Ep. 130: Nutrition and Mental Health with Dr. Uma Naidoo, Nutritional Psychiatrist and Author of “This Is Your Brain on Food”

On this episode of Health Gig, we welcome celebrated Nutritional Psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidoo. As both a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and professional chef, she serves as the Director of Nutritional and Lifestyle Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. In her research on the relationship between mental health and the gut microbiome, Dr. Naidoo was inspired to write This Is Your Brain on Food, a guide to the mind-body relationship of food consumption that is celebrated in both the academic and culinary communities. In addition to writing about the effects of good eating, she also develops delicious recipes, leads successful cooking seminars, and teaches healthy cooking techniques at the Massachusetts General Hospital Academy.

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Show Notes

[1:15] When I moved away to study was my journey into cooking. And I found that I loved spices and I found that cooking was just almost a creative space for me to relax and enjoy, almost decompress my day, but enjoy the flavors and savor the food.
[3:42] I was very fortunate that there was a way in which cooking and the culinary arts really can help my patients because it's easy then to translate something for them that they can enjoy and actually make in a healthy manner.
[5:18] With the fact that things like Type two diabetes on the rise, obesity is on the rise - so many Americans, 48 percent, have some abnormality in their metabolic profiles. It's become important that we do bring this into the conversation.
[6:15] As the standard American diet has continued, we know that there's been an increase in the rate of childhood obesity. There's been an increase in the rate of certain childhood mental health conditions. And it's hard to not try to make that correlation that it is including the food that we're eating.
[8:24] Things that we usually would think of as being related to added levels of obesity to, say, type two diabetes, those that refined sugar studies have actually connected them to worsening symptoms of depression, worsening symptoms of anxiety.
[10:07] Balance in the gut microbiome and food is one of the very easy things that we can either do in the not so great way and start to set up for inflammation and disease, or we can try to tweak and improve and start to feel better.
[12:19] Of course, someone should take an antibiotic when needed. But overuse has, in the opinion of many of the doctors that I speak to and in my opinion has really disrupted that gut, the synergy of the gut because we overuse antibiotics.
[15:31] What I found is that my body was really responding to those good, healthy foods almost in a way that was different. So I really embraced that. And I think it was one of the things that helped me through treatments. And I think it was an unexpected lesson.
[17:59] I think it's really no longer one size fits all. If anything, everything is becoming so much more by an individual and personalized.
[21:27] A lifestyle change through food can be done right now. Today, you could start eating more vegetables. You could do just one thing that starts your health journey in a better way.
[24:35] Sugar has been shown to not only have deleterious effects to worsen depression. So if you're struggling with depression, those cookies or ice cream are not helping you. They’re actually worsening things for you.
Thank you for joining us on Health Gig. We loved having you with us. We hope you'll tune in again next week. In the meantime, be sure to like and subscribe to this podcast, and follow us on healthgigpod.com.

“Body connection was something I grew up around. My grandparents taught me to meditate and taught me about yoga and that type of stuff. And I think I brought that forward with me when I came to psychiatry.” - Dr. Uma Naidoo
“I think that the more we can correct from the standard American diet, even if one or two healthy choices every single time can help all of us, especially our metabolic health.” - Dr. Uma Naidoo
“It's important for people to understand that the gut is an important organ. It really is called the second brain.” - Dr. Uma Naidoo

Keywords

#DrUmaNaidoo #NutritionalPsychiatry #Psychiatry #Chef #MindBody #ThisIsYourBrainOnFood #GutMicrobiome #MassGeneral #Health #Diet #Wellness #HealthGig#TriciaReillyKoch #DoroBushKoch

PodcastadminMay 12, 2021DrUmaNaidoo, NutritionalPsychiatry, Psychiatry, Chef MindBody, ThisIsYourBrainOnFood GutMicrobiome, MassGeneral, Health, Diet, Wellness, HealthGig, TriciaReillyKoch, DoroBushKoch