Blogs

Diet and health have become a hot topic of conversation in public discourse and individual conversations and throughout scientific inquiry. There was also great interest in understanding diet with respect to toxicology in San Diego.

Kymberly Gowdy, Ohio State University, chaired a Workshop Session titled “Diet and Toxicology: Examining the Novel and Underappreciated Interaction” and introduced the topic by positing the question that if we know nutrition can impact disease, then how does what we eat impact how we react to toxicants?

Susan Sumner, University of North Carolina, then presented “Nutrition to Mitigate the Adverse Impact of Exposures.” She presented some interesting findings on adverse effects (pregnancy complications and osteoarthritis) seen in a few different types of populations (opium users, pregnant women). Each population had nutrient deficiencies that may have contributed to increased adverse effects observed. She suggested that rectifying the nutrient deficits could potentially result in improved health outcomes.

Jennifer Schlezinger, Boston University, then presented on “PFAS and Diet Interactions: The Good, the Bad, and Maybe the Ugly the Unexpected.” Her presentation focused on PFAS and the issues around bioaccumulation. Because PFAS is difficult for the body to eliminate, she explored how psyllium and β-glucan supplementation could help to reduce PFAS systemic body burden. She also noted that the American standard diet is low in fiber, and exploring gel-forming fibers may be important when trying to mitigate PFAS toxicity.

Petra Haberzetti, University of Louisville, next presented on “Diet and Eating Pattern as Determinants of Air Pollution Susceptibility.” She reviewed that adverse effects like diabetes may be caused by air pollution when combined with poor diet. She also highlighted the importance of the circadian rhythm where eating at the wrong time or having prolonged light exposure into the night can increase obesity and risk of diabetes.

Sumira Phatak, University of New Mexico, then presented on “Sex, Diet, and Micro/Nanoplastics: Enhancing Translational Fidelity in Toxicology.” She focused her presentation on the plastics generation and pollution issues that we are facing and reminded us of the large amounts of plastics in our food web and spread throughout the globe already. She noted that high-fat diets are more resistant to lipid accumulation and high-fiber diets have more complex microbiota. However, the total Western diet’s nutrient deficiencies coupled with exposure to plastic may result in additional adverse effects. She noted that targeting diet can represent an opportunity for therapies.

Barb Mickelson, Inotiv, presented on “Modeling Interactions Between Diet and Xenobiotic Exposure for Translation to Human Health.” She presented on the different types of chow that are used in animal studies and how the variability in the nutrition profile may have impacts on the observed adverse effects. She highlighted how important it is to ensure the diet used in the animal study is aligned with the goals of the study and that understanding the nutrition profile can better help understand the results of the study.

There were some great questions from the audience during the panel session and Q&A led by Dr. Gowdy, and audience members were left thinking about how to better represent diet within their own toxicology studies.

The session was endorsed by the Mixtures Specialty Section, Cardiovascular Toxicology Specialty Section, and Comparative Toxicology, Pathology, and Veterinary Specialty Section.

This blog reports on the Workshop Session titled “Diet and Toxicology: Examining the Novel and Underappreciated Interaction” that was held during the 2026 SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo. An on-demand recording of this session is available for meeting registrants on the SOT Online Planner and SOT Event App.

This blog was prepared by an SOT Reporter and represents the views of the author. SOT Reporters are SOT members who volunteer to write about sessions and events in which they participate during the SOT Annual Meeting and ToxExpo. SOT does not propose or endorse any position by posting this article. If you are interested in participating in the SOT Reporter program in the future, please email SOT Headquarters.