Part 1 of 3 on a series about food addiction - this article goes into the addictive process in the modern food environment.

If you're a human in 2022, then stress, anxiety, panic and worry are likely to have featured to some extent in your life over the past two years. These are natural responses to stressors that we all experience from time to time, but when these escalate and get in the way of life, they are one of the most common reasons people seek the help of a professional therapist..

A sometimes overlooked cause of psychological or neurological concerns such as anxiety, depression, “brain fog”, or chronic exhaustion lies in the immune activation caused by gluten in affected people - AKA the autoimmune condition coeliac disease (CD)

Today, our evolving understanding of the gut-brain connection has re-connected the mind with the physical, requiring that we use integrative therapies.

Let’s talk about scurvy, shall we? Trust me, I promise it’s relevant.  Scurvy is extremely rare these days, but back in the 1700s it was a huge issue facing men and women at sea. We now know that scurvy is caused by a deficiency in Vitamin C – but we didn’t know that back then.

Originally associated with bone health, vitamin D – termed the “sunshine” vitamin by Nair and Maseeh (2012) - is pertinent to immune system functioning and implicated in mental health concerns. More than a vitamin, it is actually a neuroprotective hormone and is super important in embryonic and brain growth over formative years as well as health and immunity over the lifespan.

After connecting a while ago over our respective work in the nutrition and mental health space, I recently asked Francesca if she would share some thoughts on nutritional interventions for OCD that can give the best bang for your buck. Here are her thoughts on one powerful step.

While our basic human physiology is largely unchanged, never in history have we collectively contended with as many unremitting and insidious insults to our wellbeing and vibrancy as we do today. 

This post follows on from Part 1 - On 21st Century Excesses & Deficiencies. You'll hear my thoughts on how to restore yourself to your most optimal level of wellbeing after physical and mental health difficulties, using a range of nutritional and lifestyle interventions. 

An introductory blog discussing the rationale for a nutritional and lifestyle approach within clinical psychology.

Recent science tells us that food does affect mood, and a healthy diet can help treat depression.

The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) is the most current edition of the guidebook for psychiatrists and psychologists who follow a diagnostic framework.