Veda's Story

“Over time, I noticed that when I cut out gluten and focused on healthier, nutrient-dense foods, almost all my symptoms disappeared. It motivated me to say, ‘Okay, this works.”

Meet Veda

A few years ago, my relationship with food looked very different than it does today. Back then, I barely ate breakfast—if I did, it was a Pop-Tart or a bagel from Dunkin Donuts. I’d sometimes skip lunch, and for dinner, I’d eat whatever my parents made, whether it was pasta or takeout. I snacked a lot on processed foods like Goldfish and Cheez-Its. But now, my approach to food is completely different, and it has had a huge impact on my health and mental well-being.

What Changed for Me

My journey began when I started experiencing severe health issues—my mental health took a big hit, with anxiety and depression getting so bad that it stopped me from living my life. I couldn’t hang out with friends, go to school, or even go to the grocery store without having a panic attack. On top of that, I was dealing with physical symptoms like hair loss, bloating, and acne. After being diagnosed with Lyme disease, I knew I needed to make big lifestyle changes. I went so long without being diagnosed that I couldn’t just do a quick round of antibiotics. One of the first things I tackled was my diet.

It wasn’t easy at first as my diet was so different back then. I noticed that cutting out gluten and focusing on whole, nutrient-dense foods—like healthy fats and balanced meals—made a huge difference. Slowly but surely, I noticed all my symptoms started to disappear. I felt less anxious, my brain fog cleared up, and my energy levels improved. Over time, it became clear to me that this new way of eating was the key to feeling better, and now, I don’t even crave processed foods anymore.

My Ongoing Journey

One of the hardest things right now for me is living in a world that doesn’t always support healthy eating. It’s tough to find restaurants that offer healthier options, and being around people who don’t share the same lifestyle can be isolating. Another challenge is finding balance—there’s often this pressure to eat perfectly in order to feel better, but that perfectionism can actually create more anxiety. I’ve had to learn that it’s okay not to be perfect and to give myself grace.

Words Of Encouragement

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be to focus on balance and not strive for perfect health. Perfect health doesn’t exist, and chasing it can create more stress. Trust the process and listen to your body—it’s constantly changing, especially as a woman. There will be times when you can stick to a perfect routine, and other times when life gets in the way. There’s one season of life where you may be able to go to the gym five times a week, whereas there’s some seasons that you can go once or twice. Honor those changes, and you’ll find what works best for you within that balance.

Rachel's Story

“As I changed my diet, I noticed changes in my cravings. I wasn’t getting as hangry, and my level of agitation started to calm down.”

Meet Rachel

My journey with food and mental health began over a decade ago. I followed what you might call a typical American diet, which often left me feeling irritable and frequently “hangry.” My ability to handle stress was impacted. The turning point came when I was diagnosed with arthritis, which prompted me to rethink my eating habits.

What Changed for Me

I started by simply incorporating whole foods into my diet and regulating my blood sugar with consistent fat and protein intake throughout the day, which helped prevent energy dips. Slowly, I noticed I wasn’t as hangry, and my energy levels and mental clarity improved. Now, I eat something I like to call the “Rachel diet.” I had a lot of imbalance and inflammation going on, so over time, I began to identify and eliminate foods that triggered negative reactions in my body, which further enhanced my mental and emotional stability.

My Ongoing Journey

Despite my progress, I still face daily challenges, especially with hormone regulation. The balance is delicate and requires constant attention. When life gets busy, staying intentional becomes tougher. Changes in my schedule affect how much energy I can devote to thinking about food. It’s a lifestyle for me now, so it’s not about returning to junk food—it’s about finding the energy to consistently fuel my body properly, even on hectic days.

Words Of Encouragement

To those on a similar path, my advice is to identify any food sensitivities early on. Understanding how specific foods affected my mental health made a significant difference for me. It wasn’t until I began identifying which foods I was reacting to that I noticed a significant difference. Once I started focusing on the mental health aspect, I could calm down more quickly, think more clearly, and feel less agitated. Remarkably, I had already been on my mental health journey for over seven years before I truly understood how specific foods impacted my overall well-being. I also recommend the book “Mind Gut Connection” by Dr. Emeran Mayer, which deepened my understanding of the profound link between gut health and mental well-being.

The Duo

“When you fuel your body right, you realize it’s capable of so much more than when you’re fueling it improperly.”

Meet The Duo

Our journey with food and health has been deeply intertwined since we first met. Both of us had been dealing with our own challenges—whether managing type 1 diabetes, struggling with body image, or simply not realizing how our diets were affecting our energy and well-being. But it wasn’t until we became friends and started learning from each other’s experiences that we truly began to understand how powerful food can shape how we feel, mentally and physically.

What Changed for Me

Duo 1

For me, the wake-up call came during my freshman year of high school. I was running cross country and eating tons of carbs without thinking about how to fuel my body properly or what times of the day to eat. I ended up developing a gut infection that sidelined me for months. It wasn’t until I started cutting out gluten, diary, and processed foods that I finally felt better. Those months of healing taught me how closely food is connected to how we feel and function. I used to deal with immense brain fog and fatigue, and now my mind’s been a lot clearer.

Duo 2

For me, two key factors motivated my change in diet. As a type 1 diabetic, managing my blood sugar and keeping my A1C low is essential, and I didn’t want to rely on glucose tablets to correct lows. At the same time, as a dancer, I felt pressure to fit the “skinny ballerina” stereotype, always pushing myself to gain muscle and lose weight. But before I could change how I ate, I had to shift my mindset and focus on a healthier approach to both my diet and how I viewed my body. Now, I’ve learned that what I put into my body directly impacts how I feel, and that positive shift has helped me see myself in a much better light. I’m able to look in the mirror and appreciate what I see, and I feel much more confident and energized in my daily life.

Our Ongoing Journey

We’ve supported each other through the ups and downs of changing our diets. One of the most complex parts is navigating a world that often doesn’t align with our goals. It can be tough whether it’s going out to eat with friends who don’t have to think about food choices or dealing with the pressure to look a certain way.

We’ve also learned that taking care of ourselves doesn’t just mean eating perfectly all the time. It’s about balance and recognizing that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. We lean on each other to stay motivated, experiment with different foods, and determine what works best for us.

Words Of Encouragement

Duo 1

Be patient with yourself. Changing your diet is a mental journey as much as a physical one. Getting caught up in research and what you think you “should” be eating is easy, but it’s just as important to listen to your body and trust the process.

Duo 2

Everyone’s path is different, and it’s important not to compare your journey to anyone else’s. Progress takes time, and it’s not always linear. Focus on how you feel rather than chasing perfection. The effort you’re putting in will pay off, even if it takes longer than you expect.

Nicky's Story

“My experience with how nutrition has impacted my mood and mental health includes not only myself but my hanai son as well.”

Meet Nicky

Throughout my life, I suffered with mental health issues, some of which were treated with various types of therapy modalities — including electroconvulsive therapy.

What Changed for Me

However, when I started to pay attention to how my diet impacted my mood, I made changes to the foods I was consuming, and as a result, my mental health issues improved tremendously. When I informally adopted my son, he was also suffering from mental health issues (he was diagnosed with ADHD, Autism, and Conduct Disorder), and he was prescribed three different psychotropic medications — all at the young age of five years old.

My Ongoing Journey

While I was in the process of changing both of our diets, I was also completing my thesis on ADHD and nutrition. It was during this time that I heard of the Feingold Diet. By eliminating artificial colors, flavorings, sweeteners, preservatives, and some salicylates, his symptoms began to greatly improve. Because of these miraculous changes, we have both continued to follow a healthy meal plan. My son also sees a natural doctor who prescribes him a lot of specific nutrients, and has gotten him off of psychotropic medications.

Words Of Encouragement

I am amazed at how both of our lives have changed over the past several years as a result of nutrition.

Danielle's Story

“The self-efficacy I gained from changing my diet and losing weight bled into other areas of my life.”

Meet Danielle

Hi there! My name is Danielle and I have learned through personal experience that my food choices greatly impact my mood, behavior, and mental health. When I was younger, I was very overweight. I felt depressed, sad, and grumpy most of my middle school years. Being 200 pounds at just 13, what I ate was never a concern of mine.

What Changed for Me

When I started high school, I envisioned wearing a gorgeous dress to prom, and that vision motivated me to change the way I ate. I researched and evaluated food labels to see what worked best for me, and after about two years of hard work, I lost about 80 pounds! Not only did my mood change, but I felt more energized and confident than ever before. I continued to eat healthy and have maintained my goal weight over the years.

My Ongoing Journey

The self-efficacy I gained from changing my diet and losing weight bled into other areas of my life. I never thought I would love running, but now I appreciate all aspects of health, including physical activity. Everyone asks where I get my endurance from, and I always say that eating nutrient-dense foods fuels both my physical and mental stamina.

Words Of Encouragement

It really is so simple, but toxic food culture and marketing misinformed me for years. Once I changed my mindset (and diet), my mental health improved drastically. Today, I’m passionate about this field because I’ve experienced firsthand how life-changing a healthy diet can be.

Ellen's Story

“My relationship with food has been complicated. I’ve seen food as my reward, enemy, guilty pleasure, fuel, addiction and nourishment. My story highlights that healing involves both the nutritional and psychological aspects of eating.”

Meet Ellen

My relationship with food has been complicated. I’ve seen food as my reward, enemy, guilty pleasure, fuel, addiction, and nourishment. My story highlights that healing involves both the nutritional and psychological aspects of eating. Beginning in high school, I became really insecure about my body. In my efforts to feel thin, confident, and in control, I developed disordered eating thoughts and habits—deluding myself into thinking I was being healthy when I was actually very unhealthy. Meanwhile, my body was also fighting a physical struggle with food, eventually culminating in a diagnosis of Celiac disease along with a long list of allergies. I had to eliminate gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, and several other foods from my diet. Adopting these dietary changes was the crucial first step to experiencing physical healing.

What Changed for Me

As necessary as it was for me to adopt a gluten-free/allergen-free lifestyle, my mental health issues were somewhat exacerbated by these new diet restrictions. At first, the limitations made me feel deprived and obsessive. Because I couldn’t eat “normal” cookies, I had no control when given gluten-free cookies—often binging to compensate for all the times I couldn’t enjoy what everyone else was eating. Consequently, I’d feel horrible physically and mentally. The guilt, regret, and self-contempt that surrounded eating affected how I saw myself. I believed that I was broken and saw food as the instigator of my illness, struggling with the thought that if I were “normal,” I wouldn’t be getting sick from what should nourish me.

My Ongoing Journey

My story reached a turning point when I finally admitted to myself and others that I struggled with disordered eating. My mental relationship with food was flipped on its head once I began to see my diet as a way to heal my body. I focused on filling my plate with nourishing foods and flooding my body with the nutrients it needed. I also brought my brokenness to prayer, which opened the door to the most transformative healing. I’m still in the midst of this process, but the more I recognize my psychological issues with eating, the more healing I experience in my relationship with food.

Words Of Encouragement

I’ve discovered that honoring my nutritional needs through a healthy daily intake pattern also nurtures my mental well-being. Health and wholeness involve respecting this relationship between food and psyche. Yes, my relationship with food is complicated, but that’s because it supports both my physical and psychological being in pursuit of true wellness.

Chelsea's Story

“Not only do the foods I consume now help me to live a happier, more fulfilled life, but eating this way — taking responsibility for my mental health in a way that I can control — has given me a greater respect for myself. I respect my brain and body more, I respect food more, I even respect my relationships more — because I know they matter.”

Meet Chelsea

I could drive myself crazy trying to understand the underlying mechanisms of my eating disorder. Whether my unhealthy relationship with food was a symptom or a cause of something greater, I’ll never quite be sure. To be honest, the distinction doesn’t really matter anymore. I’ve come to understand that life isn’t so much about digging into the past as it is about taking responsibility for the present. Still, it blows my mind that as it all began, when I was just a teenager, doctors kept trying to provide me with antidepressants instead of giving me an option that made me feel as if I was in control.

What Changed for Me

Bulimia inhibited me in every way. It made me not trust myself. It made me isolate myself. It became an identity for me, and yet no one else knew the immense guilt and shame I was struggling with. My mood was all over the place. I think there’s a very odd relationship between bulimia and the reward circuits in the brain that no one really talks about. I started feeling as if my brain must be wired differently from others.

My Ongoing Journey

Eventually, I realized I needed help. And while I can’t deny the importance of social support, I ultimately knew that this was something I was going to have to do on my own. That’s when research on meditation emerged, and I was attracted to how it could be used to rewire and support my brain. I wanted to fix my problems from the inside out. Eventually in my search for research-backed answers, I came across the field of Nutritional Psychology. I was automatically intrigued, because this field intuitively made sense to me. I didn’t understand why no one was talking about something as foundational as nutrition when it came to mental health. I wanted to fix the root cause of my mental health, and what better way to do that than by learning about what was actually happening in my body as I ate food?

As I began to understand the mechanisms and metabolic processes underlying how food affects our neurotransmitters, I gained a sense of peace knowing that the food I ate could improve how I was feeling. I mean, it’s science. Learning about the importance of good nutrition has greatly impacted my ability to adapt and evolve. NP developed within me an intrinsic sense of purpose, and really helped me to change my behaviors and cement my recovery.

Words Of Encouragement

Not only do the foods I consume now help me to live a happier, more fulfilled life, but eating this way — taking responsibility for my mental health in a way that I can control — has given me a greater respect for myself. I respect my brain and body more, I respect food more, I even respect my relationships more — because I know they matter. And as my energy isn’t sapped by the depression and anxiety that accompanied my eating disorder, I feel more connected in every sense — to myself, my purpose, and the world around me. I’m not saying I eat perfectly all of the time — far from it. But I am saying that through NP, I’ve learned to really understand the true value of food. Good nutrition elevates the human experience, and when you take control of your relationship with food, more than anything, you gain quality of life.