Recent article summarizing CRN-International’s Scientific Symposium identifies global nutrient gaps

The Council for Responsible Nutrition-International (CRN-I) has announced the publication of a report summarizing the proceedings of its annual Scientific Symposium in Düsseldorf, Germany. Titled “Advancing Nutrition Science to Meet Evolving Global Health Needs” and published in the European Journal of Nutrition,1 the report provides a global overview of health challenges and policy efforts related to poor nutrition and diet related chronic diseases, especially in vulnerable groups such as children or women of reproductive age. More specifically, the report focuses on choline, NAD-replenishment in neurodegenerative diseases, and xanthophyll carotenoids.

"Developing science demonstrates that choline, NAD replenishment, and xanthophyll carotenoids are helpful in preventing certain health problems,” said James C. Griffiths, PhD, co-author and senior vice president, international and scientific affairs for CRN, in a press release. “Choline, for example, helps reduce issues with the brain and spinal cord in babies, NAD-replenishment can protect your brain against neurodegenerative diseases, and xanthophyll carotenoids help prevent the deterioration of eye and brain health.”

The event highlighted the pervasive issue of malnutrition, and the fact that there is a large aging population that is living larger but not necessarily more healthily. “Recognizing that the globally agreed nutrition goals are of-track and healthy diets are not affordable or accessible to all, there is an urgency for the evolution in policy and research to enable forward progress,” wrote the authors. “Nutrition policy recommendations to prevent nutrient deficiencies remain important, however, efforts should evolve to consider recommendations that support resilience, optimal health and expanded healthspan. Going beyond nutrition, policy shifts are needed across multiple sectors to enable households and individuals to consume a healthy diet and ensure those most vulnerable to malnutrition are provided with access to them.”

Among the suggested reforms that came out of the symposium were:

“(1) transformation of agriculture and trade policy to prioritize actions to ensure availability and access to nutritious food, (2) protection of policy continuity gains from political interests taking precedence over prioritized programs that ensure nutrition actions in the context of universal healthcare and effective social protection, and (3) incentives and disincentives to shift food production towards healthier food to address the many nutrition issues linked to the high availability and lower cost of unhealthy foods.”

Reports from past CRN-I symposia are published in the European Journal of Nutrition (2011–2022) and in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology (2010), with translations in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish, available on the CRN-I website.

Reference

Neufeld, L.M.; Ho, E.; Obeid, R.; Tzoulis, C.; Green, M.; Huber, L.G.; Stout, M.; Griffiths, J.C. Advancing nutrition science to meet evolving global health needs. European Journal of Nutrition 2023, 62 (Suppl 1):S1–S16. DOI: 10.1007/s00394-023-03276-9