Create a Kitchen Pharmacy to Heal Your Mind & Your Gut with Dr. Uma Naidoo

A woman standing at a kitchen island over a set over beautiful orange cookware. She has long brown hair and light brown skin. — Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash.

“It’s really not about what you have on your plate today or the number on your scale tomorrow — it’s about this ongoing, expansive relationship with a healthier lifestyle and one of the biggest factors is nutrition.”

— Dr. Uma Naidoo

Food is an essential part of our everyday lives and an under-utilized resource for healing in Western Medicine. It’s odd to me that despite our diet-obsessed culture, many doctors don’t really understand nutrition or how it can benefit patients. This is why I was so excited to interview Dr. Uma Naidoo, who has rightfully been called a “triple threat” in the world of nutrition, as she’s a board-certified psychiatrist, nutritionist, and professional chef.

In our conversation, Dr. Naidoo and I discussed the importance of the gut microbiome and how we can support the production of “feel-good” hormones that affect our brains by boosting the good bacteria in our guts, using food as medicine and culinary medicine.

Your mental health will thank you for paying attention to your gut microbiome.

The microbiomes living in the gut house up to a thousand individual species of bacteria. Dr. Naidoo breaks it down to the basics saying, “suffice it to say that when it comes to bacteria, there are good guys and bad guys”. And the key, as usual, is striking a balance between the two.

Good gut bacteria are responsible for producing chemicals that regulate mood, memory, and attention–like dopamine, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Since many psychiatric disorders are linked to imbalances and deficits in these chemicals, you can see why tending to gut health is important for mental health.

And just as your gut impacts your brain, your brain also impacts your gut. Dr. Naidoo shares that just two hours of psychological stress can change the bacteria in your gut, potentially creating a disruptive loop.

Bust your bad mood by building a grocery list that makes the most of healing ingredients.

The good news is that you can directly impact your gut microbiome by including certain nutrients and foods in your diet. We know a lot more about what disrupts a healthy gut microbiome and what supports it.

Start by eating your vegetables! When you’re at the store, look for vegetables of every color to add to each meal. Leafy greens, asparagus, squash, cauliflower, beets, brussels sprouts, yellow peppers, and mushrooms are all linked to mood-boosting and anxiety-reducing effects.

Add fresh herbs and whole spices like parsley, thyme, turmeric, oregano, cumin, and black pepper for both flavor and nutrition. Include sources of Omega-3 fatty acids from sources like mackerel, salmon, tuna, flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts, and soybeans. Remember to eat red meat in moderation and opt for organic, grass-fed options.

Pay attention to which carbohydrates you eat and opt for whole-grain options, lentils, bulgur, and brown rice.

How to create an efficient and enjoyable kitchen pharmacy.

For many people, cooking is stressful and energy-consuming. When the kitchen becomes a scary or stressful place, it becomes that much harder to incorporate healthy, mood-boosting foods into your diet.

Knowing that this is a barrier for many people to eating well, Dr. Naidoo and I discussed 3 ways to get started.

Make sure you have the basic equipment - Forget all the fancy stuff and make sure you have a sharp chef’s knife and a cutting board. For a more extensive list, check out my Essential Cooking Tools.
Practice knife skills. Being able to chop quickly made cooking so much more fun for me. You can find tutorials online and your practice will pay off quickly.
Make your favorite meals healthier. Find healthy adaptations of your favorite meals or find small ways to enhance them by adding vegetables, healing spices, and fresh herbs.

A word of warning–you can improve your diet and still need medical intervention.

Dr. Naidoo and I agree that most physicians are woefully unprepared to support patients’ health through education about diet and nutrition. As a physician myself, I’ve seen how diet can be health-supporting or health-weakening in all areas of life. That said, food is not a cure-all. If you’re suffering acute symptoms of mental distress or have a psychiatric disorder, it’s important to talk with your doctor and mental health professionals to find solutions that work for you.

Try out some of my healing recipes in your pharmacy kitchen:

Be well,