How Food Influences Our Mood and Mental Health with Felice Jacka, OAM

In this episode of The Mind-Gut Conversation, Dr. Emeran Mayer and Professor Felice Jacka explore the rapidly growing field of nutritional psychiatry, and what it tells us about the connection between food, microbes, and the brain.

Felice recounts her path from publishing the first study linking diet quality to depression, to leading major clinical trials like SMILES and CALM that demonstrated dietary interventions can improve depressive symptoms as effectively as established therapies. She also explains why supplements alone can’t replace whole foods, and how ultra-processed diets undermine the microbiome, immune system, and brain health.

Beyond individual diet, the conversation widens to agriculture and soil health, the foundations of nutrient-rich food. Felice highlights new school and community programs that connect children directly with regenerative farming, offering benefits that extend from the gut microbiome to mood and cognition.

Key Topics Covered:

• Defining nutritional psychiatry and its origins
• The evidence linking diet quality with depression and anxiety
• How lifestyle is becoming a foundation of psychiatric care worldwide
• Why soil microbiomes and food systems matter for mental health
• What simple, evidence-based dietary principles can support brain health

This episode is both a call to action and a roadmap for change: by improving our diets and food systems, we can foster healthier minds, stronger communities, and a more resilient planet.