PEN eNews 2(4) December 2012
PEN eNews is a monthly e-newsletter shared with the global PEN Community and created to help dietitians position themselves as leaders in evidence-based nutrition practice. In addition, users of the PEN System will find articles on the new evidence, resources and features available and how to maximize one's use of PEN.
December 2012 · Volume 2, Issue 4
A group of dietitians in a room = magic
What happens when you assemble a group of dietitians together in a room at a conference? You experience discussion, respectful debate and insatiable curiosity. I recently co-presented at a conference discussing professional uses of social media, and how dietitians can enhance their role as the trusted source of nutrition information through social media. While many dietitians reported embracing social media for personal use and openness to what it can do for the dietetics profession, there was some hesitation expressed. Notably, that while social media has its merits, we need to remember the value of face-to-face communications and personal contact – and that these continue to be essential and valuable skills for our profession.
Kristyn Hall MSc, RD
Editor, PEN eNews
What's New in PEN
New Knowledge Pathways 
Updated Knowledge Pathways 
New Practice Questions 
Updated Practice Questions 
- Does caffeine stimulate diuresis and negatively impact fluid balance among healthy adults?
- Is there an association between vitamin D and a reduced risk of cancer?
- Do children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) benefit from nutrition monitoring and dietary interventions including multivitamin mineral supplementation or omega-3 fatty acid supplementation?
- Are vitamin A supplements (including cod/fish liver oil supplements) and other rich food sources of vitamin A, such as liver, safe to consume in any amount during pregnancy?
- Can the ingestion of cranberry products (juice, tablets/capsules, dried cranberries, or cranberry seeds) help prevent urinary tract infections (UTIs)?
- Do overweight or obese individuals who consume a low glycemic index or low glycemic load diet compared to a high GI or a conventional diet lose more weight and/or fat mass?
Professional Tools
- Cancer - Prevention Practice Guidance Summary
- Mental Health Disorders - Autism Background
- Pregnancy Practice Guidance Summary
- Urology - Urinary Tract Infection Practice Guidance Summary
- Registered Dietitians in Aboriginal Communities: Feeding Mind, Body, Spirit (Canada)
- Obesity: Guidance on the Prevention, Identification, Assessment and Management of Overweight in Adults and Children (UK)
- Global Database on Body Mass Index
- Promoting Healthy Weights Using Population-based Interventions in Canada
- Australian and New Zealand Clinical Practice Guidelines for Prevention and Mangement of Venous Leg Ulcers
- Health Canada - Healthy Eating Toolbox for Intermediates
Client Tools
- Fuel for Fun: Healthy Eating Snacks for Active Kids (Canada)
English French
- Guidelines on How to Choose a Probiotic (Canada)
- Nutritional Management of Type 2 Diabetes - Aboriginal Population (Canada)
- Nutritional Management of COPD - Aboriginal Population (Canada)
- Food Sources of Iron (UK)
- Food Sources of Magnesium (UK)
- Weaning from Breastfeeding (Canada)
- Weaning from the Breast or Bottle (Canada)
How do I…become more involved with the PEN community?
- What is the biggest frustration that you experience as a dietitian?

- Arsenic and rice consumption.
- Junk food warning labels and taxes.
- Whether egg yolks are almost as bad as smoking with respect to cardiovascular disease.
- The link between antibiotic use and pediatric obesity.
- The increasing trend of dietitians in supermarkets.
Meet Your Global Partners: UK 
PEN is an international collaboration - we work internationally on a daily basis developing PEN content. The benefit of working so closely is that we can respond to the needs of our users and reflect practice from each of the collaborating countries. While we are all nutrition and dietetic professionals, the practice in each of our countries can vary greatly. PEN provides the foundation of dietetic practice, but its application might be different, depending on the political and structural differences of health care delivery in our countries. Here we detail the practice, policy and politics of nutrition and dietetics in the UK and how the application of the evidence in PEN responds to this.
Article written by Sylvia Turner BSc, RD
Dietitians LEAP into cyberspace at ICD2012: Report from the Dietitians Association of Australia
(adapted with permission from DAA September E-newsletter)
After months of preparation from Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) staff, with support from DAA’s Social Media Advisory Committee (SMAC), we were delighted to see many Australian and international dietitians LEAP into the social media world for the International Congress of Dietetics, held in Sydney, Australia on 5-8 September 2012.The online interaction on ICD’s social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube was extremely positive. Many online followers who were unable to attend the congress were grateful to those Tweeting and posting content and photos, which allowed them to get amongst the action as it happened!- The account had more than 600 Twitter followers (mostly dietitians) from across the world
- More than 4,500 Tweets were generated using the #ICD2012 hashtag
- The official ‘Tweet Up’ at the Welcome Reception had a great turn out, attracting around 20 delegates
- Responses to the official ICD2012 Twitter competition, which was supported by numerous congress sponsors and exhibitors, was pleasing – with five prizes given away
- Delegates were able to view ICD2012 Tweets at the congress through a live Twitter stream set-up on numerous televisions throughout the venue.
- What a great day #ICD2012 – learning about food insecurity, FODMAPs and more...inspiring & stimulating.
- Missed the first 20 mins of the social networking workshop whilst I set up a Twitter account – oh the irony! #ICD2012.
- Sylvia-Escott Stump takes the stand to speak about nutrition genomics! Folate especially can alter gene expression. #ICD2012.
- Networks, knowledge, readiness, confidence, resilience. Just some of the qualities needed to influence – Pauline Mulholland #ICD2012.
- People with IBS have more nerve endings lining the gut, therefore experience heightened sensations such as bloating and pain #ICD2012.
- Almost 500 ‘Likes’ to the ICD Facebook page
- ICD Facebook content reached more than 20 countries
- During the week of the congress, ICD Facebook content reached almost 9,000 people
- During the week of the congress, more than 250 people were talking about ICD on their Facebook pages.
- Video of the Australian Youth Choir at the Opening Ceremony
- Video highlights from the Opening Ceremony.

Website: www.daa.asn.au
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dietitiansassociation
YouTube: www.youtube.com/DAAvideos
Twitter: @HealthyWtWk
By: Theo Phillips MSc, RD and Dr Gordon Zello PhD
Sharing Results of the DAILY Project
Diet Approaches to Increase Lentil Consumption in Youth
DAILY researchers* at the University of Saskatchewan asked the question: Why aren’t we eating more lentils? They were recently able to share their findings at the International Congress of Dietetics (ICD) in Sydney, Australia. The opportunity allowed an international lens to be placed on their research and compare global influencers on food choice.
Respondents had more positive beliefs (i.e. correctly identified health benefits) than negative beliefs, but do not eat lentils regularly. - Nutrition knowledge was weakly correlated to lentil intake.
- 58% of caregivers never or rarely (less than once per month) ate lentils.
- Researchers identified little to no correlation of lentil intake by demographic or income levels.
- Top barriers: families were unsure how to cook lentils (actual barrier), belief that family would not like them (perceived barrier) and lentils take too long to cook (perceived barrier).
Want to participate in conference tweeting?
Interested in using twitter to help you share learnings from your conference? We have two articles that will help you:
• Conference Reporting in 2012 – the Ways They Are a Changin’
• Conference Reporting: Setting up your Conference for Tweeting
Debbie MacLellan RD, PhD and Jayne Thirsk RD, PhD, FDC
Evidence-based Practice – from Definition to Implementation
hosted at the 16th International Congress of Dietetics in Sydney Sept 5-8, 2012
In 2010, the Board of Directors of the ICDA [International Confederation of Dietetic Associations] adopted the definition of Evidence-based practice for dietetics that was developed as part of an international consultation process. This workshop is to assist participants to both understand the process of development and to consider methods of implementation. ICDA is seeking input from the international community on how it can best assist in the process of global uptake. (International Congress of Dietetics 2012 Program)
- How do you personally see using the ICDA definition of evidence-based dietetic practice?
- What are you currently doing in your workplace to implement evidence-based practice?
- What barriers do you anticipate in using the definition to support evidence-based practice?
- What is the national dietetic association role in advancing evidence-based dietetic practice?
- What role should ICD play in advancing evidence-based dietetic practice?
- What strategies and tools do you need to support advancing evidence-based dietetic practice?
What have been some of our most popular links clicked through from twitter?
• A great article highlighting the role of dietitians in supermarkets! Great to see this trend growing
• Antibiotics & pediatric obesity - Read our Evidence Analysis of the latest study making headlines
• Dietary components reported to be triggers of #migraine attacks
• What is the difference between evidence-based practice vs evidence- informed practice?
• 5 ways for parents to influence the dietary practices of children
Have clients or colleagues asking you about wheat belly? Here are links to 3 evidence analyses from fellow dietitians.
• http://www.aaccnet.org/publications/plexus/cfw/pastissues/2012/OpenDocuments/CFW-57-4-0177.pdf
• Rosie Schwartz blog - http://rosieschwartz.com/2012/08/17/the-book-wheat-belly-blames-wheat-for-all-that-ails-us-but-im-not-buying-it/
• Desiree Nelson blog - http://eatdrinkbehappy.blogspot.ca/2012/04/wheat-belly-wheat-berry.html
"How my Experience as a Dietetic Intern with PEN has Transformed me from a Confused User to an Advocate for using PEN in Dietetic Practice"
Student corner
Spotlight on Jordan Mak
BSc Candidate,
McGill University Dietetic Intern
Although my professors had frequently mentioned that PEN was a tool I could use to find nutritional information, my experience was limited only to the occasional search for a puzzling nutrition question. However, when I was assigned a six-week rotation to help edit and develop PEN content, I discovered that the resources it has to offer extends far beyond just the practice questions.
PEN Insider
Spotlight on Lindsay Kole
Database Assistant,
Dietitians of Canada
While I am not a dietitian, I’m proud to be a part time worker with PEN as a database assistant. Two days of my workweek are dedicated to PEN. The other days are dedicated to EatRight Ontario (ERO). The ERO database is a smaller more condensed version of PEN that is used in a call centre atmosphere.
My role in the PEN Team involves...A little bit of a lot of things. For content I have a small part in the whole content process. Once new or updated content has been through its rigorous evidence-based process, evidence summaries are created and updated by me. Other tools/resources are passed to me to look over the reference formats and then it is loaded into the database by another PEN team member. Fixing broken links also fall under my responsibility. If there is a link in PEN that is not working properly, I go into the tool and fix it or remove it, depending on the content.
- Customer Service tickets
- Looking over any broken links
- Formatting or changing any content
Jane Bellman MEd, RD
Kerri Staden BSc, RD
Working together to bring new consumer resources to you!
Earlier this year the Dietitians with First Nations group (DWFN) in Saskatchewan, Canada met with Tammy Ives, a Dietitians of Canada Regional Executive Director. Discussions led to finding a permanent home for some nutrition education resources that had been developed for First Nation’s communities. The resources had been developed by Tanya Menzies and Jetta Johnson (members of DWFN), whom had been contracted by the Clinical Subcommittee of the Chronic Disease Network and Access Program of the Prince Albert Grand Council and partners.
Social Media: Dialling into the Digital Age Part IV
Highlights of this article have been drawn from the Dietitians Association of Australia’s, ‘Dialling into the digital age: Guidance on social media for DAA members’ resource (2011). Authored by Emma Stirling, and DAA Reference Group members Catherine Saxelby, Zoe Nicholson, Tara Diversi, Sally Johnston, Lisa Simpson, Maree Garside, and Frances Gilham.
- Implement a social media policy within your organization and take the time to explain the reasons behind the policy.
- Ensure each staff member signs the organization’s social media policy.
- Be aware of any social media or communication policies within your organization before you start on social media.
- If social media is banned on computers within an organization, remember it can still be accessed through smart phones.
- Ask for feedback from your employees about the best way to use social media and technology. If you are employing people from a younger generation, they may have some ideas and/or skills that will benefit your practice or work place.
- If you are outsourcing or asking administration (nondietetic) staff to provide social media updates of a nutritional nature, make sure these are checked by a dietitian.
- If you have a large team, it may be worthwhile delegating roles within the realm of social media, so as not to overload one person, and develop everyone’s skills.
thank you to our pen volunteers
Australia 
New Zealand 
United Kingdom 
Canada 
Become a Peer Reviewer for Cochrane Systematic Reviews
As leaders in promoting health through credible advice on food and nutrition, the use of Cochrane Reviews provides an efficient way for dietitians to keep up-to-date on the best, and most current, quality evidence. The participation of dietitians in the synthesis of evidence is critical to retain leadership in evidence-based dietetic practice and to improve the relevance and applicability of reviews on nutrition related topics.
Module 1 20 minutesYou will be introduced to The Cochrane Collaboration, Cochrane Systematic Reviews and the importance of the peer review process.
You will learn about the Cochrane peer review process and how you can provide valuable feedback on Cochrane protocols and systematic reviews.
You will be introduced to meta-analysis and some of the statistics used in Cochrane Systematic Reviews, such as relative risks, odds ratios and mean differences.
Learning on Demand delivers on its promise to deliver practical, evidence-informed continuing education
Knowledge Transfer Events and Resources
- Are kids fibre recommendations a little rough? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz3oDuQR2dQ&feature=relmfu
- How evidence based are sugar/cereal recommendations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emj5e6DATU0&feature=relmfu
- Highlights from the breakfast session (note audio begins about one minute in) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhZjKrW_hl0&feature=relmfu
PEN does not have editorial or other control over the contents of the referenced Web sites. We are not responsible for the opinions expressed by the author(s) of the knowledge transfer events. Dietitians of Canada, Dietitians Association of Australia, Dietitians New Zealand and the British Dietetic Association do not endorse the content, products or services on other websites.
Wondering about Apps? Read our article: There’s an App for That –Challenges and Opportunities for Dietitians available at: http://pennutrition.com/pdf/NewsletterNov2011.pdf - page 7
Announcements from PEN
Curious about PEN? Sign up for a free 15-day trial subscription!
Want to try before you buy? PEN offers a free 15-day trial membership. This gives potential users the chance to explore PEN and decide whether they would like to sign up for an annual subscription. To sign up for a no-obligation, one-time free 15-day trial, go to www.pennutrition.com and go to the link that says “Click here to subscribe”. You will be prompted to register for a PEN account and sign up for a free 15-day trial. You can change the trial to a subscription by clicking on “My Account”.
coming next month
- Social Media Tip #5
- How do I…use Evidence Clips
- Risk of bias: How much should I believe the result?
Contact Us
PEN eNews is a newsletter to help you:
- keep up-to-date on new content, features and technology available in PEN
- optimize your time spent in PEN
- enhance your skills in critically appraising the literature
- enhance your knowledge of and participation in knowledge transfer
- position yourself as a leader in evidence-based practice
To access current and archived copies of PEN eNews, go to:
http://www.pennutrition.com/enews
Do you have comments, questions or feedback? Please contact us:
Jayne Thirsk RD, PhD, FDC
Director of PEN
jayne.thirsk@dietitians.ca
Sylvia Turner RD, BSc
PEN Project Development Officer/KTP Associate, British Dietetic Association
globalpen@bda.uk.com
Bree Murray BSc ExSc & Nutr, MSc, APD, AN
Professional Services Dietitian,
Dietitians Association of Australia
psd@daa.asn.au
Kristyn Hall RD, MSc
Editor of PEN eNews
eNews@pennutrition.com
December 2012 ·
Volume 2
(4)
A Publication of the PEN System Global Partners,
a collaborative partnership between International Dietetic Associations.
Copyright Dietitians of Canada. All Rights Reserved.
