Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat Is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis

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Sugar is another factor. Too much glucose – for example, from sugars in fizzy drinks and sweet treats – can predispose someone to high blood sugar and insulin insensitivity. There is clear evidence that a poor diet is linked to an elevated risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. In her book, Wilson cites the MIND diet (the Mediterranean-Dash Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay). What role do educational psychologists play in supporting children, young people and their families around the issue of diet? Should this be within our remit? Alongside the above, the author discusses how UK politicians have often failed to act on scientific evidence and take measures that might have resulted in the population’s improved mental (and physical) health. She explains the links between poverty, nutritional deficiencies (in pregnant women as well as children, adolescents and adults) and poor mental health (concentration and learning difficulties, chronic stress, aggression and emotional dysregulation). She argues that better nutrition and mental health are often less of an individual’s choice, and more of a government’s responsibility. My only concern is that her voice may come across as perhaps a bit too strong and this may alienate Conservative voters. But then again, the messages that ‘Unprocessed’ passes are important for individuals and societies alike, and as such they are highly political.

The idea that your diet affects your brain is not ground-breaking. But Wilson argues that what we eat not only has an impact on our mood, but affects our brain function at every stage of life: from before life begins, in pregnancy, to reducing the impact of cognitive decline in old age.Explores the profound link between the food we eat and the way we think and feel' Radio 4 Start the Week You will discover, through evidence-based research, the foods and nutrients the brain needs and what happens when there are imbalances in your diet. You will learn the crucial importance of good sleep, and why regular physical activity is one of the best investments you can make for your long-term brain health. Another study found a direct relationship between diet quality and hippocampal size (the brain’s memory centre, which is damaged in Alzheimer’s disease). A powerful book that breaks down the dangerous beliefs that food is just fuel and delivers an important message we can all get behind... the evidence Kimberley presents in this book will change lives and hopefully policy' - Professor Tim Spector

This course has now passed, but you can be the first to know about the next one - and other workshops like this - by signing up to our newsletter here. People don’t tend to give me advice. I come across, almost certainly, as a bit of a know it all. But I do appreciate it. Once, someone told me I always had my shoulders up, and a manicurist moisturising my hand once said: “You don’t know how to relax.” These things helped me realise how tightly wound I was. Kimberley believes that the way we think about mental health – as separate from physical health – is flawed. Her philosophy of whole-body mental health is a comprehensive approach to mental health care, integrating evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle factors with psychological therapy.I suspect that the things that make me love a book have less to do with the book and more to do with where and who I am at the time that I encounter it. Which book changed the way you think? There are two organisational groups targeted for special criticism in ‘Unprocessed’. The first group are large food manufacturers who have prioritised their commercial interests over the production of healthy food. This prioritisation of profit has occurred despite of the growing body of evidence about the harmful effects on health of ultra-processed foods that are promoted and sold in large quantities to the public, a topic that has recently featured in national news outlets (see The Guardian, 27th August 2023, for example).