Reading Room
Dip into this range of reads from professors in the fields of medical research, psychologists, psychiatrists, immunologists and nutritionists. There are so many more books on the links between the gut and mental health, whether you prefer the science approach or foodie home recipes there is something out there for you. Some titles are also available as Audiobooks
Short on time? Most of these specialists contribute to Ted Talks and Podcasts, also many of their presentations can be found on YouTube. Head to our Listen tab for a shortlist
They are what you feed them
Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University and former school teacher, Dr Alex Richardson is the UK’s leading expert on how what we do and do not feed our children impacts their learning, concentration, co-ordination and behaviour. This book is a parent’s guide to navigating this, from understanding the science to steps you can take at home, including recipe ideas.
It’s possible to get a free 30 minute consultation with Dr Richardson when you sign up to FAB Research.
Brain Inflamed
This latest book by Dr. Kenneth Bock's, drawing on over thirty years as a practising physician, Brain Inflamed covers the biological underpinnings of many common mental health issues, and offers parents and family members of struggling teens with practical advice
Over the past decade, the number of 12- to 17-year-olds suffering from mental health disorders has more than doubled. Parents today are navigating new terrain as their children are increasingly at risk of struggling with mental health issues.
Many of the mental disorders most common (including depression, anxiety, and OCD) may share the same underlying mechanism: systemic inflammation. Dr Bock explains the essential role of the immune system and the microbiome in mental health, detailing the ways in which imbalances in these systems can generate neurological inflammation.
The Psychobiotic Revolution:
Mood, food and the new science of the Gut-Brain Connection
Scott C Anderson with John F Cryan & Ted Dinan at APC Microbiome Institute and University College Cork give an overview of their work with the gut microbes. Through various paths, your microbiota can communicate with your brain. If your microbiota gets out of balance, you can quickly become anxious. Extreme imbalance is called dysbiosis, and if you can’t shake it, you can end up with chronic inflammation and long-term depression.
Check out their TEDx talks
There’s a Zoo in my Poo
Aimed at kids, this fun book by Prof Felice Jacka takes an educational and amusing look at gut health and how an array of bugs work together to process food through our bodies.
Broken into nine sections such as You are a Bug, All about the Poo Train, Bugs in our Guts, Your Poo and You, Feed your Zooand more, each includes fun rhymes, facts and scientific explanations.
Finally Focused
In his book for those struggling with ADHD symptoms, Dr. James Greenblatt provides tried and tested natural and medical methods to easily treat underlying problems such as nutritional deficiencies or excesses, dysbiosis (a microbial imbalance inside the body), sleeping difficulties, and food allergies, all of which can have links to symptoms of ADHD. He has several more books covering a range of other mental health disorders.
Answers to Anorexia
In a world where medicine continues to struggle to treat eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, Dr. Greenblatt draws on his years of experience in the field, outlining how to correct nutrient deficiencies and decrease anxiety - the keys to lasting recovery from anorexia.
Current treatments overlook the biological consequences of self-starvation and malnourished minds - consequences that impact brain function, cognition, and behaviour. As mainstream medicine continues to ignore the proven relationship between nutrition and mental health, this book delivers lifesaving information that work in tandem with other talking therapies & other interventions.
The Good Stuff
Leading paediatric nutritionist and naturopath Lucinda Miller from the Nature Doc Clinic offers up this family friendly guide to supporting your child via recipes backed up with science.
Listen in to the Motherkind podcast with Lucinda.
Brain Changer
Professor Felice Jacka's ground-breaking research has changed the way we think about mental and brain health in relation to diet. She explains how and why we should consider our food as the basis of our mental and brain health throughout our lives, based on major research findings from around the world.
GUT: The inside story of our body’s most under-rated organ
Dr Giulia Enders takes us on an easy to digest tour of our insides. Her message is simple, if we treat our gut well, it will treat us well in return.
She walks us through one of the most complex and important parts of our anatomy, explaining everything from the basics of nutrient absorption to the latest science linking bowel bacteria with depression.
Check out her Tedx talk ‘The surprisingly charming science of your gut’
The Inflammed Mind
University of Cambridge Professor Edward Bullmore explains how and why we now know that mental disorders can have their root cause in the immune system, and outlines a future revolution in which treatments could be specifically targeted to break the vicious cycle of stress, inflammation and depression.
The Gut Stuff
An introductory guide to everything gut and microbiome, with science specialists covering off all the angles in an easy to digest format.
The chapter on the Vagus Nerve and microbiome featuring Dr Kimberley Wilson, Dr Ted Dinan and Dr John Crinan is a great micro-summary on links to the brain. It also has a handy glossary of the science vocab in the back.
Check out The Gut Stuff YouTube channel for bite sized info. The Gut Stuff website is also a mine of info.
How to Build a Healthy Brain
Chartered Psychologist Kimberley Wilson draws on the latest research to give practical advice on how you can protect your brain health. Whilst this is a book aimed at adult health, it gives a good understanding of key influencing factors in mental health that impact all ages.
Don’t miss her 4 part Podcast series ‘Crime & Nourishment’
Immunity: The Science of Staying Well
Whilst not a book on mental health, Dr Jenna Macciochi explains the important role our immune systems play with our brains and impacts of sleep, movement, immunity-nourishing nutrition and the best foods to eat.