Education
We are working to address the issue of ‘nutrition education deficiency’ that is holding back healthcare. Despite wanting to receive nutrition education to develop knowledge, skills, and confidence to counsel patients, many healthcare professionals are not adequately supported to provide effective nutrition care to patients.
Some healthcare professionals to reflexively advise patients against plant-based diets. Others may tell patients that ‘diet makes no difference’, which can result in avoidable use of medication and procedures with inevitable side effects, and can even be dangerous as medication needs can change dramatically when dietary changes are made.
Even clinicians who are aware of the benefits of plant-based nutrition are not equipped with the tools to help their patients implement this way of eating an optimal way.
From webinars to mini-courses and in-person events, we aim to provide our audience with knowledge, tools, skills and connections to utilise whole food plant-based nutrition in in the prevention and treatment of disease. Explore our education program below or check out our upcoming events.
Advocacy
If you work in a healthcare-focused institution, government body or NGO, our experts are available to consult, present and collaborate to help incorporate proven nutrition and lifestyle approaches into your organisation’s policy and practice. Please contact us to enquire.
Australian Dietary Guidelines
The review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG) is underway. In March 2021, Doctors For Nutrition participated in an initial stakeholder scoping survey seeking input on how the current guidelines are used and suggestions for topics for consideration in the review. Read more about our submission. We also hosted an Independent Food Systems Dialogue as part of the United Nations Food Systems Summit. Joined by over 40 local and international experts we discussed on national dietary guidelines as a lever to attain a healthier, more sustainable and equitable food system, both in Australia and globally. Learn more about what was discussed here.
In September 2023 the ADG review advanced to the ‘evidence review’ stage. Doctors For Nutrition submitted multiple systematic reviews following the NHMRC public call for evidence related to a prioritised list of topics. It’s a very positive indication that the majority of topics DFN flagged back in 2021 are up for further exploration in the ‘very high priority list’ namely: plant sources of protein, dietary patterns, and sustainability. Read more about our submission here. More information from the NHMRC is available on their website.
Please continue to watch this space as we continue our involvement in the process, to champion the importance of whole food plant-based diets and to highlight the powerful evidence in favour of whole food plant-based nutrition to prevent, alleviate and even reverse disease – improving the health of all Australians and safeguarding planetary health into the future.
The review process is open to everyone, whether as a health professional or on an individual basis to inform their eating, so is an excellent opportunity for our plant-based health community to share our views.
Position papers, statements and policy submissions
Submission to the Australian parliament inquiry into diabetes, August 2023 [pdf]
Response to the National Health and Medical Research Council call for evidence for the review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, September 2023 [read more]
Submission to the New Zealand Ministry of Health: Proposed changes to the promotion and provision of healthy drinks in schools, April 2022 [pdf]
Submission to the Senate inquiry into plant-based meat labelling, December 2021 [online]
Submission on the WHO Draft Guideline: Total fat intake for adults and children, May 2021 [pdf]
Open letter led by the Climate and Health Alliance, calling on the Australian government to take strategic action to address the health threat from climate change, April 2021 [online]
Submission on the draft Australian National Preventive Health Strategy, April 2021 [pdf]
Response to the National Health and Medical Research Council scoping survey on the review of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, March 2021 [read more]
Joint statement letter calling for food-system change as key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, led by ProVeg International, March 2021 [pdf]
Open letter to the Australian Prime Minister led by the Climate and Health Alliance, urging uptake of their climate and health agenda, November 2020 [online]
Input to the the Climate and Health Alliance’s Rewrite the Future Roundtable Series, August – October 2020, feeding into CAHA’s updated climate and health policy agenda, ‘Healthy, Regenerative and Just: Our vision for a better future’ [pdf]
Submission to the Australian Department of Health on the review of the Pregnancy Care Guidelines – Nutrition, Physical Activity and Weight, July 2020 [pdf]
Joint statement on plant-rich diets for resilient food systems and planetary and human health, led by ProVeg International, June 2020 [pdf]
Open letter to G20 leaders in support of a #HealthyRecovery from COVID-19, promoted by the Global Climate and Health Alliance, May 2020 [online]
Submission on the National Obesity Strategy for Australia – long-form online survey and cover letter to the Federal Department of Health, December 2019 [pdf]
Submission to Vic Health on healthy foods in public hospitals and aged care, November 2019 [pdf]
Response to the New Zealand Food and Drink Guidance survey, October 2019 [pdf]
Submission to the New Zealand Health and Disability System Review, May 2019 [pdf]
Position paper on the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health, January 2019 [pdf]
Community
Food is the number one decision we make for your health each day. While a variety of genetic and lifestyle factors can be at play in the generation of chronic diseases, evidence clearly indicates that the food we eat has the highest impact of all on our health and life expectancy.
Unfortunately, misinformation abounds about healthy eating patterns, leaving people understandably confused and sometimes even dangerously misled. The current healthcare model emphasises pills and procedures over lifestyle interventions, and even where nutrition is taught, providers are rarely trained in the proven science on plant-based nutrition: patients are thus left without guidance on dietary approaches that can be life-changing.
Doctors For Nutrition is committed to addressing this by empowering the community with clear, evidence-based information on the role of nutrition in preventing and treating a wide range of health conditions.
We do this through resource creation, events, and contributing accurate information to the public conversation via the media.
If you are holding a community event and are seeking an expert on whole food plant-based nutrition to speak to your audience, contact us.
