Why Food Should Be A Factor In Treating Mental Illness

We know that our diet can have a major impact on mental health. Unfortunately, however, most medical education programs don’t include nutrition, so many psychiatrists and physicians, in general, aren’t as empowered as they should be to prescribe a healthy diet. Moreover, stigma around mental illness is still pervasive in our society and can keep people from feeling empowered that they can change their brain health and get the care they truly need. Dr. Hyman recently explored these topics with psychiatrists Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Drew Ramsey.

Dr. Daniel Amen is the founder of Amen Clinics. Amen Clinics has the world’s largest database of brain scans related to behavior, totaling more than 160,000 SPECT scans on patients from 121 countries. Dr. Amen’s research team has published more than 70 scientific articles. He is the lead researcher on the world’s largest brain imaging and rehabilitation study on professional football players. His research has not only demonstrated high levels of brain damage in players, but also the possibility of significant recovery for many with the principles that underlie his work.  His team also published the world’s largest functional brain imaging study on how the brain ages with over 62,000 SPECT scans. He is a double board-certified psychiatrist and ten-time NY Times bestselling author, with such blockbuster books as Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, Healing ADD, Memory Rescue, Change Your Brain, Change Your Grades, and The Daniel Plan, co-authored by Pastor Rick Warren and Dr. Mark Hyman. His most recent book is The End of Mental Illness. 

Dr. Drew Ramsey is not your average psychiatrist. A writer, farmer, and doctor who focuses on the connection between mental health and food, he is passionate about nutritional interventions and creative media to share a different way of thinking about the brain and mood. He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and in active clinical practice in New York City. He also spends much of his time with his family, growing their own food, on a 127 acre organic farm.

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Find Dr. Hyman’s full-length conversation with Dr. Daniel Amen, “How to End Mental Illness” here: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DrDanielAmen

Find Dr. Hyman’s full-length conversation with Dr. Drew Ramsey, “Can you beat depression with food?” here: https://DrMarkHyman.lnk.to/DrDrewRamsey