Nutrition and Mental Health
About this course
Drs. Kaplan and Rucklidge provide critical research-based information on the role of nutrition in preventing and treating mental health challenges, augmenting their presentation with a brief review of changes in nutrition over the past several centuries and an introduction to the potential mechanisms of action in micronutrient treatments.
Note: This lecture does not currently provide continuing education.
Course fee
This course is for free. If you find this course useful, please consider making a donation to help support our work.
Your Instructors
Bonnie J. Kaplan, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally from Ohio, she did her training in the U.S. (University of Chicago, Brandeis University) in experimental and physiological psychology. Her interest in the biological basis of behavior led to postdoctoral training, and then faculty research in neurophysiology at the West Haven (CT) VA Hospital Neuropsychology Laboratory and Yale University Department of Neurology, until she moved to Canada in 1979. She has published widely on the biological basis of developmental disorders and mental health – particularly, the contribution of nutrition to brain development and function.
Julia J Rucklidge, PhD, is Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Originally from Toronto, she did her training in neurobiology (McGill) and clinical psychology (University of Calgary). Her interests in nutrition and mental illness grew out of her own research showing poor outcomes for children with significant psychiatric illness, despite receiving conventional treatments for their conditions. For the last decade, she has been investigating the role of micronutrients in the expression of mental illness, with a specific focus on ADHD, bipolar disorder, anxiety and more recently, stress and PTSD associated with the Canterbury earthquakes.