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

Chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson kickstarts a long-overdue conversation about how what we eat is creating a mental health apocalypse.

We all know thatas 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 revealthe 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 recognize 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.

Kimberley Wilsonis 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 bookHow to Build a Healthy Brainexplored 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 was a Great British Bake Off finalist. 

CONTENTS
Preface 1
Introduction: Stronger Foundations 5

Part I:
Our Ancient Architecture
1. A Brief History of Mental Illness – From mystics and
magic . . . to the mundane 15
2. Reign of the Fat Heads 23

Part II:
Building Baby’s Brain – The nutrients required for
brain development . . . that we’re not getting
3. The Maternal Universe 39
4. The Importance of DHA 49
5. Choline –The game-changing number two 71

Part III:
Disrepair – How modern diets harm brain health in
childhood, adolescence and young adulthood
6. Sugar 87
7. Ultra-Processed Foods 105
8. Psychobiotics 129
9. Alcohol 141
10. Food, School Exclusion and the Cycle of Poverty 153
11. Crime and Nourishment – The prison nutrition studies 171
12. Nutrition and Mood 185

Part Iv:
Demolition – Dietary drivers of neurodegeneration
13. Dementia and Neurodegeneration 197
14. Veganism and Brain Health 213

Part v:
Building Back Better – Laying the nutritional
foundations for healthy brains in the future
15. The Psychology of Food Choice 225
16. The Persistent Myth of the Nanny State 235

Conclusion 253
Appendix: So, What Should I Eat? 257
Glossary 259
References 261
Index 287