Event: Exploring farming, nutrition & brain health
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About the event
The food we consume influences the health of our gut and our brains, and has a direct impact on how we think, feel and behave. The way we farm our land influences the nutritional value, taste and availability of our food.
This unique event delivered by Think Through Nutrition and FarmED explores the profound links between the farmed environment and the soil beneath our feet, with food quality and nutrition, and our own gut health, brain health and behaviour.
We are delighted that Kimberley Wilson, author of How to Build a Healthy Brain and Unprocessed and host of the Stronger Minds podcast, will be joining us as our guest speaker, alongside Emeritus Professor of Physiology John Stein of Magdalen College, Oxford.
We will also hear from Suzy Dymond-White, a former prison Governor who commissioned a prison nutrition pilot at HMP Eastwood Park, and Heather – a participant in the pilot, in a panel discussion chaired by Tahani Saridar, Think Through Nutrition’s CEO.
In addition to the formal sessions, we will facilitate peer to peer learning and discussion and explore the farm and our food system. Each participant will be encouraged to develop an individual or organisational action plan, to take their learning forward.
Why are these conversations important?
Over the last century, there’s been an increase in food choice and food availability but we are also generally consuming fewer essential nutrients. This is due to a number of factors including the way we grow our food, the state of our soils, the feed we give to livestock, food processing and food marketing.
The effects of this are visible in how people generally feel and in the rise of mental health and behavioural issues. The impact in schools, prisons and health care settings are pronounced. There is clear evidence that we need to eat less ultra processed food and more foods rich in micronutrients and essential fatty acids to look after our brains. It can be challenging for us to access the right nutrition without focussed effort. There are actual and perceived cost implications, and confusion as to which foods and farming systems are most beneficial.
By understanding the nutrition needed to support a healthy brain, we can be empowered to think through nutrition and make better food choices. By understanding our soil, our food production systems and the role of our natural assets, we can move to a more regenerative future. By exploring the links between them, disseminating the latest research, and raising awareness, we can develop a more holistic approach and have the greatest impact, while improving people’s health, well-being and life chances.
During this event we:
Summarised the key farming, food and human health trends and challenges.
Analysed the links between soil, taste, food nutrition, gut health, brain health and human behaviour.
Identified the ways we can produce food with a higher nutritional status in a regenerative farming system.
Discussed the value and ways of reconnecting with nature and the farmed environment.
Highlighted opportunities for improving access to nutritious and affordable food.