PEN database be updated based on the recommendations?
Posted: 2025-05-12
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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