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Your Brain on Food | Dr. Uma Naidoo

Jun 19, 2023

Dr. Uma Naidoo, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and professional chef, dives into the fascinating connection between food and mental health. She discusses how our dietary choices directly influence our emotions and offers insights into nutritional psychiatry. From managing anxiety and depression with specific foods to the importance of gut health, she emphasizes intuitive eating without the risk of orthorexia. Dr. Naidoo also shares practical tips for improving mental well-being through mindful nutrition, blending personal experiences with clinical expertise.

01:00:08

Creator website

Episode guests

Uma Naidoo

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Bombus Socks and Wondery's Even the Rich podcast promo

01:31

The Six Pillars of Nutritional Psychiatry

02:07

The Power of Mindfulness

01:16

Understanding the Gut-Brain Connection Through Food

01:08

Intro

3min

The Importance of Sleep and Audiobook Enjoyment

2min

Nutritional Psychiatry: The Gut-Brain Connection

17min

Food, Mood, and Mental Health

5min

Nourishing Mind and Body

16min

Melatonin, Diet, and Brain Health

4min

Nutrition and Mental Health Connections

17min

Gratitude and Upcoming Insights on Intuitive Eating

2min

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Most of us have an intuitive sense that there’s a pretty serious link between what we eat and how we feel. Today’s guest is here to explain the science behind that relationship.

Dr. Uma Naidoo is a pioneer in the field of nutritional psychiatry and an expert on both the gut-brain connection and the food-mood connection. She is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, a professional chef, and a nutrition specialist. She is the Director of Nutritional and Lifestyle Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and serves on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. And she is the author of a book called This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods that Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More.

In this episode we talk about:

What the gut-brain connection is, how it works, and why it’s so important
Her contention that “we are in control of how we feel emotionally through the food choices we make every single day”
How to leverage nutritional psychiatry to help you handle:
---Anxiety
---Depression
---Sleep disorders
---Dementia
---PTSD
---ADHD
---OCD
Her thoughts on taking in all of this information without developing orthorexia (an unhealthy obsession with healthy food)
Her thoughts on intuitive eating
How to understand vitamins vs. supplements (and her advice on taking supplements)