Ultra-processed foods, packed with with chemicals and additives, are wreaking havoc on our physical health, fuelling the obesity crisis and causing heart disease and diabetes. 

But what about the impact of these foods on our mental health? This is the question that distinguished psychologist Kimberley Wilson has set about answering. On July 19, she comes to Intelligence Squared to reveal the shocking truth about what our bad diet is doing to our minds. Drawing on her new book Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat Is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis, she will explore the link between nutrition and violence; she will reveal what common nutrient deficiency has been described by the WHO as the single most important preventable cause of brain damage; and she’ll set out the brain changes induced by just a few days of eating high-sugar, high-fat foods and how they affect our learning and memory.

But that’s not all. Wilson will also discuss the social injustice of poor nutrition, and how the poorest and most vulnerable among us are systematically ignored. She’ll challenge the status quo and demand decisive action from those in power, arguing that we need to talk about what our food is doing to our brains, and that we need to take action before it’s too late.

Join us for an eye-opening discussion about diet and the future of our mental health. 

Praise for Kimberley Wilson’s Unprocessed: How the Food We Eat Is Fuelling Our Mental Health Crisis

‘A powerful book that breaks down the dangerous beliefs that food is just fuel and delivers an important message we can all get behind – eat for your body and your brain! With a mental health crisis on our hands and over 50% of our diets coming from UPFs the evidence Kimberley presents in this book will change lives and hopefully policy.’ ― Professor Tim Spector

‘Marks a transformation in our thinking about diets. With luck it may one day make our brains better, a development that is long overdue … an essential and urgent read.’ ― Byan Appleyard, The Sunday Times

‘Kimberley Wilson kick-starts a hugely important conversation that not many are having. A powerful read. Everybody needs to read this book.’ ― Fearne Cotton