Ensuring Nutrient Adequacy for a Healthy and Sustainable Diet

Webinar

Nutrient adequacy is a cornerstone of a healthy, sustainable diet; however, nutrient deficiencies remain highly prevalent worldwide, including in mid to high income countries such as Canada. Consequently, tailored strategies promoting nutrient density and dietary diversity through a balance of plant-and animal-source foods can be critical to effectively bridging nutrient gaps.  

During this presentation at the 2024 Canadian Nutrition Society (CNS) Annual Conference, Professor Alice Stanton (RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences) and Dr. Brad Ridoutt (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - CSIRO) discuss the multifaceted nature of a healthy, sustainable diet with a focus on nutrient adequacy and environmental metrics.

Ensuring Nutrient Adequacy for a Healthy and Sustainable Diet

To watch this free presentation, access CNS recordings here. 

Note that this presentation has been made available and accessible at no cost to both CNS members and non-members, thanks to a DFC joint sponsorship. 

By the end of the webinar, participants will: 

  1. Deepen their understanding of the concepts underpinning a healthy, sustainable diet, such as nutrient adequacy and environmental metrics. 
  2. Gain insight on the prevalence and risk factors associated with common nutrient deficiencies. 
  3. Recognize the importance of nutrient density and dietary diversity in the context of a healthy, sustainable diet and how different food categories can make important, complementary nutritional contributions. 
  4. Learn about the different environmental metrics associated with agriculture and how context can influence environmental footprint(s). 

Key topics addressed: 

  • The leading contributors driving diet-related environmental impact. 
  • Nutrient adequacy and why it is inherently in line with the principles of a sustainable diet. 

Key findings:  

  • Consumption of nutrient dense, whole foods with a focus on variety is fundamental in promoting nutrient adequacy.  
  • The core principle underlying most plant-based diets, that reduces intake of animal sourced foods, can result in exacerbation of baseline micronutrient and protein deficiencies.  
  • Both the over- and underconsumption of many food groups are linked to disease burden and nutrient deficiencies.  
    • For example, diets low in dairy are linked to a low likelihood of achieving EAR for calcium. 
    • Research supports a protective association between dairy intake and certain health outcomes, such as overweight/obesity, colorectal cancer, and type 2 diabetes. For example, certain studies have linked the intake of 2 or more daily servings of full-fat dairy with a reduced risk of overweight/obesity, total mortality, as well as heart attacks and strokes.  
  • With a decrease in percentage of calories coming from animal sourced foods (notably, when below 30%), there is a subsequent and parallel increase in the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies.  
  • Among the top 20 foods rich in nutrients that are commonly deficient worldwide, 16 are animal-source foods (i.e., unprocessed meats and organ meats, dairy, eggs, fish, etc.). 
  • Discretionary foods (e.g., sports drinks, alcohol, soft drinks, and pastries) make up the highest contribution (about 30.6%) of environmental impact of the Australian diet (incl. factors such as climate, water scarcity, cropland scarcity, pesticide toxicity), yet do not support nutrient adequacy or health. 
  • Lowering environmental impact through dietary changes (e.g., food swaps) presents challenges, as often times, improvements in one environmental impact factor will lead to exacerbation in another category.  
 
To watch the webinar
Click here
Speaker
Professor Alice Stanton

ALICE STANTON, PhD - RCSI University of Medicine & Health Sciences

Professor Alice Stanton is a clinician scientist. Current roles include: Professor of Cardiovascular Therapeutics at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Consultant concerning Healthy Sustainable Diets. She served on the Committee developing “Ireland’s Agri-food Strategy to 2030”, and as an Assembly Member for the Horizon Europe Cancer Mission. She is a Member of the Irish Climate and Health Coalition, the World Action on Salt, Sugar and Health (WASSH), Meat Technology Ireland, and the Scientific Council of World Farmers Organisation. She has authored in excess of 150 peer-reviewed published papers (Scopus h-index 60), and delivered many lectures concerning evidence-based healthy diets from sustainable food systems. Recently, she authored an important perspective, published in npj Science of Food, which robustly questions the use of substandard metrics in policy decisions which mandate large reductions in animal-source foods. 

Speaker
Brad Ridoutt

BRAD RIDOUTT, PhD - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Dr. Brad Ridoutt is a Principal Research Scientist with Australia’s national science agency – The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). His expertise is in life cycle sustainability assessment in the agriculture and food sectors which is used to address strategic challenges in relation to climate change, water scarcity, sustainable food systems, and sustainable diets. Dr. Ridoutt is engaged in a range of international processes relating to the standardization of sustainability assessment and environmental labelling. His research is creating the main evidence base concerning the environmental impacts of dietary habits in Australia.