Mental Health and Nutrition: Food for Well-being

Julia Rucklidge serves as Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Canterbury and Director of Te Puna Toiora, the Mental Health and Nutrition Research Lab, where she has revolutionized our understanding of the relationship between nutrition and mental health. Originally from Toronto, she completed her PhD at the University of Calgary before immigrating to New Zealand in 2000. Her groundbreaking research over the past two decades has focused on using broad-spectrum micronutrients to treat mental health conditions, including ADHD, mood disorders, anxiety, and stress. Her work gained significant attention through clinical trials investigating nutritional interventions, particularly following the Christchurch earthquakes. A prolific researcher with over 150 peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals including The Lancet Psychiatry and British Journal of Psychiatry, she has earned numerous accolades for her contributions to clinical psychology. Her influential TEDx talk on nutrition's role in mental health has garnered over 1.6 million views, and her co-authored book "The Better Brain" offers practical approaches to using nutrition for mental health improvement. As a member of the Executive Committee for the International Society of Nutritional Psychiatry Research, she continues to advocate for nutritional interventions in mainstream mental health treatment, driven by her observation of conventional treatments' limitations and her commitment to finding effective alternative approaches.