Sodium, Potassium & Blood Pressure: Evidence Map and Systematic Review

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It is proposed that modest reductions in sodium intake coupled with increases in potassium from a variety of sources including potassium chloride and/or other supplemental potassium salts may achieve the public health goals of reduced hypertension and cardiovascular risk even if the 2,300 mg dietary intake of sodium goal is not met.

This project seeks to identify new research that addresses questions posed by the 2019 DRI committee report on the relationship between potassium intake and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Specifically, to determine through knowledge mapping whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to a systematic review to characterize the relationship between potassium (in foods, and different forms of potassium from supplements, and potassium rich sodium substitutes) and CVD risk, alone and in combination with sodium reduction.

If the knowledge map indicates sufficient evidence for a full systematic review, that systematic review is expected to bring credible weight to future deliberations about dietary guidance among authoritative bodies such as the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) on dietary reference intakes and to inform the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

This project builds on a strong body of research of the SoFHI committee regarding the safety of increasing potassium intake in the population as a tool for sodium reduction and research on sodium: potassium ratio.

A Request for Proposals was issued in March 2025 for the Phase I Evidence Map.

Institution: New York University
Principal Investigator: Jeanette Beasley, PhD, RD, MPH
Year Awarded: 2025

This work is supported by IAFNS Sodium in Foods & Health Implications Committee.

Role of Non-nutritive sweeteners in oral health/caries prevention-An Educational symposium for Dental Professionals

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Preventing dental caries is an essential skill for all dental professionals yet information from expert interviews conducted by IAFNS and a review of the literature suggest a gap in knowledge around the safety and benefits of LNCS to oral health. These professionals are often called upon to provide advice regarding the importance of diet in caries prevention and can benefit from education on the role of sugars and nonnutritive sweeteners in caries formation and health. As such, they must be familiar with alternatives to sugar and the types of food products that are available with non-cariogenic sweetening agents. The American Dental Association (ADA) policies on diet and nutrition encourages members to obtain continuing education to learn more about the relationship between diet, nutrition, and oral health and encourage collaborations with stakeholders to understand the latest science-based nutrition recommendations and raise interprofessional awareness.

Phase I: IAFNS staff will work with oral health experts and members of the American Dental Association to develop an educational symposium for dental health professionals to educate then in the following areas:

  • Safety & efficacy of LNCS and LNCS as a substitute for sugar and effects on sugar consumption and body weight
  • The anti and non-cariogenic properties of NNS- what is known and where more research is needed
  • Dietary patterns associated with dental caries, prevention, and recommendations

Phase II: The Symposium will be submitted to the Greater NY Dental Meeting and or another scientific conference for dental health professionals for 2025. The results of the symposium will be drafted into a review paper for submission for publication in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Project Lead: Trish Zecca

Start Date: May 2024

This work is supported by the IAFNS Low- and No-Calorie Sweeteners Committee

Documenting the Continuum of Measures from Health to Disease

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In a 2011 paper titled “Gut Health: A New Objective in Medicine?” (Bischoff), it was noted that gut health is recognized as a “desirable aim and an important physiological condition required for overall good health.” Since the gut microbiome research boom which followed this paper, even more attention has been focused on the gut as impactful to health – across many systems.

The 2011 paper discusses the lack of a consensus definition and offers a table of assessments or measures. For example, there exist various validated physiological indicators of inflammation, motility, or permeability. In addition, there are subjective assessments of discomfort, bowel habits, and other indicators. Although it is implied that “gut health” lies somewhere along the continuum of each of these measures, there is an opportunity to better understand how it is conceptualized and the degree of measure validation.

One step toward arriving at agreement on the concept of "gut health" is better understanding available measures and their interpretation, starting with an update of the Bischoff work. By clarifying this concept, it may be possible to identify interventions (foods, diets, supplements) that promote health through the gut and downstream systemic benefits.

Institution: EpidStrategies, LLC

Principal Investigator: Cara Frankenfeld, PhD

Year Awarded: 2024

View this project on the Center for Open Science's Open Science Framework

This work is supported by the IAFNS Nutrition for Gut Health Committee

Validating Dual Column Food Products in Database

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The USDA Global Branded Food Products Database is a public-private partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS), GS1 US, 1WorldSync and the University of Maryland (UMD), whose goal is to enhance public health and to share open data by augmenting the USDA FoodData Central with nutrient composition and ingredient information on branded foods. The USDA Global Branded Food Products Database is seamlessly integrated into the USDA FoodData Central (FDC) and ensures that these data elements are publicly available to those who will utilize them. This includes, but is not limited to, federal agencies, the research community, international databases, proprietary databases and end users, the food industry, and consumers.

USDA is in the process of incorporating new data elements and attributes into the database including rounded per serving label values and dual column nutrition label information.

The goal of this project is to validate dual-column label data submitted via the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) by manufacturers. Industry members of the SoFHI committee will work with USDA to review the data, identify and resolve any issues and validate the data as presented in FDC, GBFPD.

USDA will publish the results of the data quality initiatives and the Partnership will leverage the data to promote greater participation from CPG companies to share nutrition data with USDA via GDSN.

To learn more about the USDA FoodData Central visit https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/ and A Partnership for Public Health: USDA Global Branded Food Products Database

This work benefits from in-kind support from the IAFNS Sodium in Foods and Health Implications Committee

Restricted Carbohydrate Diets Below 45% Energy are not Associated with Risk of Mortality in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2018

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Translating Carbohydrate Quality Into Evidence-Based, Consumer-Relevant Approaches

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Consumer confusion about carbohydrates can lead to restriction diets with low overall healthfulness. This project aims to help consumers select healthier choices among food sources of carbohydrates by merging the scientific evidence with consumer perspectives. Research by NORC at the University of Chicago to understand how consumers make decisions about the healthfulness of carbohydrate foods - including descriptive terminology from the consumer perspective - can be applied by health professionals communicating with consumers about carbohydrate food choices consistent with healthy diet patterns.

View three videos below on this Carbohydrate Committee projects aimed at understanding carbohydrate foods in terms of how they are perceived by both consumers and food rating systems developed by experts.

1. Consumer Perspectives:
Carbohydrate Quality-Related Beliefs and Behaviors

This presentation explores findings from consumer focus groups conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. Results reveal how Americans perceive the healthfulness of carbohydrate foods and navigate trade-offs in their dietary choices. If you are a health professional or communicator, these insights can inform your messaging strategies.

2. Comparing Expert Food Ratings Systems:
A Tool to Compare How Experts Rate Carbohydrate Foods

Discover a novel tool designed to compare how various food rating systems evaluate carbohydrate foods. The tool can be used to identify inconsistently rated foods, highlighting areas for improving rating systems. This resource is invaluable for those involved in updating or applying food healthfulness criteria.

3. Insights into Food Rating Discrepancies:
Insights from the Tool Comparing Expert Food Rating Systems

Learn how commonly consumed carbohydrate foods are ranked across different systems. The presentation highlights examples—such as grain foods—that provoke discussion on harmonizing healthfulness ratings. Experts will find this resource particularly useful for addressing discrepancies in food rating systems.

IAFNS at NUTRITION 2024

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IAFNS presented at the American Society for Nutrition Annual Meeting -- NUTRITION 2024 -- and showcased new work on funded projects.

For more information on the NUTRITION 2024 conference, click here.
Meeting site: https://nutrition.org/n24/

IAFNS Expert Dialogue on Sodium Reduction and Public Health

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