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

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Wilson: I’m not sure I would use — I see what you mean; perhaps not healing. I would say “care” and — of life; that kind of function of food which is around living and needing to fulfill this very practical life need of nourishment and energy provision. And so yes, it was kind of — although, you know, there was a book in my house called Foods That Harm, Foods That Heal. I don’t know how much science there is behind that title now, but growing up, it was a combination of the practical — people need to be fed, and food needs to be put on the table — but also, of simple pleasures and that very quotidian joy and pleasure that comes from eating. Wilson: Sometimes. Yes and no. [ laughs] So last week, I was furiously angry, [ laughs] stomping around London at lunchtime over something that I knew, even at the time, even within the cloud of my rage, was just a minor inconvenience. And I was trying to work it out; I’d managed to hold onto enough of my thinking apparatus to be like, this seems like an outsized response to a minor inconvenience; what’s going on? And I realized it was simply that I was very hungry and that I needed to have some lunch. And then my cortisol dropped, and I felt better. So I still get caught out by this thing.

Probably The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The illustrations have a lovely graphic quality to them and, as a woman with a good appetite, I felt I had found a kindred spirit very early on in life. What’s your favourite book now? Kalliopeia Foundation, dedicated to reconnecting ecology, culture, and spirituality, supporting organizations and initiatives that uphold a sacred relationship with life on Earth. Learn more at kalliopeia.org; One of the more challenging yet important aspects of Wilson’s book is her long-term perspective around health. This is challenging due to our tendency to default to short-term perspectives around behaviours that can affect our health (such as “go on, then, just one more…” when offered another biscuit) which can distract us from and obscure the long-term implications of such behaviours. She speculates that this short-term approach is particularly relevant to diet since food is so ordinary and every day for many of us. We sat down with Kimberley to investigate the impact of ultra-processed foods on brain development and in turn, our emotional wellbeing. And again, this is quite useful information for a planet that’s been in crisis — I mean, I would say just for the last two years, but with the invasion of Ukraine, it’s incredibly stressful, certainly in Europe at the moment. This is important information, in terms of how we — the strategies that are available to us to manage our stress on an everyday basis.Rebecca O’Connell’s research focuses on the social, cultural and economic reasons that shape what children and families eat, and the part food plays in their everyday lives. With the cost of living crisis and an increase in families suffering food poverty, she looks at the capacity to ‘choose’ to buy healthier food, and what other countries, like Portugal, have achieved in prioritising school meals.

Good mental health starts with good brain health. Good brain health starts with healthy, optimal brain development. Healthy brain developments starts with pre-conception nutrition. In this MyNutriBookClub, we’ll read and review the book, ‘Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat is Fuelling our Mental Health Crisis’ written by Chartered psychologist and nutritionist, Kimberley Wilson. The chapter exploring the influence of alcohol caught my attention. Apart from making me reconsider my weekend bottle of wine, the focus of this chapter was around Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Wilson walks a difficult line between outlining healthy alcohol consumption choices for women whilst not shaming them for decisions that may unwittingly have implications for the future health of their child. Seaweed is a concentrated source of iodine. The British Dietetic Association recommends not eating brown seaweed more than once a week, especially during pregnancy. Childhood And then there’s the kind of practical part, which is the — I think it’s called the “technoference,” which is that simply having access, or having your phone in sight, and particularly when you’re talking about something of emotional meaning and resonance, lowers the quality of your interaction. So if you are sitting with somebody and your phone is there, just looking at your phone, knowing that it’s there, lowers the quality of your connection with the person that’s in front of you. A brain-healthy diet doesn’t have to be complicated. Wilson’s go-to is porridge for breakfast: “I use a few different grains in it and top it with raisins and cranberries or chopped apple.” Oats are rich in fibre and nutrient-dense. As recent research suggests, you should be aiming for 30 plants per week – fruit, nuts and seeds all count towards that target.The higher the proportion of ultra-processed foods in your diet, the lower your intake of vitamins A, B, three, six and 12, C, D, E, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and omega three fatty acids. So really, what we’re looking at is a broad scale nutrient deficiency, because of the proportion of these foods in our diets.” Tippett: So you have gone on to be in this ongoing investigation, and also, you have become kind of a public educator on the science behind all of this. And it’s new, and yet I know that — I mean, I’ve been hearing people talk about microbiome for a few years — it is very new. I was quite intrigued, when I was just looking around, there is actually a paragraph on — because anything new is contested, right? It’s suspect. Someone suffering from depression is more likely to be asked about their relationship with their mother than their relationship with food. Wilson: Yeah. It’s — so in terms of depression, what we have are a range of pieces of evidence in different parts of the scientific literature. So what the epidemiological evidence shows us is that the more you adhere — generally, the more you adhere to a healthy diet — and “healthy” is really, broadly, we can just say a whole food diet, so whole grains, nuts, seeds, fish, leaner meats, fruits and vegetables, that kind of thing; non-industrial, whole foods — the lower your risk or the more protection you have from later development of depression, even when you’re controlling for things like income, family status, the type of job you have, and so forth.

Anyone with an interest in how the brain works, and who wants to invest in their long-term brain health On the other hand, children in the UK are eating more than the recommended levels of added sugar. The UK government advises that free sugars – sugars added to food or drinks and found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices, smoothies and purees – should not make up more than 5% of the energy (calories) you get from food and drink each day.

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Corrine aims to use her dietetic expertise to understand the nutritional challenges of target audiences and create tailored marketing solutions that demonstrate brand value whilst nourishing with purpose.