Food Cures For Anxiety, Depression and More Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified Harvard Nutritional Psychiatrist, professional chef, and nutritional biologist. She is also the Founder and Director of the first and only hospital-based Nutritional and Metabolic Psychiatry Service in the United States, at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). She also serves as the Director of Nutritional Psychiatry at MGH Academy, the world-renowned educational organization, for which she designed and released the only CME-based Nutritional Psychiatry educational program for clinicians.
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About the host:
Bert Martinez is a successful entrepreneur and best-selling author. Bert is fascinated by business, marketing, and entrepreneurship. One of Bert’s favorite hobbies is to transform the complicated into simple-to-understand lessons so you can apply them to your business and life. Bert is also obsessed with exploring the mindset of the high achievers so you can follow their secrets and strategies.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Today, we’re gonna be talking about this is your brain on food. My guest today is doctor Uma Naidoo, and she is a board certified Harvard nutritional psychiatrist, professional chef, and nutritional biologist. She’s also the founder director of the first and only hospital based nutritional and metabolic psychiatry service in the United States. Doctor Naidoo, welcome to the show.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Thank you so much, but it’s great to be here. Thanks for inviting me.
BERT MARTINEZ:
You bet. You bet. Alright. So I always like to ask, what inspired you to write this book? What was the motivation or catalyst to get this book done?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
But there’s so much confusion, in the in the US, especially around what is the next superfood, what should I eat, what shouldn’t I eat. And this is a conversation that’s going on for a very long time in popular press media and in books. I have the opportunity to found and direct the clinic that I have, and from there, I was given several opportunities to write or contribute to media.
And, unexpectedly, one of the pieces from 20 well, I think I wanna say it was 2017 or 2018 was the Wall Street Journal, which went viral. And it almost happened in reverse. Usually, you, you know, reach out to publishers and and want to publish a book.
The reverse happened for me. And that’s what led me to obtain a great agent and figure out that this was ready to be a book. So it happened in an unusual way. That’s how this is your brain on food came to life. But I had been doing the work and running the clinic and doing the research, and and it seemed to make sense.
As to what I think was important to bring forward, given that confusion I mentioned, nutritional lifestyle and metabolic psychiatry is this overarching theme of how you can eat better for your mental health. Someone may be plant based. Someone may, eat a carnivore diet or be paleo or keto or, simply as a pescatarian.
Whatever it might be, this, overarching model of eating can provide you the tweaks you need to optimize what you were eating, maybe different from me or different from your neighbor, for your best mental health. And that’s really what it’s about.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Yeah. I love that. And and you’re absolutely right. We have an incredible amount of confusion about what to eat. And Yeah. What’s so funny, is that there was a video I saw on, I think it was Instagram, where this guy is saying, hey, for 2024, I’m gonna start eating, I’m gonna start eating healthy, and I’m gonna go, I’m just gonna eat vegetables. And then he then he switches over to an expert that talks about how eating vegetables can be bad for you. And so he goes, well, I’m gonna switch to eating a a carnivore diet.
Switches over to another expert talking about the negatives of the carnivore diet. And and you go and and so this happens 3 or 4 times, and he finally says, I’m just gonna drink water. And then the last expert says, you gotta be careful because, you know, drinking too much water could be. . .
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
like I I may have seen that. It it but it was such a great parody of, you know, exactly what we’re all facing, you know, when when we, look at social media or try to get information.
BERT MARTINEZ:
And this is why so many people, I think, are sick. They’re sick of of the confusion, and you’re you’re trying different things. And right now, interestingly enough, I think that we see this pandemic, if you will, of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, And a lot of experts attribute that to years ago when the confusion about fat versus sugar. And so we the we removed all the fat from our diet. And now we’re paying the price because we have all these problems with mental health, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s, dementia. And and so I think most people are just fed up. It’s just like no matter what you do Right. It it’s it’s not right.
And and I think that food industry, you know, they’re there to sell you food. They’re not there to make you healthy. They don’t care about you.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
They sell you food. Marketing. Yeah. You you you were so right about that because it’s, you know, the food industry and their marketing and their marketing tactics because they, may not be invested in our health, but they do want to sell their food.
So whether it was the low fat craze and the fat was removed from foods and replaced by carbohydrates slash sugars, but it was low in fat, actually contributed to other problems in our health profiles. So we’re at a point where I think people are trying a little bit more to advocate for their own health than to ask questions of their doctors or their clinicians and practitioners. And I think this is where food is hugely important because we have the power to improve our mental be well-being if we understand the power of food and how we can use it to our best advantage while also acknowledging there’s bio individuality. You know? So what as, and I’ve realized and studied this in my clinic as well.
Not everyone can eat the same things and have the same effect. So it’s it’s become more personalized now. But the fact that, we have that power and it’s within our control is is hugely important.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. You know, the what do you call it, the the research that I have found anyway, and, obviously, I’m not an expert, but there’s a great quote out there that sums it up. And I it might be by Socrates or anyway, but let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food. And that’s become a very difficult thing because 80% of our food is processed.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
It’s it’s processed. And and it was you’re right. It was actually Hippocrates, the father of modern allopathic medicine. And thank you for saying that because he was on to this. You know? He was on to this eons ago, and the science had to follow. And the truth is that most Americans, many of us, are eating ultra processed processed foods, and that’s why it’s called the standard American diet or SAD diet.
Also called the western diet. But it’s true because it’s rich in those foods, junk foods, fast foods, and and really a ton of high, high fructose corn syrup or added sugars in foods that we’re not even aware of often in savory food, or even trench fries, fast food trench fries. Some of them are actually engineered to have sugar to make them more palatable. So they we find them delicious, and then we wanna have more. So it’s a it’s a lot of stuff that, you know, food industry is not not it’s it’s, it’s like any other industry. They they wanna make a profit, and we have to understand. And we have to be more savvy about the choices we make.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. There is a video on the, on YouTube, and I’m you can find it anywhere, but this gentleman is talking about McDonald’s French Fries and and how McDonald’s French Fries has, like, it’s, like, 10 or 20 different ingredients for a potato based food. And and like you said, they have all these things to make it, tastier and and and to really, light up that dopamine or or or the oxytocin.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
To hijack your cravings. And so you want more, and sugar’s one of those things. You know? So you always upsize, and when you upsize, you finish the whole bag, and then, the next day you want more. You know? And you’re like, oh, those are really delicious. I I wish you could go get more. It’s it’s it’s something that happens, in our systems, and there’s a biological mechanism that they tap into.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. Alright. So what is nutritional psychiatry? When you explain that to people, what does that mean?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Nutritional psychiatry is the use of healthy whole foods and nutrients to improve your mental well-being, and it is meant to work adjacently with any medications you may be taking, as well as very important forms of psychotherapy, which I strongly support because they are very helpful in alleviating mental conditions as well.
BERT MARTINEZ:
One of the things that I love about the book and, again, for you guys who are listening, watching, the book is This is Your Brain on Food, available wherever you buy your favorite books. And just a quick shout out, one of the things that I that I liked about the book, is it really, really leaves no doubt how important our gut is to our brain, that they’re not disconnected. They’re symbiotic.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Yes. The first chapter of the book is called gut pain romance. And, the reason it’s called the gut brain romance is many people don’t realize that the gut and brain are connected. The gut and brain are, 2 different organs, but they arise from the exact same cells in the human embryo.
They divide apart apart and form these two organs that then remain connected by the 10th cranial nerve, the vagus nerve, which really acts like a bidirectional text messaging system transmitting information in the form of neurotransmitters between these two organs and therefore sending messages. Then you realize that 90 to 95% of both serotonin and its receptors are in the gut. It’s not that it’s, it’s also in the brain and also in the body, but it’s also well, has a very large presence in the gut.
So as food is being digested, with those trillions of microbes being involved, the serotonin and serotonin receptors are all in that same environment. So we we begin to understand a little bit more deeply that this is a very comprehensive process, and it’s not separated, from everything else. And and mental health is not an above the neck concept anymore. It’s okay to behave with the rest of the body. And one of those things is food and nutrition.
BERT MARTINEZ:
You know, for years, we’ve associated working out with, better mental health, a more positive attitude. And it’s I think it’s, again, thanks to the confusion in the marketplace. Thank to the food industry for all their great marketing. That people are struggling. You know, this concept of food being your medicine and and this connection with gut bacteria, I would say most people have no clue. It’s just completely foreign to them.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
They they don’t. And and they hear buzzwords, like antioxidants, eat antioxidants. They hear buzzwords like inflammation, all scientific terms. They also hear things like the microbiome. But it doesn’t actually make sense because when you when you see that you should eat blueberries because they have antioxidants, what does that actually mean? You know, things are labeled as a superfood. Well, there are tons of them. There are tons of great foods. There isn’t really one superfood.
What it is is a is a concert of different foods that that play very important roles in our body when you are reaching out for healthy whole foods and cutting back on those ultra processed processed, fast foods and junk foods.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Yes. I want to illustrate what we’re talking about. I had a guest on the show many years ago. Her name is Mariel Hemingway. Mariel Hemingway’s a at one point, a very famous actress, a lister. And, also, she’s famous because her grandfather was Ernest Hemingway. Well, Mariel Hemingway is the sole survivor of her family. Everybody from grandpa Hemingway to her mother, her dad, and her sister all have committed suicide.
And based on her research, she has pinpointed this down to their primarily, their diet. And and it began, their diet was terrible and and they’re taking different drugs and all this other stuff. And she came up with this great term for highly processed food. She’s calls it noisy food because they they they cause in her in her words, they they do cause this noise in our body. We’re talking about inflammation. We’re these cravings, and and some foods and I wanna get into this. Some foods can alleviate depression. Some can make depression worse, and and your your book covers this.
And so I just love that noisy food, label, and what a vivid story that Yeah. How food has affected her entire family. And anyway but I do wanna ask I do wanna ask you about before we get into some of this other stuff, I do wanna ask you your thoughts on you know, we’ve heard a lot about intermittent fasting and water only fasting. What are your thoughts on this?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
I think that, intermittent fasting has a lot of good science behind autophagy, the need for the body to have that rest, cycle. And yet even though it has good data behind it, it’s not for everyone. I do not believe everyone should be an intermittent fester because there is so much biodiversity in all of us as humans. So it’s a great way to manage your diet, manage how you eat, and it works for some people.
It’s very successful. But some of my patients wake up and they need to take medications, and others wake up starving, and they want to eat. And there, it doesn’t actually work to restrict their food until a certain time. So good method, for appropriate people, and they should be discussing that with their doctor and finding the right fasting window, etcetera, is different for men and women.
That being said, I’m really not, a huge fan of water fasting. I I really believe that the body needs the body and the brain, very importantly, needs to be fueled. And it’s it’s different if you’re doing a fasting window and you within a 24 hour period, you’re going to eat.
Now a lot of people will ask me about water fasting and about fasting entirely, you know, not going with actual food for days. That works for them, and their doctors are okay with it. Well, you know, it’s not for me to comment. But it’s not something I recommend to my patients.
Those that do like to try intermittent fasting, I try to offer them guidance and work in conjunction with their primary care doctor. And I’m not that just because we don’t have that much evidence in mental health for the impact of intermittent fasting.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Gotcha. I wanna talk about something that I again, one of my takeaways from the book is you talk about depression and PTSD, and I wanna get into this a little bit because obviously that’s become a a, again, almost epidemic, and and then we have a lot of our veterans who suffer from PTSD as well as other people. But if somebody’s suffering from depression, what food should they be avoiding? What food should they be moving towards?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. So, you know, one of the things they want to think about is really shifting away from the standard American diet, which is high in things like, you know, highly sugared foods. And remembering that a lot of savory foods like pasta, ketchup, pasta sauces. Sorry. Store bought pasta sauces, ketchup, and even salad dressings have high sugar, like we mentioned, fast food French fries. Also, the high glycemic index carbohydrates can be problematic. Sort of the, you know, white rice, pasta, potatoes, having a lot of that and having that be the the mainstay of your diet, you just wanna try to tweak that as well. Artificial sweeteners are problematic.
They are very destructive to the gut. They can be harmful, and we’re talking about the older ones. There’s some newer ones, which which have some good data, coming through. Fried foods, we know that fried foods are not the healthiest. I like to teach people and talk about air fryers that use convection heat. So fried foods we know are not great. And then the the unhealthy fats, like trans fats, hydrogenated oils, those types of problems. And then the one thing in depression is nitrates in, preserved meats and foods like salami and sausages and other cured meats can be problematic and actually drive depression.
So that’s something you you you wanna be careful of. Now foods that you can add in, here’s the front part is, you know, we always wanna have a really abundant, anti depression fighting nutritional psychiatry play. And one of the first things you can lean into are probiotic rich foods like plain yogurt with active cultures, tempeh, miso, natto, combination of sort of fermented foods and probiotics as well as prebiotics.
None of these need to be a supplement, by the way. You can supplement them, but you can also lean into things like garlic, onions, asparagus, beans, artichokes that are rich in prebiotic fiber. And prebiotic fiber actually feeds those gut microbes with the foods that they need. Other things you wanna think about are the healthy fats, like olive oil, avocados, omega 3 fatty acids from fatty fish, or even plant based sources like chia seeds. B vitamins are brain vitamins, so you wanna think about things like vitamin b 9 from great example is spinach or leafy greens, nutrients like, magnesium important as well as iron, and never forget spices and herbs.
This is a category that many people don’t think about. So saffron and turmeric have a really good amount of evidence in human trials to help move. Turmeric should always be paired with a pinch of black pepper to make it more bioactive and also some herbs. So, you know, there’s there’s a lot to choose from to make that plate so abundant that you don’t feel you’re giving up a lot of the foods that you want to try to cut back on.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. One of the things that I kind of used to get me when I started switching over to trying to avoid processed foods and and just trying to clean up my my nutrition is I started looking at all this as almost a new language because there is as you start getting into it, there is a lot of terms that you have you might have to research. There’s, what what do you call it? It’s just a different way of living when you’re trying to avoid all the processed or avoid processed foods, as much as possible. But one of the things that really startled me, was how my taste buds changed.
I mean, it just the further you get away from processed food, and I would say especially from sugar, you will feel some body changes. But the most the the first thing I noticed was the way I tasted food. And then if I was to have a really sugary whatever, sometimes it’d give me a headache.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. I’ve I’ve definitely heard that before, and I’ve also heard that sugar becomes so much sweeter because you are now used to cutting back in it and having healthier sources of sugar like berries, especially when patients would also talk about it as I’m trying to teach them to move from just a regular candy bar to extra dark natural chocolate, which is rich in cacao flavonols and serotonin and magnesium and multiple things, that are good for them. And they’ll say to me, oh, doctor Nader, I used to eat 2 candy bars at Lido after lunch. And now I have a square of dark chocolate, and I’m satiated. I’m satisfied. It’s it’s a great taste to have with a piece of fruit, and it’s different because it tastes different, and I enjoy it more. It’s such a it’s so fascinating how that how that happens. So
BERT MARTINEZ:
It is. It is it’s almost like experiencing food all over again. Right? It’s like, wow. This really tastes good. Why didn’t I know this? And again, there there is look. I love a good burger. So I still eat a good burger. I I’ve gotten away from the fries unless I cook them myself, which I seldom do because they always come out disastrous.
So I stay away from the fries, but I still enjoy a nice burger. I will still enjoy a nice steak, but I’ve cut way back on those things. And, it is again, it’s it is life altering as you start to move down this this path. So I wanna just, like, let everybody know that you’ll these are some of the changes that you’ll go through. I wanna also kinda talk about, that see, the the PTSD, again, because the the brain and the gut are connected, what are some of the things that if somebody’s suffering from PTSD, again, what do we wanna move away from? What do we wanna move towards?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. And, Bert, I’m sorry. But if if you I apologize. If I could say something about the red meat, for a second. You know, it used to be that we thought, red meat was you know, we we shouldn’t eat it. We should cut back, and it’s not it’s not we understand the science a little bit better now. Some very important research was done and published in the last few years. It really has helped me understand that it’s really it’s the quality and quantity of red meat that you eat.
So if you’re making a burger that you are, you know, kind of putting together at home and cooking yourself, or if you’re getting it at a at a reputable restaurant and not a fast food chain, very different product. So the quality, the source of the meat is important. Grass fed is important. It’s important that you don’t need that every day in every meal, but it’s not like we used to think, oh, that’s just going to, you know, kill you entirely.
So I think having that balance, paying attention to the source, and having it in moderation becomes really important, which I think is also confusing sometimes in in in the medical literature and in in the media. When it comes to PTSD, such an important topic because the you know, it feels like there there have just been so many reasons for trauma to come forward. But some of the foods to embrace are things like berries. Blueberries are rich in anthocyanins, not only rich in antioxidants, but these plant polyphenols that help the gut microbes that form positive breakdown substances in our body.
Omega 3 fatty acids, so things like, fatty fish, if you consume fish, or plant based sources, chia seeds and flax seeds, foods rich in vitamin e, turmeric with a pinch of black pepper, and on occasion, some supplements. But, you know, having having a, dietary change towards a healthy whole foods diet makes a very big difference, and then making sure that you have some of these as as part of that diet become very important. An interesting thing, is that there are some healthy foods that contain glutamate.
Things like fish sauce, oyster sauce, even some, you know, miso, which is a fermented food, and I would ordinarily recommend highly because of the fermentation process being good. These some of these foods have glutamines, and glutamides actually can worsen PTSD. So when I’ve had, you know, patients with PTSD and then understand that they are eating some of these healthy foods, and when they start to kept back on that, it can be quite powerful in helping them. So important for us to understand that while we may recommend these foods in some conditions, they may be may be little, problematic in other conditions.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Again, just like real medicine. Right? Quote real medicine. I mean Correct. You and I could take the same medicine. We’re gonna and we might have completely different, responses or reactions. So the same thing with food. I mean, there are some foods that, that, again, that I can eat really well and somebody might not tolerate as well. I think that makes a lot of sense.
Again, this the book, I wanna give out the name one more time here. I’ll probably do a couple more times. But this is your brain on food. It’s it’s I think it’s something that, if somebody’s looking at changing their nutrition, this is a book I would highly recommend. Some of the things I again, that I like about the way you wrote this book is that it’s it’s very simple and easy to understand, and then the chapters don’t necessarily have to be read in order. You can skip to whatever thing you’re interested in.
The other thing that I enjoyed so much is you included, some, cheat sheets and some menu ideas. And so it’s really, for me, a wonderful way to either increase your knowledge of food or if you’re going to change your nutrition, it’s a great way to get started.
So either way, whether you’re a veteran or just getting started, this is something that y’all definitely guys ought to read. Thank you. You bet. I wanna ask you about this. Speaking of confusion, what do you think what do you think about the food pyramid that our government likes to promote? You see in a lot of public schools. What is your thought on this food pyramid?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. So it’s really become outdated. At the base of the food pyramid, I think, 8 to 12 servings of grains and carbohydrates, which we think very differently about now because we know that refined grains and just, those types of starchy foods, that are less complex carbohydrates, because our bodies need carbohydrates. Let’s let’s not get confused here where they do need but it’s a source again of those carbohydrates. You can get vegetables, for example. So that’s really very different now, and it evolved to be, you know, the healthy eating plate, the Harvard Health Eating Plate. There’s also the government using sort of this, healthy food plate. A lot of that is in flux because I think that one of the things I want people to understand is we need micro and macronutrients.
We need hydration. Water is important, important to our body and our brain, important in many conditions because our body needs water as well as food. When we think about a nutritional psychiatry plate, let’s break it down that way. You have your hydration. You have a health. Your serving of healthy fat can come from things like avocado or even extra virgin olive oil, nuts and seeds, or even a nut butter. You have your sources of protein. For someone, it could be organic tofu.
For someone else, it could be beef or chicken. You want a ton of vegetables, colorful vegetables, those leafy greens with vitamin b 9, folate, fiber, and other nutrients, and you want colorful foods which bring those different plant polyphenols. And then you want a small portion of grains, something like quinoa that is nicely flavored and a small part of your plate. But I really want most almost 50% or more of that plate to be these vegetables that you’re leaning into because they’re satiating low calorie, rich in fiber, and really help your gut and your overall health.
Along along with that, you know, I think, making sure that if you’re going to eat a sweet, go towards Clementine, go towards berries, learn to eat extra dark natural chocolate. Those are ways to kinda have a more comprehensive diet. So we want people to rethink this because some of these guidance’s are good to give us direction. But the food permit, you know, has been, has sort of been outdated for a while.
So it’s important for us to to kinda really be autonomous about getting the information and eating for better mental health as well as our physical health.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Yeah. I like that a lot. And again, I think there’s some information out there about our food pyramid is influenced by the lobbyists or by the companies that, are able to donate, to our government. And so that’s why it’s outdated, and that’s why it’s, it’s, may not be the most reliable thing. And, again, you guys do your own research, but I I love your take on there. And I love your take on at you know, making your vegetables 50% of what you’re eating.
Again, high fiber, which I wanna talk about this. Why is high fiber important for our our diet?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
It’s fiber is important because it’s what feed the gut microbes, and we know that the gut microbes, the microbes, the trillions of microbes that live in our gut microbiome are so instrumental to our physical and our mental health. So fiber is important for that reason, but also most Americans don’t get enough fiber, and research has been done on that. Fiber can only be obtained from, whole you know, from vegetables, fruit, beanstalk seeds, legumes, and healthy whole grains. You can’t get it from animal proteins.
So I think that, making sure that you get those plant foods in is important because you’re taking care of your gut health. Now when the gut is disrupted and you might be not eating fiber, needing a lot of processed after processed foods, a process called dysbiosis can lead to lead on to inflammation in the gut. And we now know that inflammation, of that nature can actually drive conditions like depression, anxiety, cognitive disorders, and more. So I, you know, I think I think adding these to our foods becomes important.
It’s so easy to do by just adding in those, vegetables.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. And something else that that you mentioned a little while ago too, that, again, there’s a lot of people that take these medications for their health. They need these medications, but these medications are not necessarily gut healthy. I mean, these medications can really if you don’t take the steps if you don’t take the steps to to, to feed your gut, it it can have devastating side effects.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Yes. If you’re referring to antibiotics, you know, there’ve been some there’s been some mixed literature on that. Certainly, studies have also shown that antibiotics don’t affect the gut bacteria, but I’m not sure that I believe that. What I usually suggest to my patients is that they use sources of food, that they have to be on an antibiotic because these medications can be life saving.
Then make sure that you’re eating especially leading into gut healthy foods, like, you know, plain yogurts, fermented foods, prebiotic foods, and and the like. Because either way, even if the research has certain information that it’s sharing with us, we know that the gut thrives on these important nutrients. So making it healthy becomes just better for you overall if you are trying to get rid of infection in your body.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Gotcha. No. I like that. It makes a lot of sense. And, again, fiber fiber is one of those things that we hear quite a bit about. I think a lot of people don’t understand the importance of fiber. And, again, speaking of processed food, there are companies out there that will sell you fiber instead of, like you said, instead of having vegetables or or something. Hey. You know, here’s here’s a couple fiber.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. That’s true too. And, you know, a lot of people think of fibers that aren’t drink our grandmands used to have, and it’s it’s so much more than that. Right? Because it’s, again, it’s not only it’s marketing. It’s it’s not really outstanding what you’re speaking of. You can certainly get 5 in a powdered form, but you can actually also get it from food. And some gut health experts will actually say, you know, eat the food and to to because you may not get enough from your food initially, you can also use some additional supplements which are over the counter to help the fiber in your diet. But I I like people to start building up the fiber in their diet first.
I also wanna say that there’s a caveat here because even though fiber is so healthy for all of us, a person with IBS, IBC, IBD, SIBO, sort of these GI conditions, Crohn’s, you know, they may not be able to tolerate us as much fiber if they’re in a state of inflammation.
They have an exacerbation of their condition. It actually can make things worse even though it’s a healthy food. So always, you know, make sure you’re checking in with your doctor to see what type of plan they can put you on in terms of food so that over time, you can start to increase the fiber, and help the healthfulness of your gut. But those are some concerns, you know, when when people have those conditions, they may not just be able to increase their fiber and feel okay.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Right. And I think it goes back to again, you I like the suggestion, check with your doctor, but you also experiment. I mean, if if you’re one of those individuals that that seldom has, fiber, meaning they they you seldom consume beans or or berries or or vegetables, then going gangbusters would, you know
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Would would be it would be uncomfortable for anyone. If you go from 0 to 10 grams, you know, that’s that’s that’s not gonna feel good if you haven’t been eating fiber. But there are also people who might be trying, but they may have other conditions that make it harder.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. Alright. So I had a question. Somebody sent me a question. I told I told my my my people that you’re gonna be on the show, and, they sent me a question regarding, red food dye and and how some of these red food dyes affect children and our immune system.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Yeah. So these stars are are problematic. They definitely affect our gut microbiome. Now in the gut microbiome, is heated 70% of the immune system. So something that is disrupting the gut microbiome will naturally and, again, you know, our body is even though we may go and see a specialist for our kidney or a different specialist for our lung, the body is all in the same, it’s it’s all of these organs are within your body. So one of the things we must understand is something that is disruptive to the gut is potentially gonna be very damaging as well to the immune system. My guidance around this is is going back to, food industry and marketing tactics are not there to help or help.
We have to advocate for ourselves, read food labels. Looking to see that something has red dye or not, that it’s flavored naturally, say, with beet beet color that made you know, obtained directly from beets, a beet powder, is very different of a product.
And and some of the healthier, food companies who know that we are worried about these ingredients are making better products now. So stay away from them, because they as much as you can avoid them, these are things to avoid, on on the food label. The other guidance around food label is if it’s a really thick food label, lots of lines, words you don’t understand. It’s likely not to be healthy ingredients. You know? You turn something open, it says cauliflower. It turns something and it could be it could be, you know, frozen.
Frozen foods are perfectly fine. In fact, a good option for us if we don’t wanna clean a whole head of cauliflower, just make sure it doesn’t have added source sodium, you know, sugar, that type of thing because it it could actually be a great product for you. But when you turn over a bag of food and has, you know, nuts or has just just has what the ingredient is, very different. So paying attention to that and then making sure that those diets are are absent, super helpful.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Yes. And I think, again, we, us, have to take control. We have to be our own advocates. We have to as as much as painful as sometimes it is reading those labels, it could make a huge difference in our lives. And and it’s just one of those things that, we as citizens, we can change things by voting with our dollars. You know, right now, Walmart, I think, is either number 1 or number 2 for, sources of of of vegan type of products and and things like that which nobody would have ever thought that would have happened, but they got so much,
What do you call it? They got contacted by the consumer so much that this is what they wanted. Walmart Mhmm. Started supplying it. Costco does the same thing. Costco now is is being, there I’ve seen a couple of articles where Costco the the extra virgin olive oil that Costco sells under the Kirkland brand is is high quality. Yes. And so we as consumers can vote with our pocketbooks and and get rid of some of these harmful ingredients.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
I couldn’t agree with you more. I think that I don’t think that consumers realize the power they have, and realize that in numbers, we can be very powerful to make and impact change. It’s it’s it would be very hard, but for us to take on the food industry companies.
Not that we can’t comment on what they do or be aware, but you can vote with your dollars. And that is super important when it comes to food, when it comes to produce, when it comes to the source of your food, when it comes to soda, whatever it is, that makes a difference. So I think the the fact that these companies now even keep a a wider range of foods that are plant based or better qualities of food like olive oil. Makes big difference to our lives.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. Something I wanted to ask you, You had mentioned prebiotics and probiotics. I’m very familiar with the probiotics. What is a prebiotic, and why should I take it?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
So prebiotics are certain foods that actually nurture the gut microbiome. They actually feed the microbes. And prebiotics are, things like certain legumes. The allium family, garlic, leeks, and onions are rich in prebiotic foods. They are, bananas, berries, things like Jerusalem artichokes, leeks, asparagus, so wide range of foods.
Now what these foods do when we eat them is, you know, you can go and you can get a supplement from over the counter, but these foods actually feed the gut microbes just like you, you know, if you had guests in your home, or, say, your parents came to to spend the weekend, you know, we would give them breakfast. You’d offer them food. In a similar way, we need to think about our gut microbes as really a part of our integrated self.
By taking care of them, they take care of us. Because the trillions of microbes do a ton of things. They take care of our immune system. They deal with, vitamin production and hormone production. They deal with sleep and circadian rhythm. They help with immunity and infection control. They help on mood and other things. So they’re busy.
They’re busy, and they have a lot of, different functions to perform. I haven’t enlisted all of them. But taking care of them helps them function, and prebiotics is one easy way to do that.
BERT MARTINEZ:
And, again, one of the things that you listed off there, which Americans are struggling with is sleep. It’s that’s become a thing now. And so people are already tired, and then we have, again, these food companies that are marketing us, these ridiculously, what do you call it, caffeine enriched drinks. Right? Yes. Where they have, like, you know, 100, 2 or 3 100 milligrams of caffeine. I have, my brother my brother who, you know, again, he’s he he he, does the CPAP. He’s trying to he’s been working on his sleep. He’s still work waking up tired.
He’s even had a heart attack, and he’s a skinny guy. He’s one of those skinny guys, but, anyway, he will have 2 Red Bulls before he leaves his house to go to the office. It’s like, dude, how can you consume that much caffeine?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
It’s sports beverages, coffee drinks, all of these, you know, not only can they keep us awake, the the caffeine can really create a buzz that for many people, can be very anxiety provoking. You know, my new book is called calm your mind with food. It’s a it’s really a follow-up to this is your brain on food, but focusing entirely on anxiety, which has become really, epidemic proportions in the world.
But one of the things people don’t realize is they they know that coffees may not work may not be the best for them, but even decaf or half cap can just make them so jittery. Now it affects anxiety, but it also affects their sleep. If they have it, say, after 12 noon, being conservative, it can impact their sleep. So, you know, I think that, many people who are sleeping poorly don’t realize that they have anxiety. And when you start to address the anxiety, they’re like, wow.
I’m sleeping so much better. So it’s it’s an important correlation just to understand right there.
BERT MARTINEZ:
I love that. Alright. So that’s a great thing to talk about, anxieties. What foods if if I’m an anxious person, if I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety, what foods should I be avoiding?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
So in terms of foods to avoid, certainly for some people, caffeine can be problematic. Coffee is a pretty healthy substance. It’s which in plant polyphenols, but but caffeine can be problematic for some people. Ultra processed foods, you mentioned the food dyes. Ultra processed processed junk foods, hugely problematic. The sugar sweetened beverages can not only create a buzz, they can keep people just on edge.
Artificial sweeteners can be very disruptive to the gut microbiome and actually worsen anxiety. Trans fats are problematic, and, you know, the this we can all we we can always throw in the standard makeup diet and all of this because these are going to be things that people just just want to be able to stay away from.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Yeah. It’s again, you mentioned how artificial sweeteners can mess with the gut biome.
And just about every packaged food out there, every packaged drink is gonna have artificial sweeteners. Even Yeah. Even healthy drinks are gonna have artificial sweeteners.
And let me tell you, I’ve become very suspicious even when a company says, hey. This is a healthy drink. That’s usually the opposite. And again, when you start reading the label, you see that it’s chock full of sweeteners, both, sugar and or, artificial sweeteners, then it’s chock full of sodium, and it’s it’s not healthy. But they’re able to mark it as a healthy drink.
But that’s something I you know, that’s something that most people are not aware of that these artificial sweeteners, these dyes, all the stuff is going to interrupt that that gut biome. And it’s gonna cause these these other ailments. It it’s gonna increase your your depression or your anxiety or or whatever.
Let me ask you this. When it comes to another thing that’s become very commonplace is autoimmune, chronic fatigue.
You know, what kind of food should I be looking for when I’m when I’m trying to alleviate this chronic fatigue or my autoimmune?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
So, I mean, when we think about the this from the perspective of of mechanisms like inflammation, autoimmune disease, the gut microbiome, we have to realize that one of the ways that the gut gut microbiome and the gut microbes can be powerful is what we feed them and how we take care of our health.
A simple thing to do is to think about what are you eating and how can you clean up that diet a little bit. Don’t personally give up something entirely. Can you cut back and tweak certain foods? So I like people to think about it this way. The mnemonic I have is SWAP, eat, and walk, and very simply swap out, you know, the ice cream, the extra glass of wine, the caffeinated beverage that you’ve been leaning into, or the diet soda, which could have any or all of those things. Whatever it might be, it could be a beverage. It could be a food.
Then I want you to eat well, I want you to eat those anti inflammatory and antioxidant rich foods. The colorful base, the colorful vegetables, the high fiber foods, all those micronutrients that you’re gonna get, and then clean proteins, healthy fats. So, you you know, clean proteins could be grass fed beef or organic tofu.
It could be whatever your choice is. And walk is meant for really not just walking, but any kind of movement, mindfulness, sort of a holistic and integrated approach. It could be breath work, which I I feel it’s such a powerful thing for people to learn, especially for anxiety, learning a mindfulness practice that works for you. It could be that you just close your eyes and you think of a peaceful scene, a beautiful, moment in your life, something that gives you peace. People always assume, you know, it has to be a a type of meditation.
No. It could be something that appeals to you. So by just by using these different steps, you can start to pivot on the way that you’re eating to help these conditions. But all of these things include, calming, you know, down your your system, mindfulness exercise, and then adding in those foods that are so powerful for your gut microbiome, understanding that so much of your immune system is in the gut microbiome.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Yeah. That’s incredible. I it sounds like no matter your ailment, again, the food is possibly the medicine.
And what we’ve come accustomed to here in the US is that if I have an ailment, I’m gonna go and get a pill or a shot. That’s kind of like the go to. Right? I, you know, I’m feeling anxious. Let me go get a pill for that versus looking at my my nutrition and saying, you know what? I’m having a lot of caffeine. Maybe I can cut back on my caffeine. And but, again, we have the medical community as well as the consuming community that, you know, hey. I’m anxious. Let me go get a pill.
You go you show up to the doctor. I would say most doctors aren’t gonna say, hey, let’s look at your diet. Let’s look at your nutrition. Let’s look at your your gut biome. General practitioners are gonna, you know I guess a general practitioner would probably refer that out. But bottom line is, whoever is going to give you the the anxiety medicine is just gonna give you the medicine. They’re not going to check these other items that Yes. May produce the same result, but no side effect, no cost.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
That’s right. It it’s it doesn’t serve big pharma or certain entities in the country for us to rely on food as medicine. Right? I think we know that. Right. And so although there are, you know, recent articles even in journals like JAMA, it’s talking about a food prescription and the pluses and minuses and the fact that, you know, we are doing the research to improve the the knowledge and movement of these things.
The power is in is in our hands to understand that we have the autonomy and the power at the end of our fork and that we can vote with our dollars. Right? It’s a very powerful thing to be able to do, citing your example from earlier. And many people don’t realize that.
They, assume that we can’t make a decision. And I think that that we not only can, we can make a change that way. So we shouldn’t assume that, you know, you can’t talk to your doctor about lifestyle medicine changes, that you can’t implement, if your doctor doesn’t feel that your blood pressure is so high at this moment that you absolutely need medication, can you lose a few pounds? Can you do some exercise? Can you rework this? Can you talk to a dietitian and exercise specialist?
Just get some extra help. Even a coach can really help you get the things that you need, and and and implement some healthy habits that can help you maybe fend off taking your medication. And asking your doctor, can you try this for a few months and come back and recheck it? You know, by all means, I’m not saying don’t take a medication when you have life threatening, high blood pressure or other things, but there are ways to have this conversation.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. Years ago, I was, right after my brother had his heart attack, I thought I’d check out my heart. And so the doctor came back and said, oh, you know, your cholesterol, I think at that time, my cholesterol was, like, 230. And he says, look. If, you know, and this is my prime my primary care and and, he knows. He goes, Bert, you you exercise, you eat we may have to put you on statins. If your cholesterol gets any high you know, gets much higher, we’re we’re gonna have to put you on a statin. And that that bothered me a lot.
It bothered me, because my my first go to was, okay, I’m gonna check out my nutrition. What can I what can I tweak there? And so this started me down this path where, I went pescatarian, which is just eating fish. And, my family started complaining that like the house always smells of fish and you’ve ruined fish for us, dad. And that dropped my cholesterol, and then I went vegan for, for quite some time. I went vegan. And, again, it’s like learning a new language. But my cholesterol, it took 3 years, but my cholesterol went from 230 to under a100. And my good cholesterol, the I can’t remember.
The anyway, the good cholesterol went up by 10 points. So my point being is that doctors, again, they’re conditioned to prescribe, and and and again, you have to be your own advocate. You have to try things to see what’s gonna work. And when you’re dealing with the body, it’s not gonna, you know, it’s gonna take time. If you’re trying to reduce your cholesterol naturally, it’s gonna take, it’s like in my case, a couple of years or it’s gonna take months to like, you’re you know, and you and like you suggested, try something and you go back and you get your blood work and you test things out. But bottom line is we, as consumers, have to change the way we believe about getting a pillar shot. You know, try food first.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
I agree. I couldn’t agree more.
BERT MARTINEZ:
I wanna ask you, this is something that I think most guys, some of the ladies too, will be very excited about. But I wanted to ask you about sex and food. This is something that’s covered in your book. So Yep. If I’m struggling with let’s let’s just start with the easy one, libido. My sex drive is is winding down. What should I be looking for? What what can I do dietarily?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Yeah. So one of the things you wanna think about with libido is is, again, going back to components of that standard American diet and just being careful about the cutting back on the foods that maybe you’ve picked up some, problematic foods from during the pandemic.
Another one is alcohol. Just being wary of the amount that you are consuming, because that can be problematic, certainly for men. And so it can actually be problematic in all fairness to men and women. So just drinking in moderation, always talk about if you do consume alcohol, clean cocktails. If you don’t drink, no need to start now. But it’s just just about that that moderation.
Sugar, problematic. I think we know that. Certain, types of licorice. So being aware of certain candies or other products that have a licorice extract. And this is a different one. It’s not a food, but it’s cookware. So a lot of nonstick cookware used to contain, and some still may, PFOAs. And so just switching your cookware to things like cast iron, stainless steel, and I have a list in in actually, in both my books, I talk about recipes and have recipes, but also tell you to how kinda guide you to how to set up your kitchen.
But the foods that you can actually, lean into are things that boost oxytocin. And some of those foods are things like extra dark natural chocolate, you know, magnesium and a certain essential, amino acids that are found in certain meats, in, you know, in dairy.
If you consume dairy, in vegetables and eggs, you, you know, nuts like pistachios, almonds, and walnuts, actually thought to be helpful, eating apples, pomegranates, onions and avocados, and certain spices and herbs. So understanding that these are not overnight fixes. But when you, a, on the one hand, start to swap out those unhealthy foods, and then you start bringing in these healthier options and using specific foods that, say, help with oxytocin or certain healthy fats from certain nuts and things like that, you are starting to build up the reserve on foods that are going to help over time, potentially really relieve some of the libido problems that you might have.
And sudden, you know, mental health medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can actually suppress libido. And so it became that that was actually one of the main reasons I wanted to discuss this in the book is, it’s it’s, you know, on one hand, sometimes a person needs a life saving medication if they have a severe depression or debilitating anxiety, certainly to start, but they can also cause you sad breath.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Yeah. I I think it’s a great thing that you brought that up. Yeah. In one hand, you need this life saving drug on the, or medicine. On the other hand, yeah, it might affect your libido. One of the things, you know, again, we’ve talked about the standard American diet. Sad. It’s it’s it’s incredible to me that how many again, doctors will, again, prescribe the pill versus saying, hey, you’re a 100 pounds overweight.
You may wanna make some other changes because the pill might help you, but it’s not the cure. You’re gonna have to make some changes and that might be again, we talked about cutting back on red meats or animal proteins in general because they do clog the artery, and and and your blood doesn’t flow and and and then there’s, what do you call it? We’ve talked today a lot about gut, immune or biome and stuff like that. And it’s it’s unfortunate that we, as consumers, we wanna go to the pill. We wanna go to the shot. We don’t wanna do the hard work of of changing our nutrition.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. I think this is this is true. And, again, you know, I I think that, the most obvious thing is what are we eating and what are we doing? You know, there’s been a lot of, more recent and, evolving research around red meats and saturated fats, and they’re not really as devastatingly bad as we thought. And, in fact, the impact can be somewhat different in our body.
However, that being said, it doesn’t mean that we should only eat red meat. It doesn’t mean we should only eat fish. Having that balance in whatever you do becomes important. If you consume alcohol, if you drink coffee, if you eat eggs, if you eat day, whatever it is, or maybe you’re entirely plant based, and you you you yourself have done a vegan diet.
Maybe you’re doing that, but it’s also the quality of what you’re eating. As a as a very savvy patient once pointed out to me, a vegetarian diet vegetarian diet can be, can be Coke and pizza. Right? It it it technically vegetarian. And and so I think that, you know, potato chips can be can be vegan. So so let’s let’s always be you know, when we eat the rainbow, it’s not a rainbow cake. It’s it’s because of the rainbow. So we always have to qualify.
It’s exact not skittle. So we always wanna clarify and and just be be helpful about the message we’re sharing. And and you’re so right. We we often don’t realize the power that we have that to make a change and to make a lifestyle change, that could is is hugely helpful to not only our our physical health, metabolic health, but then also our weight, and all of them are connected.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. Alright. Probiotic and you correct me if I’m wrong. I believe in your book, you talk about probiotics when it comes to positively affecting erectile dysfunction. Is that correct? Or did I misread that?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Well, I’m not remembering the fact in that way, but, you know, it it’s. . .
BERT MARTINEZ:
Let’s see. Hold on. And like I said, I might have misremembered it, because I, you know, I know you mentioned quite about quite a bit about probiotics, not all not only the supplement, but also available through our our our our food.
Probiotics, What, as far as, like, things like Alzheimer’s is, has shown to relieve that?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Yes. So probiotics can definitely be helpful in, you know, sexual health in men. And, again, it’s that link to, gut bacteria. If you have certain low levels of specific types of, say, bifidobacterial, this can be linked with certain certain conditions in men. So probiotics are definitely a way to do that. The reason I want people to try to get it from food is food can have many different or fermented foods can have many different bacteria in it. If you’re taking an over the counter probiotic, that’s perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with that.
But remember, it will have certain strains of, microbes in that. So important to do. Provenance can be hugely helpful in conditions like depression. Food can be very powerful in terms of cognitive disorders. Remember, you know, we we mentioned that one of the underlying things, for conditions that even affect our cognition, how we think, our memory, etcetera, is also inflammation.
And one of the ways that that gets worsened is by, how we eat. Because our gut microbiome, if it’s disrupted by things like the standard American diet, potentially gluten or non celiac gluten sensitivity can affect certain people, so they may need to be careful about that. Again, with gluten, it’s the source of the gluten.
I would argue that, you know, sourdough bread with the starter and has a fermentation process is very different from, sliced bread that we buy in the supermarket that’s shelf stable. Things like, coffee, olive oil, herbs and spices, and luteolin rich foods have all shown some promise in conditions like Alzheimer’s and and, basically, cognitive disorders. And understanding that we still wanna talk about going back to that healthy whole foods diet. That and then these little extra tweaks.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. And and I think, again, to further, emphasize that point, you mentioned whole foods, ladies and gentlemen, whole foods. It makes a big difference. Yes. Potato chips may qualify as food and may qualify as vegan, but it doesn’t qualify as a whole food as opposed to eating a potato.
Yes. I’m a vegan. I eat potato chips.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. That’s my that’s my diet. You know? And I’m sure the food label says fortified with something, so I’m getting my x, y, and z. I mean, this is this is, you know, this is the thing.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. Alright. I wanna ask a couple more questions. This came from our audience, specifically for migraines. What is your take on migraines and and alleviating chronic migraines?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Yeah. You know, I know that certainly triggers for things like migraines in individuals can include alcohol. Red wine can be problematic, certain sweeteners. Aspartame has been certainly shown in research to be problematic for migraine headaches. So being cautious about those.
Tyramine containing foods, which includes certain legumes and beans, sometimes cheeses and yogurts, can be can be problematic for people. So I would say that, you know, upon depending on the guidance that, you’re getting from your neurologist treating a migraine, you can certainly be mindful of those foods. And, I’ve even you know, I would say cut back on them or try to see if it if your headaches get any better, when you when you do cut back on these.
We know that ultra processed foods that contain things like sulfides, And foods that contain sulfides include certain processed sausages and salamis and hams. You might be taking a vitamin or another supplement that could contain caffeine, that can make a headache worse. So just being aware of what you’re consuming, what what is in the food that you are eating becomes hugely important. And I think that that is one way to sort of not only help and clean up your diet, but think about ways that you can offset some of the triggers for migraine headaches.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. And, again, it sounds like you have to if you’re suffering from migraines, you’re gonna have to do the work and and figure out, okay, this is working, this is not working. And gain, it’s because we have such I don’t wanna use the word bad quali or the phrase bad quality, but because our our our because we have so much access to processed food that and then there’s so much confusion. Right? Because, again, the the companies can market something as healthy when in fact it’s not. And and so it sounds like if you’re suffering from any kind of ailment, the first thing you wanna check is your food intake, your gut health, maybe start repairing that. Because from your book, it seems like, and this is something I just learned, you’re mentioning 70% of our immune system is located in the gut.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Is in those cells. Yeah.
BERT MARTINEZ:
So if you can handle that 70%, that’s gonna clear that’s gonna that’s gonna clear everything up or or almost everything.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. It’s it’s definitely gonna make an impact, and that’s why food is is so powerful, even when when you might have triggers for your migraine that might be external, but one of them could be food.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Alright. Let me ask you this. I and I know we’re we’re we’re getting tight on time, but I appreciate, I appreciate this so much. One of our other questions from an audience member is, is there a specific breakfast or a specific way to start the day when you’re dealing with chronic pain or chronic fatigue?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
The way that I think about this is by really adding more of, antioxidant and anti inflammatory rich foods. If you consume eggs, for example, pastured eggs, but with lots of added veggies, like spinach, different different colors of peppers. These are mood boosting. These are fiber rich foods. You could also do, something like a chia pudding, which is rich in fiber protein, add in some coconut or plant based milk, add in, nuts and seeds, rich in antioxidants, you know, put in those berries for the anthocyanins and the colors that you are looking for to help give you energy.
I also think that once in a while, having a smoothie with a clean protein powder, with, some spinach in it, some avocado for healthy fat, nuts and seeds, a plant based milk, whatever it is that makes it easier for you because not everyone consumes dairy, and sometimes people feel certain forms of dairy that’s not grass fed may exacerbate some of their conditions. So that’s where it becomes highly specific to the individual. I think grass fed dairy in moderation is okay, but I’m also very careful when how I source my dairy or cheeses.
These are ways to give your body some energy. You need a combination of micro and macronutrients. That’s healthy fats, protein, some form of, fiber rich complex grain. You need hydration. All of these become super important. So, you know, we want that balance on our plate, and that’s when give you the energy you need. Another thing that is great to add in even to a chia pudding is something like a nut butter. That’s all that’s a healthy fat and a protein.
So it’s a great way. It’s got fiber in it. It’s a great way to add in these, nutrients. But the more times that you are going towards a whole food and away from a hot tub, for breakfast, the healthier your body is gonna feel as well as your brain because you’re eating a whole food. So I just recently actually shared, some of my favorite breakfast. I wanna say it was at CNBC, and that’s available online. So gave them not although I shared some recipes, you know, I think they mostly they listed the foods that I talked about.
BERT MARTINEZ:
So Alright. Last but not least, we had, an audience member that wrote, to ask regarding eliminating mind fog. She says she’s getting what she thinks is plenty of sleep, but she’s still waking up with a lot of just mental fog or mental fatigue. What’s your take?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Right. So, 2 things. Firstly, hydration, super important. And another one is lute luteolin rich foods for brain fog. These can include things like fresh peppermint. So I suggest that people put fresh peppermint and make a tea of it. It can be very refreshing, uplifting, and sort of clarifying. Sage, thyme, hot and sweet peppers, celery seeds, parsley, artichokes, dried Mexican oregano.
All of these actually can help with brain fog. Also things like, citicoline rich foods. Now citicoline is found in things like egg yolks and beef liver. You may not eat those foods, but you can also eat foods like white beans, that contain, another nutrient. So just adding in these foods can become hugely important. And I have a lot of these lists in this is your brain on food, and some, more anxiety, anxiety busting foods in calm your mind food.
BERT MARTINEZ:
I love it. I love it. Thank you so much. I appreciate this conversation so much. I’ve learned so much. The book is beyond awesome. It, what I as I mentioned earlier, one of the great things about this book is it is very easy to understand. You you give so many, like I said, the cheat sheets and the menus.
And and, if somebody wanted to find out more about you, what’s the best website to find out more about you?
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
My website is umalaidomd.com, and sign up for my new, substack newsletter because I share recipe every week, and I always discuss a food every week, that you so that you have the science behind the food, the research, and how you can buy it and how to prepare it. So it’s it’s a cool way to share food, one of my favorite topics, and then the nutrition behind it. You can also follow me on social media at Dr. Uma Naidoo, on my social media accounts, and check out my new book, calm your mind with food, which is a follow-up to this is your brain on food, but focusing in on anxiety, which, has increased by 25% since COVID worldwide. And it’s the reason that I, draw a protocol, a list of recipes, an antianxiety shopping list, and foods to avoid, foods to eat specifically for anxiety that goes much more deeply into the subject and hopefully will help more people.
BERT MARTINEZ:
Absolutely. I love it. Thank you so much for stopping by. I’m gonna put all of these things in the show notes so you guys can just click. And again, doctor Uma thank you so much.
DR. UMA NAIDOO:
Thank you. It was lovely to talk to you.
