▪ Public health nutrition now integrates food systems, equity, and policy. ▪ Life-course nutrition remains central to improving population health. ▪ Stronger health systems are vital for effective nutrition interventions. ▪ Sustainable diets require innovation supported by sound public policies. ▪ Evidence must drive nutrition action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Maternal nutrition in India faces a triple burden of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and rising overweight. Although state-led supplementation and fortification efforts have expanded, dietary quality and gestational weight management remain insufficiently addressed. In addition, addressing overweight among women of reproductive age will require a broader approach than simply focusing on women’s behaviours. A shift toward a triple-duty, life-course approach that includes preconception care is essential to strengthen maternal and child health outcomes.

Diet and so-called dietary acid load have a significant effect on what have traditionally been called acid-base disorders and various disease states, including cancer. However, the effect has been poorly investigated, and standards of care in medical treatments for cancer patients generally do not consider monitoring acid-base disorders and resolving them using dietary interventions. This paper begins by explaining the Warburg Hypothesis, focusing on dietary interventions thought to help maintain acid-base balance and reduce inflammation at the cellular level, as reflected in certain venous blood parameters. By integrating traditional and modern nutritional sciences for preventing and managing cancer, potential dietary interventions are identified that may help maintain nutritional status. In addition, data on the efficacy of these nutritional interventions are presented, where the effect of following an alkalizing diet for 1-3 months is measured through venous blood gas parameters. Of 30 volunteers, 10 followed the prescribed diet for an entire month and their venous blood gas parameters before and after the diet were compared. There appeared to be a significant impact of the diet on these parameters. Thus, we speculate that the prescribed alkalizing diet may be an effective practice to eliminate acid-base disorders and reduce its impact on cancer and other diseases. Further research should examine on a larger sample over a longer period of time, using additional parameters, whether such a diet could have an impact on the incidence or development of the cellular acid-base balance, levels of inflammation, and eventually various diseases, including cancer.

The chain of events set in motion by the process of publishing our tribute to Alan Berg in World Nutrition has played a role in, among other honors, his being honored in July, 2023 by the American Society for Nutrition at their annual meeting in Boston. Following his own inimical style, he sent to me and several others three questions, our answers to which will inform what he has to say in a talk he says he was “roped” into giving there on July 24. Below I present his questions and my responses.

In preparation for a talk Alan Berg was asked to give at an American Society for Nutrition meeting honoring him and celebrating his 90th birthday, as well as the 50th anniversery of the publication of his book The Nutrition Factor, he asked 11 “nutrition engineers” (experts in public health nutrition, specializing in low-income settings) 3 questions. These are their responses.