Presenter: Aileen Burford-Mason PhD

The New Nutrition Webinar Series, which has been running each Spring and Fall since 2003, is an up-to-date exploration of the critical role diet and supplements play in maintaining health.

Present-day diets often fail to deliver enough of the essential fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals needed for peak performance. The New Nutrition Webinar Series examines how the body relies on these nutrients to carry out vital functions, such as converting food into energy, regulating blood pressure, promoting restful sleep, and preventing chronic conditions like age-related bone deterioration and memory loss.

The series breaks down complex nutritional science into practical, easy-to-understand information, offering actionable advice on optimizing diet and supplements. Rooted in the latest scientific research, the webinars should interest anyone concerned with maintaining good health. They should also appeal to doctors, nutritionists, and other health professionals seeking timely, evidence-based insights into the rapidly evolving field of nutrition.

This season we are taking an in-depth look at two major nutritional questions of today – the role of ultra processed foods in deteriorating health, and whether everyone should consider taking dietary supplements for optimal health and healthy aging.

Week 1 – Ultra-Processed Foods: How they’ve hijacked our taste buds, and why they are bad for our health

Date: Wednesday, November 4 – 8:00pm EST

Ultra-processed foods now make up a large proportion of modern diets, and yet many people are unclear about what they are, and why they impact our health. Canada’s Food Guide has recently highlighted the importance of limiting highly processed foods, as growing evidence links them to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and adverse mental health.

This webinar explains what ultra-processed foods are, how they are defined, and why they have become so widespread in contemporary food systems. It explores how food engineering has created products designed for convenience, taste, and repeat consumption rather than health benefits, and why these foods are so difficult to resist. By understanding how ultra-processed foods interact with human biology, participants will gain a clearer perspective on why willpower alone is often not enough, and why these foods have become a dominant driver of modern diets, while dramatically increasing the risk of chronic disease.

Week 2 – Eating for Health: Practical strategies to reduce intake of ultra-processed foods and rebuild diets for better health

Date: Wednesday, November 11 – 8:00pm EST

While ultra-processed foods are now deeply embedded in modern life, meaningful dietary change does not require perfection or strict avoidance. This webinar focuses on practical strategies for reducing reliance on ultra-processed foods and rebuilding a diet based on whole, minimally processed ingredients.

The session explores simple, sustainable approaches to dietary change, including how to recognize ultra-processed foods in everyday settings, how to prioritize whole foods in meal planning, and how to make effective substitutions for convenient ultra processed foods without feeling deprived or overwhelmed. Participants will learn how small, consistent changes can gradually shift overall dietary patterns, improving nutritional quality without sacrificing taste and enjoyment.

Week 3 – Nutritional Supplements Part 1: Should everyone take supplements or are they a waste of money?

Date: Wednesday, November 18 – 8:00pm EST

We frequently hear that a healthy, balanced diet provides all the nutrients we need. But is that true for everyone? Nutrient needs vary with age, diet, lifestyle, medications, health conditions and genetics. Modern diets usually provide ample calories, but those calories can lack the micronutrients needed to process them and support normal metabolism.

This webinar explores who is most likely to benefit from supplements, why individual needs differ, and the difference between preventing deficiency and providing sufficient nutrition to support optimal health. The goal is not to ask whether supplements are good or bad, but to understand when they might be needed, and who may benefit.

Week 4 – Nutritional Supplements Part 2: Targeted supplements for everyday use 

Date: Wednesday, November 25 – 8:00pm EST

Browse the shelves of health food stores and you will find hundreds of products ranging from arnica capsules to zinc, with everything from B6 to magnesium in between. Even individual supplements can come in a range of doses and a number of different formulations, making it hard to know what is worth taking and what isn’t. So how do we know which dietary supplements we should take, whether they work and whether they’re safe?

This webinar will help you make sense of some of the issues surrounding the most popular supplements in use today: Which are the most important supplements to take and how do we know if need them? It will focus on several of the most misunderstood and misused dietary supplements commonly consumed today, including vitamin C and vitamin B12.

Registrants will receive links to participate in the live webinars and unlimited access to the recordings.

ISOM Members receive complimentary registration. Please log in prior to completing checkout process.