The MindHealth360 Show

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.

Dr. Ameet Aggarwal, best-selling author of Heal Your Body, Cure Your Mind, is a naturopathic doctor, psychotherapist, homeopath, EMDR and family constellations therapist. In this fascinating and comprehensive interview, he explains that healing from poor mental health, anxiety, depression, and insomnia can be successfully achieved by addressing gut health, liver stagnation and inflammation (our biochemistry) and painful emotions and past traumas (our psychospirituality). By understanding the mind and body as integrally related, Dr. Aggarwal reveals that the best way to sustainably recover from poor mental health is through a combined approach incorporating homeopathic remedies, psychotherapy, EMDR, herbs, and supplements, which together help treat the root causes of mental health symptoms: liver stagnation, inflammation, hormone imbalances and unresolved traumas.

In this astounding conversation for the How To Academy in association with MindHealth360, Dr. Dale Bredesen and Dr. Kat Toups reveal their pioneering research into new treatments for dementia and cognitive decline. They explain that, contrary to widespread medical belief, cognitive decline and dementia are not only preventable, but also reversible. Both leading experts in neurodegenerative diseases, Dr. Dale Bredesen, legendary neurologist, is the author of the two best-sellers The End of Alzheimer’s and The End of Alzheimer’s Programme, and Dr. Kat Toups, recognised as the Godmother of functional medicine psychiatry, is the author of the upcoming book Dementia Demystified. They explain how dementia and cognitive decline can be prevented and reversed through a fundamentally new approach: by attending to factors that affect brain function—including diet, toxins, inflammation, infections, hormone deficiencies, and stress.

Christina Veselak is a psychotherapist and nutritionist, specialising in addiction recovery, relapse prevention and mental health. She is the Founder and Director of the Academy for Addiction and Mental Health Nutrition. With a unique focus on psychotherapy (trauma, emotion, addictions) and nutrition (biochemical imbalances), in this compelling interview she explains that nutrient and neurotransmitter depletion in the brain can cause addictive behaviours and other mental health symptoms, and outlines the ways diet, amino acid and nutrient therapy, and psychotherapy can significantly help prevent addiction relapse. She notes that addiction programmes which offer nutrition therapy have significantly reduced relapse rates.

In this fascinating interview, Dr. Michelle Veneziano, board-certified in family medicine and a clinical professor of osteopathic medicine at Touro University, California, discusses her work with the nervous system, embodiment and brain health. Detailing how tongue position, posture and circulation have a significant impact on mental health, she explains how osteopathy can initiate a mechanical body-release which helps to reset the nervous system, and enable recovery from symptoms such as depression, anxiety and insomnia.