It is Not All in Your Head: A Discussion of the Role Lifestyle and Diet Play in Mental Disease
Nancy A. Palermo MD We have always suspected that ultra-processed diets were linked to chronic diseases, including psychiatric diseases like depression and anxiety, but a recently published in JAMA (September 2023) showed that women who consumed the most ultra-processed foods (foods high in salt, sugar, refined carbohydrates, hydrogenated oils, and artificial additives) were 50% more likely to suffer from depression than those women who avoided these foods. This is yet another study to support the fact that mental disorders are not distinct entities and have a tremendous overlap with other physical disorders. A poor diet can largely influence both mental disorders and physical disorders. Some researchers, like Dr. Christopher Palmer, a Harvard Psychiatrist and researcher and author of Brain Energy, have even suggested that many mental disorders can...
