Ellen Vora is a psychiatrist, mindbodygreen Collective member, and instructor of the mindbodygreen class Managing Depression. When it comes to approaching mental health from a holistic perspective, she's one of the world's best. Her goal is to help her patients manage their mental health with diet and lifestyle changes as much as possible, only turning to medications as temporary tools or as a last resort. This episode of the mindbodygreen Podcast is for anyone who struggles with a mental health condition, knows or loves someone suffering from one, or simply wants to optimize their mood and energy levels. She starts off by teaching me about the link between chronic inflammation and anxiety and depression—something called the inflammatory cytokine model of depression—and explains why depression is like the flu. She also makes a compelling case for blood sugar imbalance being one of the underlying causes of anxiety. Dr. Vora also shares the best foods to eat to support mental stability and resilience (spoiler alert: turmeric and black pepper, ginger, avocados, beets, and dark leafy green vegetables are just a few) and shares the one food she avoids in honor of her mental health. Dr. Vora's approach is gentle, holistic, and takes the whole person into account—body, mind, and spirit. Don't miss it! EPIC Provision's makes products that help employ agricultural practices that improve the lives of animals, support human health, and regenerate the land around us. Save 20% on your next epicbar.com purchase with promo code MBGPODCAST now through March 1, 2019. To contact Jason with comments, questions, or speaker ideas, please e-mail [email protected]. For all sponsorship inquiries, please e-mail [email protected]. Want to join our podcast email newsletter? Sign up here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices