The MindHealth360 Show

Board Certified in Family Medicine and in Integrative Holistic Medicine, Dr. Jill Carnahan is a Functional Medicine expert known for her experience with gut health, immunity, and detoxification. In 2010 she founded the Flatiron Functional Medicine Practice, and in February 2023 will release her book Unexpected: Finding Resilience through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith. An inspirational survivor of breast cancer and Crohn's Disease, she has lived experience of how Functional Medicine can help you recover and thrive when faced with complex and chronic illness. In this fascinating interview she discusses some lesser known factors of poor mental health, explaining how a leaky gut, toxins, pathogens and environmental stressors can underlie depression, insomnia, cognitive decline, anxiety, ADHD, and even trauma response. Committed to treating the root causes of illness rather than just its symptoms, Dr. Carnahan explains the mechanism of immune system activation and dysfunction, and its interaction with nervous system dysfunction and mental health issues. She sheds light on the emerging field of psychoneuroimmunology, which examines the impact of inflammatory toxins, pathogens and psychological factors on the immune system, nervous system and in turn our mental health; and gives us top tips on how we can detoxify and heal.

In this fascinating conversation with one of the leading physicians in treating complex chronic illness, Dr. Neil Nathan, author of bestselling Toxic, Heal Your Body, speaks of his latest book on Energetic Diagnosis: Groundbreaking Thesis on Diagnosing Disease and Chronic Illness and the importance of the unseen in medical practice. In this interview, learn why sometimes, despite doing everything right physically, true healing will only happen when the more esoteric impact of energy blockages – whether driven by emotional or spiritual factors – are taken into account. He explains the vital importance of intuition, both for the practitioner and the patient, for true healing to occur, and how medical practitioners need to focus more on developing the art of nurturing their perceptual gifts and deep listening, which can, in itself, be healing. He explains the importance of practising using intuition, despite the stigma against it in mainstream medicine. Find out in the book about different energetic healing modalities, from Reiki to biofeedback to TCM, ayurvedic etc. , and in this interview, learn about how energy affects us and inhabits us – empaths, energy vampires, people with toxic energy, how to deal with them.

Renowned expert Prof. Stephen Porges discusses his groundbreaking Polyvagal Theory, which revolutionizes mental health diagnosis and treatment. He highlights the role of a dysregulated nervous system as the root cause of mental health issues, impacted by both biochemical and psycho-spiritual factors. The podcast explores the impact of Polyvagal Theory on mental health understanding and the limitations of drug-based treatments. It also delves into alternative forms of connection, effects of screens and social media, and the significance of stillness in a busy society.

Science journalist and author of "Heartbreak: A Personal and Scientific Journey" and "The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative", Florence Williams takes us on a fascinating journey around the physiological effects of heartbreak, loss and loneliness on our bodies and minds. With access to cutting edge scientific research, as well as her own personal experience of heartbreak when her 20 year marriage ended, she describes how grief and loneliness impact our physiology (our nervous system, immune system, hormones and brains), and what we can do to heal our physical and mental health through a sense of Purpose, Connection, Parasympathetic regulation and Awe.

Life expectancy, quality of life and health-span are going down, and not because of Covid. We are witnessing an epidemic of chronic noncommunicable disease (CNDs) (such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, fatty liver disease, cancer, dementia) as well as mental health issues (addiction, depression, anxiety) and autoimmune conditions which are increasing in prevalence and severity. These diseases of metabolic and mitochondrial dysfunction cannot be helped with a pill, but rather with food. But not just any food. "Let food be thy medicine" is true only if it is the right food. The wrong food, however, will poison you over time. Prof. Robert Lustig, paediatric neuro-endocrinologist and best-selling author of "Fat Chance", advises us to take our health into our own hands in order to dodge the agendas of big food, big pharma, and to an extent, modern doctors who don't have the time (nor often the knowledge) to teach us about prevention, lifestyle and the power of food to heal. So how do we take our health into our own hands when there is so much conflicting and confusing information out there? And what should we eat, and should we supplement, given the various diet trends (Keto, Vegan, Paleo, Mediterranean etc.) and advice on nutrition and supplementation? And each person's dietary and nutritional needs vary! In this live streamed event in collaboration with the How To Academy, Prof. Lustig gives us some clear guidelines to follow for greater health, longevity and happiness.

Eating disorders are one of the most dangerous and difficult to treat mental health issues in young women and men, with the highest levels of mortality and relapse rates of all psychiatric illnesses. And their numbers are growing. In this urgent and eye-opening interview, leading child and adolescent integrative psychiatrist Dr. James Greenblatt, with over 40 years of clinical experience treating eating disorders (anorexia, binge eating, bulimia, etc.), tells us about the often overlooked biochemical factors influencing eating disorders, and shares how to successfully and sustainably treat (and prevent) eating disorders, in women and men, by addressing nutrition, vitamins and amino acids, as well as psychiatry, psychology and body-based therapies. Dr. Greenblatt is a pioneer of integrative psychiatry and currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Walden Behavioral Care in Massachusetts and as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine. He is the author of 7 books, including Finally Focused: The Breakthrough Natural Treatment Plan for ADHD, Integrative Medicine for Alzheimer's and Integrative Medicine for Depression. Having already featured in two fascinating interviews for the MindHealth360 Show (on ADHD and suicide prevention), the topic of this conversation turns to the pressing issue of eating disorders, and to his book Answers to Anorexia: A Breakthrough Nutritional Treatment That Is Saving Lives.

Dr. Lara Salyer, author of Right Brain Rescue, is a family medicine physician who retrained in Functional Medicine after experiencing debilitating burnout. In this inspiring and complex interview, she explains how increasing our neurochemical flow can successfully soothe burnout, calm a dysregulated stress response and improve mental health symptoms. Dr. Lara Salyer's remarkable approach to burnout and poor mental health draws on her training in functional medicine and her personal experience and creativity to explain how we can rekindle optimal brain-body health and rediscover a love of life by developing better boundaries and lifestyle habits, and encouraging creativity for flow state training.

Dr. Josh Friedman is a pioneering psychotherapist and psychologist who uses not only psychological therapies and mind-body practices such as yoga and breathing techniques, but also a wealth of tools and knowledge to support his patients' biochemistry using diet, supplements and amino acids. He has found that this combination approach is more effective in helping his patients' mental health than psychotherapy alone. Dr. Friedman earned his doctorate in psychology from New York University, did post-doctoral training in psychoanalysis at the Training and Research Institute for Self Psychology, and is an eating disorders psychotherapist at the esteemed Renfrew Center of New York. In this captivating and profound interview, he explains how nutritional psychology adds the missing piece to traditional psychotherapy. He reveals how biochemical imbalances and nutritional deficiencies combine with psycho-spiritual stressors to cause mental health symptoms, and suggests natural, simple solutions to sustainably heal from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and addictions.

In this lively and informative interview, Professor Bonnie Kaplan and Professor Julia Rucklidge, co-authors of The Better Brain, discuss the vital role of nutrition in mental health, the importance of diet and the right kind of supplementation (spoiler alert: the right type and combination of supplements is crucial). Prof. Bonnie Kaplan, winner of the Rogers Prize for Excellence in Complementary & Alternative Medicine, is a research psychologist at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine. Prof. Julia Rucklidge, director of the Mental Health and Nutrition Research Lab, is a clinical psychologist at the University of Canterbury. Both are experts in the impact of nutrition on the brain and mental health, and have led groundbreaking research supported by rigorous clinical trials. In this dynamic conversation, they explain why poor nutrition can negatively impact mental health, showing how nutrition affects brain metabolism (the brain is known as the hungriest organ, consuming up to 40% of our nutrients) and why the right combination of micronutrients is vital for good mental health. They reveal the surprising role that combined nutrients play in brain health, and how anxiety, depression, ADHD and stress can be simply and successfully overcome through what we eat and how we supplement.

Dr. Hyla Cass is a psychiatrist and pioneer of integrative health and functional medicine psychiatry, author of several popular books including Natural Highs, 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health, and The Addicted Brain and How to Break Free. In this striking interview, she outlines the ways we can recover from mental health issues (PTSD, depression, anxiety, PMS, poor memory) by using CBD to support the endocannabinoid system. She explains what the endocannabinoid system is and why it is so central to our mental health, and describes the ways CBD replenishes endocannabinoids to provide successful, sustainable and natural recovery from mental health symptoms.