July 2016 Issue

Editor's Spot: Symposium Highlights
By Judith Riddle
Today's Dietitian
Vol. 18 No. 7 P. 4

Today's Dietitian (TD) hosted our 3rd annual Spring Symposium at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel and Spa May 15 to 18 in Orlando, Florida. Hands down, it was a stupendous event that surpassed our expectations and those of every nutrition professional in attendance. "This is the best conference I've ever been to," said one dietitian.

"There was a wide variety of sessions, and you had such great speakers," said another.

This year's symposium featured 20 of the most highly esteemed presenters in the nutrition profession who discussed chronic disease and diet; clinical, community, and retail dietetics; sustainability; and nutrition communications. Of course the highlight of the symposium was the keynote presentation "For the Love of Fat: What We Really Know (Or Don't Know)" by David L. Katz, MD, MPH.

In a packed auditorium of enthusiastic dietitians, Katz presented an evidence-based—albeit entertaining—discussion on the vast body of research (both accurate and misleading) on saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and carbohydrates in the context of their associations with cardiovascular health. Katz separated truth from error and boiled down decades of research into understandable sound bites that dietitians can use to counsel clients and spread accurate nutrition messages to the masses.

As I listened to Katz speak with such wit and authority, I concluded that here was a man who had spent countless hours over several years reading one study and review article after another to unearth the truth about how saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and carbohydrates impact heart health. Undoubtedly, he answered the many questions about this issue dietitians have been asking for some time. At the end of his presentation, Katz received a thunderous standing ovation—a true testament to his knowledge of and passion for medicine, health and wellness, and diet and nutrition.

Katz mentioned during his keynote that he isn't a fan of the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans because they lack the substance of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report. But I later learned that he approves of the FDA's updated Nutrition Facts label, which, for the first time, will list "Sugars" with "Added Sugars" below it, and prominently display in boldface type "Calories," "Servings per container," and "Serving size." TD will provide additional coverage on the new label in future issues.

You can read more about the symposium on page 40 and view the photo gallery. Also in this issue are articles on weight loss resistance, purple produce, and a special section on protein trends and green tea—two more of the hottest nutrition trends of 2016 based on our 4th annual "What's Trending in Nutrition" survey that TD developed with Pollock Communications. Please enjoy the issue!

Judith Riddle
Editor
TDeditor@gvpub.com