Unprocessed: What Your Diet Is Doing to Your Brain

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Chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson kickstarts a long-overdue conversation about how what we eat is creating a mental health apocalypse. We all know that as a nation our mental health is in crisis. But what most don't know is that a critical ingredient in this debate, and a crucial part of the solution - what we eat - is being ignored. Nutrition has more influence on what we feel, who we become and how we behave than we could ever have imagined. It affects everything from our decision-making to aggression and violence. Yet mental health disorders are overwhelmingly treated as 'mind' problems as if the physical brain - and how we feed it - is irrelevant. Someone suffering from depression is more likely to be asked about their relationship with their mother than their relationship with food. 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. We must also recognise poor nutrition as a social injustice, with the poorest and most vulnerable being systematically ignored. We need to talk about what our food is doing to our brains. And we need decisive action, not over rehearsed soundbites and empty promises, from those in power - because if we don't, things can only get worse.

Reviews

This is a really important book - identifying one of the most alarming ways that our poor diet hurts us. Our brains are as severely affected as our bodies. Packed with science, hope and a clear demand for much needed change. * Chris van Tulleken *
A powerful book that breaks down the dangerous beliefs that food is just fuel and delivers an important message we can all get behind - eat for your body and your brain! With a mental health crisis on our hands and over 50% of our diets coming from UPFs the evidence Kimberley presents in this book will change lives and hopefully policy. * Professor Tim Spector *
Kimberley Wilson kick-starts a hugely important conversation that not many are having. A powerful read. Everybody needs to read this book. * Fearne Cotton *
Marks a transformation in our thinking about diets. With luck it may one day make our brains better, a development that is long overdue... an essential and urgent read. * Sunday Times *

Author Bio

Kimberley Wilson is a Chartered Psychologist, author and visiting lecturer working in private practice in central London. She's a Governor of the Tavistock & Portman NHS Mental Health Trust and the former Chair of the British Psychological Society's Training Committee in Counselling Psychology. Kimberley's first book How to Build a Healthy Brain (Yellow Kite, 2020) explored how to look after both physical and mental well-being. She hosts Stronger Minds, a podcast on topics such as food, lifestyle, psychology and mental health. She's appeared on various TV shows including GMB and was a Great British Bake Off finalist.