Nutrition Conversations

The Canadian Nutrition Society

The Podcasts from the Canadian Nutrition Society/la Société canadienne de nutrition (CNS/SCN) feature evidence-based information from healthcare providers and subject matter experts.

  1. Aug 31

    Healthy Beginnings Start with Both Parents: The Emerging Science of Paternal Nutrition with Dr. Kozeta Miliku

    There is a rapidly evolving area of nutrition research that is changing how we think about preconception health. Conversations about pregnancy nutrition have traditionally focused on mothers, however, growing evidence suggests that a father's nutrition and lifestyle before conception may also influence fertility, pregnancy outcomes, and the long-term health of his children. Dr. Kozeta Miliku is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her research examines how nutrition during critical periods of development, from preconception through childhood and adolescence, shapes lifelong cardiometabolic health. A major focus of her research is understanding the role of paternal nutrition and health before conception and expanding the traditional maternal-focused framework of preconception health toward one that recognizes the contributions of both parents. Dr. Miliku is also the Clinical Science Officer of the CHILD Cohort Study, one of Canada’s largest prospective birth cohort studies. She trained as a physician at the Medical University of Tirana in Albania and received her PhD in Clinical Epidemiology from Erasmus University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Her research brings together nutrition, epidemiology, and the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease framework to identify opportunities for preventing chronic disease as early as possible in the life course. In this episode, Dr. Miliku discusses the emerging science of paternal nutrition: why fathers contribute more than DNA, what we know about the potential biological pathways linking paternal health to offspring health, where important gaps in the evidence remain, and why the future of preconception care may need to include both parents.

    Healthy Beginnings Start with Both Parents: The Emerging Science of Paternal Nutrition with Dr. Kozeta Miliku

  2. Jul 31

    From Research to Real-World Impact: How Nutrition Science Creates Change with Dr. Fiona Wallace

    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.

    From Research to Real-World Impact: How Nutrition Science Creates Change with Dr. Fiona Wallace

  3. May 29

    Bien manger durant la grossesse; un choix personnel? Quand la nutrition sociale périnatale s’invite à la table avec Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson / Eating Well During Pregnancy: A Personal Choice? When Perinatal Social Nutrition Comes to the Table

    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

    Bien manger durant la grossesse; un choix personnel? Quand la nutrition sociale périnatale s’invite à la table avec Bénédicte Fontaine-Bisson / Eating Well During Pregnancy: A Personal Choice? When Perinatal Social Nutrition Comes to the Table

  4. Apr 30

    Personalized nutrition - are we ready to deliver DNA-based diets? with Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy

    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.

    Personalized nutrition - are we ready to deliver DNA-based diets? with Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy

  5. Mar 31

    Seed Oils: Science vs Social Media with Dr. Jessie Burns

    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.

    Seed Oils: Science vs Social Media with Dr. Jessie Burns

  6. Feb 27

    Dinner Doesn’t Just Appear: Foodwork, Households, and Health with Dr. Leah Cahill

    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.

    Dinner Doesn’t Just Appear: Foodwork, Households, and Health with Dr. Leah Cahill

  7. Jan 31

    What Nutrition Epidemiology Can (and Can’t) Tell Us with Dr. Russell de Souza

    Nutrition plays a role in nearly every major chronic disease, yet the science behind what we eat often feels confusing or contradictory. Nutritional epidemiology is the field that tries to make sense of these patterns by studying diet and health across populations. In this conversation, we are going to explore what this field can—and can’t—tell us about how food affects our health. Dr. Russell de Souza is a registered dietitian and Associate Professor in the Mary Heersink School of Global Health and Social Medicine and the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. His passion lies in understanding how what we eat and the environments we live in shape our health throughout life. He conducts everything from clinical trials to in-depth interviews, and works with teams to use cutting-edge ‘omics’ science to dig deeper into our diets. What really drives him is finding ways to help communities that often get overlooked, like pregnant women, South Asian immigrants and Indigenous Peoples, reduce their risk of chronic diseases. Along the way, he has earned prestigious recognition, including the 2023 CNS Young Investigator Award, and his department’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award. In this episode, Dr. de Souza discusses how nutritional epidemiology shapes our understanding of diet and health.

    What Nutrition Epidemiology Can (and Can’t) Tell Us with Dr. Russell de Souza

  8. 12/19/2025

    Sipping Smarter: How Sugary Drinks Shape Health and Habits with Dr. Scott Harding

    Sugar-sweetened beverages are one of the most widely consumed sources of added sugars in our diets, and their impact on health has become a major focus of nutrition research and public policy. Governments around the world are exploring tools like taxation to curb intake, but how well do these strategies work—and for whom? Dr. Scott Harding is an Associate Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Memorial University in Newfoundland. His research interests include glucose metabolism, cholesterol biochemistry, and the effects of public health policies on reducing obesity and chronic disease, particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador. Dr. Harding's research lab focuses on cardiometabolic diseases, using animal and in vitro models, human trials, and population studies. His team studies public health initiatives like sugar taxes and the metabolic impacts of dietary sugars and fats under varying intake levels. They also investigate how diet and lifestyle factors, such as short or disrupted sleep, activity, and dietary patterns, affect disease risk and nutrient metabolism. Dr. Harding earned his PhD in Human Nutrition from McGill University and completed postdoctoral training at the University of Manitoba and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. He has previously held an academic position at King’s College London before joining Memorial University and is currently the Co-Editor of the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. In this episode, Dr. Harding discusses the evidence behind sugar-sweetened beverages, what drives consumptions, and what policies including taxation might actually move the needle.

    Sipping Smarter: How Sugary Drinks Shape Health and Habits with Dr. Scott Harding
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About

The Podcasts from the Canadian Nutrition Society/la Société canadienne de nutrition (CNS/SCN) feature evidence-based information from healthcare providers and subject matter experts.

Information

  • Creator
    The Canadian Nutrition Society
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    40
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Canadian Nutrition Society 2023
  • Show Website
    Nutrition Conversations

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