97. Cooking Up Anxiety Relief: How Your Diet Impacts Mental Health with Dr. Uma Naidoo

The Big Silence

Today, we're exploring a fascinating new field in mental health, Nutritional Psychiatry, with Dr. Uma Naidoo. Not only is she a Harvard-trained psychiatrist, but she’s also a professional chef and a nutrition expert. Dr. Naidoo brings a unique blend of expertise to the table, and she’s here to share her insights on the powerful link between our diet and mental health.

In this episode, we dive into how our eating habits affect our mood and mental well-being, especially in a post-pandemic world. Dr. Naidoo offers eye-opening perspectives on how changes in our lifestyle can impact our mental health, and shares tips for making changes to our routines gradually and with grace, so they become lifelong habits.

We unpack the connection between metabolic syndrome and anxiety, shedding light on how our physical health can reflect and influence our mental state.

Dr. Naidoo also outlines her new book, Calm Your Mind with Food, a full-body approach to relieving anxiety. With her anti-anxiety recipes and meal plan guidelines, Dr. Naidoo reveals how to effectively use food and nutrition as an essential tool for calming the mind. Definitely check it out if you’re looking for a trustworthy and accessible way to improve your mental health with your diet!

(00:05:25) A New Field in Mental Health: Nutritional Psychiatry

(00:18:19) Identifying & Healing Metabolic Syndrome

(00:28:24) Six Pillars of Calming the Mind

(00:36:25) Building Your Anti-Anxiety Eating Plan

Click here for full show notes

Guest Info:

Website: umanaidoomd.com

Instagram: @drumanaidoo

Read: Calm Your Mind with Food by Uma Naidoo, MD

Read: This Is Your Brain on Food by Uma Naidoo, MD

Resources:

Start a conversation in your The Big Silence merch: thebigsilence.com/collections/shop-all

Read: The Big Silence: A Daughter's Memoir of Mental Illness and Healing

Follow Karena Dawn on Instagram: @karenadawn

Follow The Big Silence on Instagram: @The.Big.Silence

Subscribe: The Big Silence YouTube Channel

Therapy For All: Resources for those in need

Donate to The Big Silence thebigsilence.com/donate to be a part of the movement to break the silence and make noise with us!

“The Big Silence” theme song written and performed by James Nicholas Kinney.

Producer, Bobby Goldstein.

The Big Silence is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

Factor | This episode is sponsored by Factor. Head to factormeals.com and use code thebigsilence50 to get 50% off.