I recently was a guest on The Healing Catalyst Podcast with Dr. Avanti Kumar Singh. I had a wonderful time talking with her. Dr. Avanti and I discussed my background in psychiatry and how I got to where I am now. We talked about how our relationships with food and eating had an impact on our personal and also professional lives. We also discussed how relationships are so important for our mental health and how to curate a brain healthy diet that works the best for you, keeping your food values in mind.
You can listen to the episode on Apple or Spotify.
SHOW NOTES:
- [05:45] Why I decided to go into psychiatry
- [10:15] My experience early on talking to patients about their food stories
- [12:45] How I first started prescribing food to patients
- [16:45] We talk how we can eat for brain health no matter what food you prefer and value
- [18:11] Mechanisms of how nutrients influence our brain health and mental health
- [26:25] What are traditional dietary patterns
- [30:08] How we came up with the antidepressant food scale
- [32:00] How I feel about the polarized vegan vs. carnivore topic
- [37:54] The key foods to add to your diet for better mental health
- [50:30] My top 3 tips for eating for your mental health
QUOTES:
- [14:15] “None of the nutritional advice to date has ever revolved around the most important aspect of our health, which is our mental health.”
- [23:00] “I like the idea that we feel good when we make choices according to a set of values that we believe are going to help our health.”
- [28:21] “In nutritional psychiatry and as a clinician what I really focus on in a dietary pattern is increasing nutrient density.”
- [36:07] “Being in someone’s corner to help them sort that [food values] out is really one of the stances of nutritional psychiatry I try to promote.”
