Food for thought 2020

Series articles

Analysis:

Making nutrition guidelines fit for purpose
Guidelines must ask the right questions and incorporate complexity to improve their relevance and quality, argue Lisa Bero and colleagues.

Diet, nutrition, and cancer risk: what do we know and what is the way forward?
Timothy Key and colleagues describe the evidence linking diet and nutrition to cancer risk, concluding that obesity and alcohol are the most important factors.

What role should the commercial food system play in promoting health through better diet?
Martin White and coauthors consider that the commercial food system has the potential to show leadership and support for dietary public health, but systemic change is needed first and this is likely to require governmental action.

Can nutrition support healthy cognitive ageing and reduce dementia risk?
Amy Jennings and colleagues describe the evidence and potential for food and food bioactive components to reduce the population prevalence of dementia.

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Sodium and health—concordance and controversy
Nancy Cook and colleagues describe the sources of agreement and disagreement about the health effects of sodium and how they might be resolved.

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Public health response to ultra-processed food and drinks
Growing evidence confirms a link between consumption of ultra-processed food and drinks and non-communicable diseases. Jean Adams and colleagues explore the implications for public health action.

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Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing?
Poor nutrition may be a causal factor in the experience of low mood, and improving diet may help to protect not only the physical health but also the mental health of the population, say Joseph Firth and colleagues.

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Food is medicine: actions to integrate food and nutrition into healthcare
Sarah Downer and colleagues review new efforts to incorporate food and nutrition into prevention, management, and treatment of diet related disease in healthcare systems.

Health effects of vitamin and mineral supplements
Growing numbers of healthy people are taking dietary supplements but there is little evidence that they protect against non-communicable diseases, say Fang Fang Zhang and colleagues.

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Environmental approaches to promote healthy eating: Is ensuring affordability and availability enough?
Pablo Monsivais and colleagues reflect on the evidence for interventions to improve access to healthy food and discuss considerations for evidence generation.

Nutritional basis of type 2 diabetes remission
Roy Taylor and colleagues explain how type 2 diabetes can be reversed by weight loss and avoidance of weight regain.

Fibre intake for optimal health: how can healthcare professionals support people to reach dietary recommendations?
Nicola M McKeown and colleagues advocate for the importance of translating the health impact of high fibre diets to patients and clients, with emphasis placed on incorporating a variety of plant based foods to achieve dietary fibre recommendations

Feature:

Challenges and opportunities for better nutrition science
The path to conducting better nutrition science entails recognising previous and inherent limitations and challenges and building on recent developments and opportunities, say Tim Spector and Christopher Gardner.

Ultra-processed foods and the corporate capture of nutrition
Food corporations have exploited the dominant model in nutrition science to shape the way their ultra-processed products are defended, promoted, and regulated. Gyorgy Scrinis examines their scientific strategies and suggests ways to reframe the debate.