CAPE TOWN – The Cape Winelands will play host to a gathering of global nutrition and metabolic health experts this October, at the World Nutrition Summit.
The Noakes Foundation, a global non-profit public benefit organisation, will host the summit at Hazendal Wine Estate, on the outskirts of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, from 14 to 16 October 2026, bringing together local and international voices in nutrition, metabolic health, clinical practice, research and public health.
Founded in 2014 by the prominent, and often controversial, sports scientist and author Professor Tim Noakes, the foundation focuses on funding independent research into the insulin resistance paradigm and low-carbohydrate, high-fat or ketogenic diets.
Noakes became highly controversial after challenging mainstream dietary guidelines to heavily promote the Banting diet. It culminated in a multi-year hearing by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) after being charged with unprofessional conduct. After extensive scientific testimony, he was fully acquitted in 2017.
Noakes, who also faced backlash after his comments on the novel coronavirus, in 2020 said while he got some information wrong, one thing remains true in that diabetics and those with heart disease are at much greater risk of dying from the disease.
Noakes’s commentary focused primarily on the role of metabolic health and diet in surviving the disease. While his views frequently sparked significant controversy and criticism within the scientific and medical communities, his core statements centered on a few key themes being metabolic health and diet. Noakes argued that COVID-19 disproportionately affected individuals with poor metabolic health, insulin resistance, and visceral obesity.
Summit focus
The three-day summit will focus on the scientific questions shaping the future of metabolic health including what happens when nutrition guidelines get it wrong, how individuals and communities can repair metabolic health, and why scientific debate remains essential when consensus moves faster than evidence.
The programme will feature local and international speakers including Prof Tim Noakes, Andrew Koutnik, biomedical research scientist at FSU Anne’s College’s Research Faculty in the USA, Dr Robert Kiltz, owner of CNY Fertility Centre in the USA, Bitten Jonsson, sugar addiction specialist and owner of Bitten Addiction AB in Sweden, and Maria Emmerich, wellness expert and best-selling author, with clinical perspectives and real-world case studies among the topics up for discussion and debate.
“Nutrition remains one of the most important conversations of our time, because it affects every person, every family and every health system,” says Noakes.
“The World Nutrition Summit is an opportunity to bring together people who are willing to look carefully at the evidence, ask difficult questions and work towards better answers. I am excited to welcome this community to Cape Town for what I believe will be a meaningful and necessary exchange of ideas.”
The event is intended to help people think more critically about nutrition guidance, prevention, metabolic disease, research integrity and the tools needed to improve health outcomes at scale, according to a spokesperson.
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Tickets for the World Nutrition Summit 2026 are available via Quicket, with options for in-person and virtual attendance.
