Nutrition Conversations

Nutrition research is advancing rapidly, yet translating evidence into meaningful improvements in health remains a complex challenge. How do scientific discoveries become policies, programs, and practices that improve health, and what role do nutrition professionals play in making that happen? Dr. Fiona Wallace is the founder and principal consultant of Nutrition Opportunities Worldwide, where she supports NGOs, governments, and organizations in translating nutrition science into policy and practice. Her clients have included UNICEF, GAIN, Helen Keller International, CARE Malawi, and the SUN Business Network. Dr. Wallace earned her BSc in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto, followed by an MSc in Human Nutrition, a PhD in Nutrition and Immune Function, an MBA, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Food Law in the United Kingdom. She began her career in nutrition research and development at GlaxoSmithKline before holding senior scientific, regulatory, and nutrition communications roles withNestlé and Bayer. Today, Dr. Wallace works across academia, industry, and global health to advance evidence-informed nutrition initiatives. She also serves on the American Society for Nutrition's Global Nutrition Council and is a founding member and past president of the University of Toronto's Department of Nutritional Sciences Alumni Association. In this episode, Dr. Wallace discusses what it takes to move nutrition science beyond publications and into policies, programs, products, and practices that improve health around the world.

La nutrition sociale est un domaine émergent qui va au-delà des choix alimentaires individuels pour comprendre comment les facteurs sociaux, économiques, culturels et environnementaux influencent la façon dont les gens mangent et leur état de santé. Cette approche reconnaît que la nutrition n’est pas seulement une question de biologie, mais aussi d’accès, d’inégalités, de vie familiale, de soutien communautaire et de politiques publiques. Dre Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson est diététiste professionnelle et professeure agrégée à l’École des sciences de la nutrition de l’Université d’Ottawa. Elle a obtenu un doctorat en sciences de la nutrition avec une spécialisation en nutrigénétique à l’Université de Toronto, avant de compléter un stage postdoctoral en épidémiologie génétique à l’INSERM à Paris. Ses recherches portent principalement sur la nutrition sociale périnatale, la santé maternelle et infantile, l’insécurité alimentaire et les interventions communautaires visant à réduire les inégalités en santé. Dans cet épisode, Dre Fontaine-Bisson discute la nutrition sociale, en explorant les liens entre la nutrition, la santé maternelle et infantile, l’insécurité alimentaire et le soutien aux populations vulnérables au Canada. This podcast was recorded in French

There’s growing interest in using genetic information to guide nutrition, alongside ongoing discussion about the strength of the evidence and its practical applications. As the field evolves, it’s raising important questions about how best to translate science into meaningful recommendations. Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy is a Professor and Associate Chair at the University of Toronto and held a Canada Research Chair in Nutrigenomics. He is also the Founder of Nutrigenomix Inc. and Chair’s the company’s International Science Advisory Board. Dr. El-Sohemy obtained his PhD from the University of Toronto and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard. He has over 200 peer-reviewed publications and has given more than 400 invited talks around the world. The goal of his research program is to identify genetic markers that predict response to various dietary factors on a variety of health and performance outcomes. Dr. El-Sohemy has served on Health Canada’s Scientific Advisory Board and several international expert advisory panels. He is also the recipient of several awards for research excellence by the Canadian Nutrition Society, the American College of Nutrition, and the American Nutrition Association. In this episode, Dr. El Sohemy discusses the role of genetics in shaping how we respond to food and the evolving field of personalized nutrition.

Few nutrition topics have generated as much heat—and as little clarity—as seed oils. They are often blamed for inflammation, chronic disease, and poor metabolic health, yet they are also some of the most studied fats in human nutrition. Dr. Jessie Burns is a clinical scientist and consultant with a PhD in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Guelph, where her doctoral research focused on dietary fatty acids, inflammation, and chronic disease prevention. She also completed postdoctoral training in clinical women’s health research at Carleton University before transitioning from academia into a non-academic career in clinical science and evidence-based medicine. In her current roles, she collaborates with clinicians, industry partners, researchers, and health organizations to review, appraise, and synthesize complex scientific evidence for clinical guidance, knowledge translation, and education. Though she has formally left academia, she continues to collaborate with academic researchers on projects related to dietary fats and women’s health. In this episode, Dr. Burns discusses the role of seed oils on our health, challenge common fears, and distinguish evidence-based facts from social media misinformation.

Food is central to our health, but the work that goes into making food happen every day—planning, shopping, cooking, negotiating, and cleaning up—is often invisible. This foodwork shapes not only what we eat, but how food, care, responsibility, and power are shared within households. Yet it’s rarely measured, named, or addressed in health research or policy. Dr. Leah Cahill is a registered dietitian and associate professor in the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She completed her undergraduate degree in nutritional sciences at the University of Manitoba, a dietetic internship with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and her PhD in medicine focusing on interactions between nutrition and genetics at the University of Toronto, and then moved to Boston to work as a postdoctoral scientist at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. During her five-year postdoc at Harvard, Dr. Cahill worked in the Department of Nutrition collecting skills in nutritional epidemiology and research methodology as she investigated the dietary and genetic origins of cardiometabolic disease in large cohort studies. She is currently the Howard Webster Research Chair in the Department of Medicine at Dalhousie University and Nova Scotia Health where she leads a research program named nourish that investigates nutrition, biomarkers, and clinical patient-oriented research initiatives. In this episode, Dr. Cahill discusses foodwork as a critical—but overlooked—determinant of health and wellbeing, and what it means to study food not just as nutrients, but as a social and relational practice.