About us

Clinical nutritionist at the St. Justine hospital since 2005, Valerie has had the opportunity to develop expertise in several specialties such as cardiology, diabetes, oncology, metabolic diseases, eating disorders and pediatrics

Over the last 7 years, she has worked more specifically in the Allergy and Gastroenterology department. This opportunity allowed her to acquire a diverse set of experiences, but overall, allowed for a global knowledge of pediatric nutrition.

Now a mother of 3 young girls, she has developed an even better understanding of the challenges associated with offering healthy food to her children while juggling time constraints caused by busy schedules. 

She considers healthy eating to be the pleasure of eating a variety of foods, including those that are perhaps “less nutritious”. She also has a weakness for sweets (Shhh!). 

Having dreamt of becoming a teacher during her school years, she now offers regular trainings and lectures to doctors, colleague dietitians and other health professionals as well as university students. 

Valerie hopes that her professional and personal experiences can help families overcome the struggle of feeding their children, all while maintaining a positive environment, because, as Voltaire said “ I decided to be happy because it is good for my health!”

Valerie Vaillancourt graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Nutrition at the University of Montreal and is a member of the OPDQ. 

You can meet her in the comfort of your home via video call !

Natalie is a graduate of McGill University and a member of the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec.

Her career in nutrition started in the hospital setting where she gained expertise in a wide variety of specialties such as oncology, malnutrition and geriatric care. She quickly realized however, that her true passion is to provide medical nutrition therapy through one-to-one counselling, where she can establish a rapport with her clients and accompany them in the achievement of their nutrition goals. 

Natalie currently works in a family medicine clinic and counsels on nutrition through all stages of life. In particular, she has specialized in gastrointestinal disorders, pregnancy and breastfeeding, mental health and children with picky eating behaviours. She also welcomes clients who seek assistance with chronic disease management, healthy weight management, vegetarianism and veganism. 

Natalie's services are available in English, French, Arabic and Greek.

You can meet with Natalie virtually or in one of her offices in Montreal and Laval.

With a Bachelor's degree in Nutritional Sciences from Moncton University  and a member in good standing of the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec, Catherine is a passionate, creative and dynamic nutritionist!

Her daily motivation is to help her clients achieve their goals by promoting healthy eating habits and using the principles of intuitive and mindful eating. Catherine strongly believes that healthy eating must be simple and enjoyable to be sustainable.

During her years of experience as a nutritionist practicing in private clinics and hospitals, she has managed a very diverse clientele. 

Having developed an expertise in the management of gastrointestinal disorders such as celiac disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome, Catherine also welcomes people who wish to optimize their diet in the context of chronic illness, healthy weight management, food intolerances and allergies or vegetarian/vegan diets.

You can meet Catherine via videoconference and she speaks English and French..

Despite her "keep calm and carry on attitude" and her unsettling humour, Claudia takes her profession very seriously. Her passion? Diabetes - of all types, your relationship with food and your body, as well as pediatric nutrition which she has been practicing for more than 8 years at the St. Justine hospital. 

Funky and very outside the box are words that describe her very well. 

At 14, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. As a teenager, she has often been described as a difficult patient, even a delinquent. After many emotional roller coasters and with a lot of personal experience, she completed a bachelor’s degree in psychology and then another in nutrition.

Her goal? She wanted to be a dietitian, but in her own way! One that focuses on self-help, empowerment and a non-restrictive approach (yes, yes, despite the illness!), all in partnership with her patients/clients. 

She also devotes a large part of her professional life to training future clinicians, at the university level, on the patient care partnership approach. She herself is greatly involved as a patient partner, notably at the University of Montreal, the College of Physicians in Quebec, the Health Standards Organization and Accreditation Canada. 

She is a general and specialized pediatric clinician at the St. Justine hospital and has been practicing in a private clinic since 2015. Truly passionate about life with a chronic disease such as diabetes, she knows how to adapt first and foremost to the person in front of her. 

In keeping with your goals, she aims to teach you to become your own dietitian, so that one day you don’t need her at all. 

Nutrition & Wellness

Piraveena Piremathasan is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator and Certified Bariatric Educator practicing in the province of Quebec. She is a graduate of McGill University and a member of the Ordre des diététistes-nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ), since 2014. She has worked in a various clinical setting as a Community Nutritionist, Clinical Dietitian and Diabetes Educator.

Piraveena is passionate about improving access to nutrition and health education to Montreal residents that come from many different backgrounds. She is the Co-Chair for the Mavis Verronneau Diabetes Canada Professional Chapter and as a Dietitian for the Montreal Tamil Health Initiative. She also delivers trilingual presentations on nutrition and diabetes to health professionals and the general population across Canada.

She is experienced in counselling clients living with prediabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes and chronic metabolic conditions. Piraveena enjoys working with her clients to support and help them improve their overall health and well-being!  

Languages spoken: English, French & Tamil

Services available online

In addition to her extensive experience in general and clinical pediatrica, she has completed several continuing education sessions that have allowed her to acquire great skills in pediatrics!

• SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) training allows her to better identify picky eaters vs. problem feeders. 

• Dysphagia training to detect swallowing difficulties in children and to guide parents who have to deal with the stress caused by it.

• 'Intervening without harming'' with the group ÉquiLIBRE, a non-profit organization that encourages the development of a positive body image and the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Let's not influence children with “good” or “bad” foods, as the consequences can be far too damaging to justify such practices!

Whether it's for your 0-18 year olds or for a pregnancy follow-up, you can meet her in Montreal at the “Grandir” pediatric clinic.

Janie graduated as a dietitian from the University of Lavak and is a member of the OPDQ since 2013. During her master's degree in epidemiology, she worked on the prevention of prostate cancer through diet and the prevention of post-operative complications of radical cystectomy in bladder cancer patients. As part of her PhD, she developed expertise on omega-3 fatty acids and cardiometabolic risk. She also has an interest and training in biostatistics. 

She is currently pursuing her post-doctoral training in epidemiology at the National Institute of Public Health. Her research focuses on cardiometabolic health and dietary habits of the Inuits in Nunavik from a health survey conducted in 2017. 

Janie has extensive experience in presenting scientific results at national and international conferences. She has also taught more than 25 hours of undergraduate nutrition courses in research methods, nutrition fundamentals and clinical nutrition.

She has authored eight scientific papers as a first author and five as a co-author. She has also conducted literature reviews for private companies and served as a scientific advisor to the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services.

Janie acts as a scientific advisor for the Reference Nutrition team. She simplifies scientific evidence, conducts literature reviews and reviews the content of training courses. Janie also acts as a consultant to assist Reference Nutrition's dietitians in interpreting and applying the science to serve their clients. 

Janie does not currently offer one-on-one meetings, but her involvement with the team is absolutely essential!