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

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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.

The author's first book, How to Build a Healthy Brain, is a good book and worth the price. I have trouble describing what this new book is trying to achieve. The author spends so much time on a soap box moaning and moaning about the current government that I just had to keep taking breaks. I am no fan of the Tories but please the title of the book is not 'Why I hate Tories'.

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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). 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 There is, though, good news for coffee drinkers. Moderate coffee consumption (two to four cups per day) has been linked to better brain health and reduced risk of cognitive decline, in part because caffeine regulates a neuroprotective brain enzyme. The emerging consensus is that the higher the inflammatory potential of a person’s diet, the worse their brain function will tend to be,” she writes. “A large prospective study, which followed over 26,000 people for an average of five years, found that those with a more pro-inflammatory diet had a greater risk of developing depression.” Eat yourself happy

Eat more beans. Believe me, they’re the answer to most of your, and the planet’s, most pressing problems. You can’t have good mental health without a well-functioning brain, and you can’t have a well-functioning brain without good nutrition.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.

Unprocessed: How the food we eat is fuelling our mental health crisis by Kimberley Wilson is published by WH Allen. When your gut microbes ferment fibre, they produce short-chain fatty acids. And one of the key functions [of these] is to support the integrity of your blood brain barrier, which is a very selective barrier that prevents neurotoxic compounds from the bloodstream from crossing into the brain,” says Wilson. Eggs are another good breakfast choice: as well as being protein-rich, egg yolks are a good source of choline, the nutrient the body uses to produce neurotransmitters that help regulate memory and mood.

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Another study found a direct relationship between diet quality and hippocampal size (the brain’s memory centre, which is damaged in Alzheimer’s disease). 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.

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. Because adequate thyroid hormone is required from the moment of conception, women need to ensure sufficient iodine intake for several months before conceiving. This can typically be achieved by eating a balanced diet that includes a variety of dairy, fish and seafood. However, those who do not eat animal foods may need to consult a health professional about taking an iodine supplement. Too much can be a problem too, with an excess causing iodine poisoning or hyperthyroidism, so it is important to get the balance right. The NHS suggests that a supplemental dose of 0.5mg or less per day is unlikely to cause harm. In this masterclass, chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson will reveal the unique structures and qualities of the brain and share practical tips to help nourish and protect this vitally important organ. 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? Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) make up 55% of the UK adult diet, the highest in Europe. UPFs are foods that are sold ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat and produced using ingredients or processes for which there is no domestic equivalent. To improve palatability and shelf-life, these foods tend to be higher in added sugar, fat and salt, and contain less fibre than their homemade equivalents. So how might having a large proportion of these foods in our diets be affecting our brains?With a huge rise in brain-related illnesses and upsurge in mental health conditions, such as depression and dementia, now is the time to learn how to protect and future-proof your brain. In this eye-opening and impassioned book, psychologist Kimberley Wilson draws on startling new research - as well as her own work in prisons, schools and hospitals around the country - to reveal the role of food and nutrients in brain development and mental health: from how the food a woman eats during pregnancy influences the size of her baby's brain, and hunger makes you mean; to how nutrient deficiencies change your personality. However, Wilson avoids the critic’s mistake of only highlighting the problem, and she offers some solutions in the form of steps she believes present and future governments should take to promote healthier eating and protect public health and well-being. Even if readers disagree with Wilson’s views, it’s hard not to be moved. Dessert: Diet meets educational psychology. In the third (and largest) part of the book, she explains the harmful role of (excess) sugar, ultra-processed foods and alcohol in the health of the brain throughout one’s life (from conception to old age). She then discusses research studies which have shown improvement in mental health (mood and ADHD) symptoms as a result of a better diet. She specifically discusses prison studies that have shown reduced levels of aggression following simple nutritional interventions. In the last two parts of the book, she examines the links between nutritional deficiencies and dementia, as well as the potential pitfalls of veganism.

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