Physicians Association for Nutrition Israel

About PAN Israel

The Israeli branch focuses on 3 main channels (the Cs):

• Content
• Community
• Collaboration

CONTENT

Developing professional knowledge in Hebrew and administering it through various channels:

• Website
• Newsletters and emails for subscribers
• Webinars and lectures
• A 4-meeting pilot program called “WellMed”
• Social media: Facebook page, Facebook group and Instagram

COMMUNITY

Build a supportive and active network of professionals who are interested in promoting knowledge and practice on the health benefits of a WFPB (whole food plant-based) diet. The community members receive the knowledge we develop, they share information, and they consult and assist us with creating more connections and opportunities (for example, introduce us to the training manager at their workplace so we can hold an educational event for the staff).

Webinar Recordings

Recorded on 15 May 2023

An introduction to a new field in the world of medicine – Culinary Medicine – which deals with the importance of home cooking and its contribution to our health. In the lecture Dr. Rani Polak talks, among other things, about implementing healthy cooking at home, adapting the kitchen for healthy cooking and creating a healthy menu. He also discusses which products to buy, exploring the example of legumes and more.

Dr. Rani Polak is the founding director of both the Culinary Healthcare Education Fundamentals (CHEF) Coaching program at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, USA and the Center of Lifestyle Medicine at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel. Dr. Polak’s focus, along with clinical care, is on clinical and translational research relating to the Culinary Coaching method which combine culinary training with health coaching principles. Dr. Polak is the PI of the Culinary CoRe (Culinary Coaching Research) group, which aims to expand culinary coaching as an effective, scalable telemedicine method to improve nutrition. He is also a course director of a medical education program at Harvard Medical School that disseminates culinary coaching to hundreds of clinicians worldwide.

Recorded on 11 January 2023

Once a month we hold a short half an hour session in which one of our community members presents an interesting and relevant issue or article in the field of plant-based nutrition. This month, on our 16th meeting, Wendy Walrabenstein from PAN the Netherlands presented a randomized controlled trial for 150 people with arthritis. The participants followed a 4-month lifestyle program, based on a whole food plant-based diet, physical activity, and stress management.

Recorded on 12 December 2022

The key factor in preventing and treating NAFLD is a holistic lifestyle modification approach, encompassing a diet based on healthy eating patterns of unprocessed foods, exercise, and balanced drinking and smoking habits. The Mediterranean diet and other healthy dietary patterns can reduce liver fat and may be related to lower disease progression. The growing global consumption of ultra-processed foods, which is the polar opposite of the Mediterranean diet and its concept of home-based cooking, poses a significant challenge in preventing NAFLD and probably hepatocellular carcinoma. This talk provides insights into tailoring the diet to a patient’s personal preferences, and how changing dietary composition and quality may offer a feasible alternative to prevent and treat NAFLD, beyond weight reduction.

Prof. Zelber-Sagi is a clinical dietitian, epidemiologist and researcher in nutritional and lifestyle epidemiology, chronic diseases related to lifestyle, and related public health aspects. Currently, she is a full Professor and Head of the School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, at the University of Haifa. She has published around 150 scientific publications, mostly dealing with lifestyle and liver disease and other chronic diseases, including nutrition, physical activity, smoking, alcohol and policy recommendations.

Recorded on 5  January 2022

Once a month we hold a short half-hour session in which one of our community members presents an interesting and relevant issue or article in the field of plant-based nutrition. This month, on our 6th meeting, Conrad Schulz-Ruhtenberg from PAN University Groups in Germany introduced an article published in the Journal GUT (from BMJ journals): Mediterranean diet intervention alters the gut microbiome in older people, reducing frailty and improving health status: the NU-AGE 1-year dietary intervention across five European countries.

Email: ronnie@pan-il.org

Website: www.pan-il.org

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