Chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson is an expert in nutrition and building better brain health. She talks mental health, psychology and top tips for a sharper mind

Chartered psychologist Kimberley Wilson

Get moving now

“Looking after your brain takes a range of inputs, in the same way that maintaining a house requires replacing roof tiles, taking out the rubbish and vacuuming the floors. The most powerful thing you can do for your brain right now is exercise – it’s a powerful tonic.”

The importance of a well-nourished brain

“The original title of my latest book was Out of Sight, Out of Mind, because that is how we treat the brain. We can’t see the impact in neurones of B12 deficiency or insulin resistance. But we can feel it – as fatigue, cognitive impairment (aka brain fog) and in our moods. 

On top of that, we’ve long had a dualism in the way we think medically about mental health – as neck up and completely unrelated to what goes on in the rest of the body. We think that the mind is only influenced by thoughts and experiences, and completely ignore the organ that underlies all of mental life – the brain. Talking about mental illness without mentioning the brain is like talking about palpitations or hypertension while ignoring the heart. It just doesn’t make sense.”  

Superfoods

“Valuable foods for our brain include oily fish and seafood, leafy green vegetables, berries, fibre-rich foods like beans and wholegrains, and tea. No individual food is going to do it though, because nutrients work together. One important study showed that B vitamins slowed brain aging by 40% compared to a placebo, but only in conjunction with omega-3 fats. Those who had low blood levels of omega 3 saw no benefits.” 

Dementia prevention

“The latest Lancet Commission on dementia indicates that 45% of all dementia cases worldwide could be delayed or prevented through changes in lifestyle. Every time they do this review the estimate increases, suggesting that it is something about the way we are living that is hurting our brains. In studies of older people who already have early signs of cognitive decline, a combination of improved nutrition, exercise, social engagement and lifelong learning has been shown to slow, halt, and in some cases reverse cognitive decline.” 

Demystifying the theories around psychology

“There are a bunch of concepts in popular psychology that are either untrue or outdated. Things like left/right brain, that adverse experiences inevitably lead to trauma, that there’s such a thing as confidence (confidence is practice), that we have ‘learning styles’, that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, and that manifesting is backed by physics.”

Kimberley Wilson will be speaking at New Scientist Live this month, which takes place at ExCeL London between 12th and 14th October 2024, and is also streamed live

Kimberley’s latest book, Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat Is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis, spotlights new research on the role of food in brain development