You Need to CHILL-LAX: Calm Your Mind With Food

The Dr. Phil Podcast

Dr. Phil McGraw

Education, Society & Culture

4.3 • 13.5K Ratings

🗓️ 16 April 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Anxiety doesn’t always look like panic. Sometimes it hides in insomnia, gut issues, brain fog, and a body that feels “wired but tired.” In this episode, Dr. Phil talks with nutritional psychiatrist and trained chef Dr. Uma Naidoo about the science behind nutritional psychiatry using food and nutrients alongside therapy and medication to support mental well-being.

Dr. Phil and Dr. Naidoo break down the gut–brain connection in plain language: how chronic stress can disrupt the microbiome, increase inflammation, and intensify anxiety and depression symptoms. Dr. Naidoo also explains why anxiety surged during the pandemic and why it hasn’t fully dropped back down pointing to ongoing stress, uncertainty, and the way modern eating patterns can keep the nervous system on edge. Based on Dr. Naidoo’s work and books including This Is Your Brain on Food and Calm Your Mind with Food this conversation is a science-forward guide for anyone who wants a better mood, better sleep, and a brain that feels more in control. Get Dr. Naidoo's book now: https://umanaidoomd.com/

Connect With Dr. Uma Naidoo:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drumanaidoo/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrUmaNaidoo/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.umanaidoo

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Transcript

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0:00.0	My guest today is on the cutting edge of research about the ways anxiety is rooted in the brain.
0:14.0	Gut, immune system, metabolism, drawing on the latest science on the connection between
0:19.8	diet and anxiety.
0:22.5	Dr. Umah Nidu shows us how to effectively use food and nutrition as essential tools for calming the mind.
0:32.9	Now, Dr. Umah is a Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist.
0:38.1	She's a professional chef and director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts
0:45.0	General Hospital.
0:46.0	Now, she is also a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and the author of best-selling
0:51.1	books, This is Your Brain on food and calm your mind with food.
0:57.4	And she is breaking down the gut-brain connection.
1:01.3	And what the research actually says about inflammation, metabolism, and food quality
1:08.1	in anxiety.
1:10.3	Now, I've said a lot there, but what I'm basically saying is food and gut health really affect
1:18.6	your mental health and your experience, your quality of life from a mental standpoint,
1:24.7	from an emotional standpoint.
1:26.3	So we're going to dig into that.
1:28.3	So welcome, Dr. Uman.
1:30.3	Thank you so much for being here.
1:31.3	Thanks so much, Dr. Phil.
1:32.3	It's great to be here.
1:34.3	Tell me, first off, how did you discover this connection
1:40.3	and really a powerful connection?
	...

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