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 ourdecision-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.