Food as Medicine: for [Mental] Health

Why the Harder, Healthier Path Is the One We Need Now

For decades, Americans have been taught to believe that the fastest way to feel better is to take a pill. A headache? Take something. Trouble sleeping? Take something. Feeling sad, overwhelmed, unfocused, inflamed, tired, or disconnected? There’s a pill for all that too. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: the United States makes up only 5% of the world’s population, yet we consume 50% of the world’s prescription drugs and 80% of the world’s painkillers, a statistic highlighted in the book Moody Bitches by Julie Holland, MD. If medication alone were the answer, we would be the healthiest nation on earth. But we are not; as 60-90% of the US population is sick (CDC, NIH, NIMH, peer review reports).  Something is deeply off in our approach to health, and people feel it. They feel it in their bodies, in their moods, in their energy, in their relationships, and in their inability to “medicate away” the real issues underneath their symptoms.  This is where the Food as Medicine movement steps in.  It is not as a trend, but as a necessary course correction.

Beginning in the 1980s and exploding in the 1990s and early 2000s, especially after 9/11, pharmaceutical companies began aggressively marketing directly to consumers. Lobbyists pushed for laws that allowed drug ads to flood our televisions, radios, and magazines; and drug reps hounded the heels of medical professionals. The message was simple: “If you feel something uncomfortable, take something to make it go away.” We have been taught that emotions like sadness, anxiety, frustration, or grief are “negative.” The goal is to eliminate discomfort, not understand it, and this should be done for fast relief.  Deep healing is not a goal. We have been hood winked into believing that the “microwave fix” is normal and expected. And so, we became a nation of symptom managers instead of health seekers. But what if the real solution isn’t in the medicine cabinet, but in the kitchen?

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, who lived at least 4-5 centuries before Jesus Christ, said “Let food be thy medicine and let thy kitchen be thy apothecary.” He understood what modern science is finally rediscovering:

1. Nourishing Food reduces inflammation (the root of most chronic illness). Inflammation drives depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue, brain fog, and metabolic diseases. Anti-inflammatory foods (leafy greens, berries, omega‑3s, herbs, spices) help the body heal at the cellular level and thus reduce the root of the disease.
2. Food builds neurotransmitters (the chemicals that regulate mood). Serotonin, dopamine, and GABA are made from nutrients. If we don’t eat nutrient-dense meals, our brains cannot function optimally to manage mental illnesses, even if you are medicated.
3. Food supports gut health, which is the “second brain.” 70–90% of serotonin is produced in the gut. A damaged gut will result in damaged mood.
4. Food fuels energy, focus, and emotional regulation. No matter how hard you try, you cannot out-medicate a poor diet. You cannot out-supplement chronic fast-food consumption. The foods you eat are the fuel needed for optimal health and mind-body function.

What is “food?” Now let’s be clear, just because something is marketed as food does not make it food. Much of what fills American grocery stores is an edible substance, not nourishment. Food is any natural substance that the body can recognize, digest, and use for nourishment, energy, growth, repair, and overall functioning; and can provide essential nutrients such as macronutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates); micronutrients (vitamins, minerals), phytonutrients (plant compounds that reduce inflammation and support healing) and water and fiber.  Real food will support cellular repair, brain health, immune function, hormone and neurotransmitter production, metabolic balance, and emotional regulation.

Fast foods and ultra-processed foods are laced with additives, preservatives, artificial colors, flavor enhancers, inflammatory ‘seed’ oils, excitotoxins and other substances often labeled as ‘natural flavors,” which the body often does not recognize as food. When the body doesn’t recognize something, it becomes stressed, inflamed, and dysregulated.

Now let’s be clear, medication has a place. We are often so acutely/chronically ill that without medications many of us would die.  So, I am not advocating to get rid of meds.  But medication alone cannot replace daily movement, proper rest, nutrient-dense meals, or time in nature and sunlight. Nor can it replace real human connection, healthy relationships or spiritual grounding. We can agree that medication can’t replace joy, hobbies, creativity or moments of stillness and doing nothing. These things aren’t luxuries, they are biological requirements, so we must stop pretending that a pill can do the work of a lifestyle.

At the recent Food as Medicine Conference (FIMCON) one of the major initiatives being pushed is legislation that would allow clinicians to medically prescribe food and insurance companies to pay for it, as they would a month’s supply of pills that you would get at the pharmacy. Imagine this: you go to your provider for depression/anxiety/diabetes, your doctor writes a prescription for anti-inflammatory foods; you take it to your supermarket instead of a pharmacy, you eat to “feed” your health, not just manage your symptoms. This sounds revolutionary, maybe archaic-right? I agree. But its actually ancient wisdom returning home.

Many of you reading this have tried medication after medication: One pill, then another, then another…but the symptoms are still there and sometimes got worse.  Doctors are sometimes throwing their hands up in the air saying there is not much else they can do for you.  Healthcare costs make up about 20% of our GDP annually in the US. Consumers face rising premiums and out‑of‑pocket expenses and pay up to 6% of their annual income on healthcare-which is often quoted as one of the top spending issues in their budget.  And businesses absorb about 20% of the healthcare costs for their employees.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), reported that since 2024, we spent over $5.3 trillion per year on healthcare (of which over 4 trillion is on lifestyle diseases).

For many of us, we find that while on medications, our symptoms may improve temporarily, or they may simply be masked. And during COVID, when pharmacies struggled to fill prescriptions, we saw how fragile our dependency on medication truly is. Understand that I am not advocating that we reject medicine. What I am advocating is about reclaiming autonomy, so that you can ask your healthcare provider questions such as: “What are my alternatives?” “What lifestyle changes can support my healing?” “How can I reduce symptoms naturally?” The goal is for you to understand that your kitchen may hold more healing power than your medicine cabinet.

Understand that Food as medicine is not a fad. It is a return to what the body has always known that: healing begins with nourishment. Who knows? Your healing may just begin with your next meal….

If you’re ready to explore this deeper, to learn how food, movement, rest, connection, and self-care can transform your mental and physical health, Live.Balanced.Life.LLC is here to guide you. Reach out to us at 443-904-1817 livebalancedlifellc@gmail.com or visit our website: Live. Balanced. Life. LLC

Dr. Williams is an International Psychologist/Traumatologist who believes in healing clients through autonomous, cultural and natural lens.  She has certifications in trauma and nutritional healing for mental health and can be reached at 410.639.5245.