Over one billion people worldwide have some type of mental health diagnosis – a statistic that suggests the current approach to treating these conditions may not be enough. For those struggling, perhaps despite their medication, it can feel easy to lose hope of feeling well again.

In this conversation, I speak to someone who has been a psychiatrist for more than 25 years and who, for many years, felt that her impact on patients was limited until she learned about the incredible healing power of food.

Dr. Georgia Ede is a Harvard-trained, board-certified psychiatrist specializing in nutritional and metabolic psychiatry. Her twenty-five years of clinical experience include twelve years at Smith College and Harvard University Health Services, where she was the first person to offer students nutrition-based approaches as an alternative to psychiatric medication.

She co-authored the first inpatient study of the ketogenic diet for treatment-resistant mental illness and is the author of the wonderful new book ‘Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind: A Powerful Plan to Improve Mood, Overcome Anxiety and Protect Memory for a Lifetime of Optimal Mental Health’.

Georgia explains that, almost unknowingly, many of us have been feeding our brains improperly for our entire lives. We explore what she considers to be the five foods that have the most potential to be problematic for our brain health and how quickly we can start to feel the benefits if we are able to cut back on them. This highlights a key point that both Georgia and I are extremely passionate about – that, for most of us, in the modern-day food environment, what we cut out of our diet is more important than what we put in.

We talk about the relationship between blood glucose and brain glucose. Georgia outlines the whole foods that she believes can be problematic, especially if we are having problems with our mood or have a mental health diagnosis. We also discuss why Georgia believes that the Mediterranean diet – whilst better than the Standard Western Diet – is not optimal, and we cover Georgia’s clinical research about the potential benefits of ketogenic diets in treating mental health.

Georgia is a wonderful physician who cares deeply about her patients and is helping many of them gain relief and sometimes remission from long-standing mental health problems. That being said, there is no question that some of her recommendations may at first glance appear controversial.

Throughout the conversation, I have tried my best to provide clarity and make sure that you clearly understand why Georgia is recommending the changes that she is. But, as you are listening, please do remember that there is no one dietary approach that is going to work for everyone, at every stage in their life.

Watch the video version of the conversation here: