Dr. Uma Naidoo, CALM YOUR MIND WITH FOOD: A Revolutionary Guide to Controlling Your Anxiety
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[1:03]Dr. Uma Naidu is the author of Calm Your Mind with Food, a revolutionary guide to controlling
[1:08]your anxiety.
[1:10]Dr. Naidu is a Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist, professional chef, and nutritional biologist.
[1:16]She is also the author of the National and International Bestseller.
[1:20]This is your brain on food.
[1:21]Dr. Naidu founded and directs the first hospital-based nutritional psychiatry service in the
[1:26]United States.
[1:27]She is the director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Mass General and director
[1:32]of nutritional psychiatry at MGH Academy while serving on the faculty at Harvard Medical
[1:36]School.
[1:37]She was considered Harvard's mood food expert and has been featured in the Wall Street
[1:41]Journal group and many more.
[1:43]Welcome Dr. Naidu.
[1:44]Thank you so much for coming on Mom's Don't Have Time to read books to discuss Calm Your Mind
[1:48]with Food, a revolutionary guide to controlling your anxiety.
[1:52]Thanks so much.
[1:53]Always love you to talk with you.
[1:55]You too, you too.
[1:56]Of course, this is the follow-up to this is your brain on food, so much to discuss.
[2:00]You do a lovely job in the book of explaining exactly why this iteration of the approach
[2:06]to food and how you realized yourself what anxiety was doing to your body and how to control
[2:13]it through food.
[2:14]Can you tell listeners about that inspiring story and what you learned?
[2:19]Thank you.
[2:20]Thanks for a great question.
[2:22]You know, I've had two bouts of anxiety in my life that I've used nutrition to help
[2:28]me with, and it's not for everyone, but they really taught me the blueprint of my work
[2:33]today.
[2:34]The first we might have discussed the last time was when I was diagnosed with cancer and
[2:39]I really needed to lean into nutrition to help me with side effects of medications and
[2:44]to endure treatment.
[2:45]But the other was actually, and this is something I want people to understand inside.
[2:49]I can come from positive things.
[2:52]You know, I was best with my first book being very, very successful, and in some ways
[2:58]I got into this pattern of things, you know, needing to answer the next media article
[3:04]or do the next podcast because the book really took off and expectively doing the pandemic.
[3:09]And while that was a really good thing, it, you know, it spiraled me in a lot of different
[3:14]ways.
[3:15]And then another thing that happened in the association with that was the book was popular
[3:18]and I visited the UK to give a keynote speech and was then invited to meet the then
[3:24]Israel Highness Prince Charles because of his interest in the work of a few physicians
[3:28]from the U.S. and I was one of them.
[3:31]And that, you know, was a positive thing to me.
[3:33]And I was just so anxious.
[3:36]I couldn't, like, fix straight.
[3:37]And, you know, it's so mighty.
[3:39]Which, by the way, anybody could relate to.
[3:42]I think any of us in the world meeting Prince Charles would be like, okay, my heart's
[3:46]is raising, like, this is a big deal.
[3:48]This is a big deal.
[3:49]This is good.
[3:50]I thought those are two combination factors really led to my eating being, you know, so
[3:56]much stress that it set my metabolism off and I found myself anxious and my weight wasn't
[4:02]where I wanted it to be yet I was trying to follow this healthy principles.
[4:06]The truth is that it happens to all of us at some point.
[4:09]And it's not always a negative thing that can drive anxiety.
[4:12]We all have moments like that as well.
[4:14]And it's how do we find our way forward?
[4:16]And I really found my path forward through a mindfulness approach.
[4:20]So it's always a holistic and integrated approach.
[4:22]But the pull of that was how I was eating and correcting back to, you know, bed ideas.
[4:28]And it's not perfect.
[4:29]None of us eats perfectly or is this the perfect way to do anything like that.
[4:32]But it's more, what is the mindset?
[4:35]And mindset was also something that helped me during chemotherapy, you know, keeping that
[4:40]positive mindset focusing on, on what's ahead.
[4:43]So I have, unfortunately, you know, I've experienced this.
[4:47]So I know where people are coming from and I felt they needed to be more solutions for
[4:51]us.
[4:52]Tell me a little bit more about your day to day when you were living with cancer and
[4:56]waiting.
[4:57]I know in the book you talk about the relief you felt when you did find out that you
[5:01]were, it sort of graduated to the next level of care when you were no longer in sort
[5:06]of the danger zone.
[5:07]So to speak.
[5:08]Correct.
[5:09]When you were waking up day after day, not knowing when you were still battling or whatever
[5:14]words we can use, what was that like and then what was it like after?
[5:20]Because you had this newfound appreciation for every bite of food, every minute, every
[5:24]breath.
[5:25]But what was it like during and then what was it like after for you?
[5:28]You know, that's really important to highlight because there was a way in which, you know,
[5:34]you go through treatment and then you sort of forget about the acuity when you're out
[5:39]of active treatment.
[5:41]And that's what happened to me.
[5:42]But I think as a cancer thriver or cancer survivor, you always know that that every morning,
[5:49]every day.
[5:50]And in some ways this busyness I described with positive things happening also kind of
[5:55]quell that worry, but I didn't realize it was there and it was striving.
[6:02]It was actually adding to all of these other good things that were happening.
[6:06]And so I was really thrown off metabolically, I was kind of like during on the surface
[6:11]and in terms of what I was doing in my work, everything seemed fine, but on the inside
[6:16]I was also struggling.
[6:17]And these, these were some of the things that came forward.
[6:22]But when I unexpectedly, you know, saw my doctors from a usual checkup and they basically
[6:28]said, hey, you're out of that danger zone.
[6:30]I realized the weight I'd been carrying emotionally that even if I wasn't remembering
[6:36]every morning towards that appointment, it was there.
[6:40]I was living with it.
[6:41]And I think most cancers of I was also say they probably live with it and maybe that feeling
[6:46]is just less prominent every day.
[6:50]But it was a massive relief and release attention.
[6:54]And suddenly those habits had been trying to practice and getting back into stress reduction
[7:01]and getting back into mindfulness practice and eating healthier suddenly kind of clicked into
[7:06]place.
[7:07]And it was a very pivotal moment because I realized the gravity of what I've been enjoying.
[7:14]So thank you for asking that.
[7:15]And I, you know, I feel a lot better and hopefully I'm on a healthier path on all domains
[7:23]as we all, we all strive to be.
[7:26]Okay.
[7:27]Well, sorry to pry.
[7:28]But it was powerful how you wrote it.
[7:30]And I think there are lessons to be learned in the, you know, embracing the day to day when
[7:35]you, not that any of us are guaranteed tomorrow, but when you have less acute risk for
[7:42]us.
[7:43]Exactly.
[7:44]That's a great way to put it.
[7:45]A less acute risk and where, you know, they, they base all of the sudden research.
[7:48]So you basically think, okay.
[7:50]So my doctors are giving me right now a keen bill of help.
[7:53]I can, you know, continue to follow as best I can healthy diet and exercising all of this
[8:00]to continue.
[8:01]But there's this, there's this huge, huge relief between one day and the next.
[8:06]You also talked about your childhood and how there's obviously a perception or the knowledge
[8:14]that in, you know, apartheid Africa, South Africa, right?
[8:19]I'm sorry there was obviously so much, you know, black versus white tension, right?
[8:24]But as an Indian child, you also bore the brunt of that sort of racism and exclusion
[8:29]and all of that and it's something that you've sort of harbored for a while and haven't
[8:33]really talked about.
[8:34]Can you say a little more about that?
[8:36]Sure.
[8:37]And I'm happy to, you know, I think for when I released my first book, I wasn't really
[8:44]ready to share that part of my life.
[8:47]I think in parts of me, because you go through many, many years of, you know, as a trained
[8:51]psychiatrist, I believed and was trained to be on my own psychotherapy as in order to be a
[8:57]psychiatrist and psychotherapist, I need to understand the process.
[9:01]And it has taken many years in, in my own therapy to be able to verbalize and talk
[9:07]about really the deep roots of apartheid and how they embed in a child's mind because
[9:13]I really grew up in South Africa, but I moved to the US and I've spent most of my adult
[9:18]life in Boston, but those roots are indeed.
[9:21]And I want to pair this together with another question I'm always asked to kind of explain
[9:26]it.
[9:27]I'm often asked, well, you know, Dr. and I do, how come there are all of these, there's
[9:31]always Twitter wars going on that, not Twitter X wars that are going on that don't involve
[9:35]me, but I'm kind of observing them because there are doctors and health influences and
[9:40]everyone talking about all these people who talk about food and moderation.
[9:45]And why don't they, you know, just tell people to go low-carb and give up, you know, bread
[9:49]and pasta and these horrible foods that will, you know, will kill you, very, very distinct
[9:54]opinions out there.
[9:56]And I've struggled a lot with why.
[10:00]who I care that deep needed in food equity.
[10:02]So there'd be whether you eat fish or I eat fish.
[10:06]You know, I'm here to guide you as to the best piece
[10:08]of salmon you might be able to afford, access
[10:11]and have for your family for dinner.
[10:15]If you eat only a plant based diet,
[10:18]I'm gonna tell you what are the best plants
[10:20]for your brain and for your anxiety to calm your mind.
[10:23]I've been here to say never eat a leafy green
[10:26]or never eat a steak.
[10:28]And I realized to my therapy that my deep sense
[10:32]of feeling strongly about equity and food
[10:36]is about the inequity I faced as a child.
[10:39]You know, being on the inside and outside
[10:42]and not being able to have things
[10:44]because of the color of your skin,
[10:45]you don't really understand that as a child.
[10:47]You probably have friends and you're like,
[10:49]I don't feel that different,
[10:51]but it's kind of been ingrained upon you.
[10:53]So the fact that I didn't have those choices, you know,
[10:56]my parents who lived in South Africa
[10:59]and my mom's still is there.
[11:01]You know, didn't have the opportunities
[11:03]but they encouraged education as a way
[11:05]to remove yourself from that.
[11:08]And that's exactly what happened
[11:09]when I had an opportunity to study overseas.
[11:12]But I feel very strongly about food equity
[11:16]and people making their own choices
[11:18]because I didn't have those choices
[11:20]growing up around the color of my skin.
[11:23]And it is something that if, you know,
[11:26]people want to say, well, she talks about this
[11:28]and that doesn't matter.
[11:29]I'm here to guide you and I care that you eat healthy
[11:33]and that you can make choices.
[11:34]But purely eating Doritos, I'm going to say,
[11:36]maybe you want to cut back on that, you know,
[11:38]or seven told me recently that she loves gushes.
[11:41]You know, that's all you're eating.
[11:43]Probably not the best idea, but it's just,
[11:47]you can cut back on that.
[11:48]But what can I give you as a recipe a chip
[11:50]to start eating more healthy foods?
[11:52]Not, you know, never eat this or that
[11:54]because I think that is a divisive and helpful chip
[11:57]and leads to a lot of the eating disorder problems
[12:00]and obesity on the other hand,
[12:02]all of the things that are going on.
[12:03]Interesting.
[12:04]Well, you have what's called nutritional psychiatry,
[12:08]which I didn't even realize was a thing.
[12:11]And, you know, there's so much of a correlation
[12:14]between anxiety and gut health and anxiety and inflammation
[12:20]and all of these things that you write about in the book
[12:23]and then you in a very helpful way, layout,
[12:26]some solutions and eating suggestions
[12:29]and even recipes, which is lovely.
[12:31]I was like, hmm, should I try this?
[12:34]It's pretty good.
[12:35]But talk a little bit about anxiety.
[12:38]And I didn't even know by the way that,
[12:39]because I am really bad at drinking water.
[12:41]I did not drink enough water.
[12:43]And I didn't know that perhaps a lack of drinking water.
[12:47]And maybe it was the coffee, which I also do,
[12:49]because you gave the example of like,
[12:52]well, if someone has three cups of coffee
[12:53]instead of water that can, you know,
[12:55]I understand that coffee might ratchet things up.
[12:58]But the fact that even just a lack of water
[13:01]can exacerbate anxiety.
[13:03]And I'm like, well, maybe that's why I have anxiety.
[13:06]It could be it.
[13:08]So when I found this dehydrated,
[13:10]which is, and so it's always gonna have
[13:12]you wake up in the morning to just drink a glass of water
[13:15]because your body sort of is that dehydrated
[13:18]actually overnight.
[13:19]But in general, if we are not keeping up
[13:21]with the adequate water, it's fine to drink coffee.
[13:23]I love coffee, but I have to limit my coffee
[13:26]to the morning if not it impacts my sleep.
[13:29]And I believe in a clean cup of coffee,
[13:30]you know, just keep clean it up a little bit.
[13:32]Not the kind of stuff we put in the US, you know, coffee.
[13:36]So, you know, so that's completely fine.
[13:39]But if you're drinking coffee,
[13:40]just make sure you're also hydrated,
[13:42]because coffee is dehydrating.
[13:43]But if you're drinking, having glass of water,
[13:46]sustainable water bottle when you're running around,
[13:48]it's a good way just to remind yourself
[13:50]to keep hydrated.
[13:51]Dehydration is associated with the anxiety
[13:53]and the my clinic I've even seen people have panic
[13:56]when they are dehydrated.
[13:57]So I think it's just a good habit.
[13:59]And dehydration is also associated with the low mood.
[14:02]So if someone is chronically dehydrated
[14:05]it's something you wanna be maybe just stuck,
[14:07]you know, sipping gently and build up your water
[14:10]and take over time,
[14:11]because it is actually very important
[14:13]in terms of on metabolism,
[14:15]the different functions that are going on in our body
[14:19]and just to keep us but it also impacts on mental health.
[14:22]Well, okay.
[14:23]Well, that's the most compelling argument
[14:24]I've heard for drinking water.
[14:26]I know, like I know intellectually every day,
[14:28]I'm like, I should drink.
[14:30]It's good for my body, but that's so vague.
[14:33]So anyway, thank you for that.
[14:34]I might actually present dates
[14:37]in the behavior change of my heart.
[14:39]So for the anxious person who is intrigued by your book
[14:43]and thinking, wow, can I really control my anxiety
[14:47]with the foods that I eat?
[14:48]What are some simple things they can do through food to help?
[14:53]One of the things I speak to people about,
[14:55]well, what are workpeople from the book
[14:57]are the six pillars around helping to calm your mind?
[15:00]But one of the things of those six pillars is sort of looking
[15:03]at foods that you may be consuming every day
[15:06]and thinking about maybe editing or adjusting them.
[15:10]What I mean by that is you may have had say a change of work
[15:14]and your schedule has changed
[15:16]and now you're only by lunch out.
[15:18]And that's okay, but it ends up being fast food
[15:21]and that's a change, that's different.
[15:24]Or maybe your commute or something has changed in your life.
[15:27]Or just the pandemic where people
[15:29]stocked up in cookies or started to have a glass of wine
[15:32]or two every night versus on the weekends
[15:35]when they went out for dinner.
[15:36]Little habits that might have switched.
[15:39]A lot of people are just getting comfort
[15:42]from ice cream every night.
[15:43]And I just feel switching out those ideas
[15:47]because often maybe those comfort foods
[15:49]are discomfort for the brain.
[15:50]So can you use in my recipe from my first book
[15:53]this is your brain on food to make ice cream
[15:56]from bananas even make it a chocolate flavor
[15:58]which can be good for your brain and switch out that habit.
[16:02]So stuff there with something that's bothering you.
[16:05]Most people there's something that's kind of nagging them
[16:08]and they know they should be doing different with you
[16:11]what someone else it could be hydration
[16:16]and what someone else it might be that I speak
[16:18]wherever it is.
[16:19]Stop there and it's stuff with just one thing
[16:22]that you can so-called clean up, meaning step back
[16:25]from it a little bit, change it a little bit
[16:27]and see if you can sustain that.
[16:29]Because very often that habit where I had some
[16:33]recently who really developed a cookie habit
[16:36]through the pandemic.
[16:37]And so just by cutting back on the number of cookies a day
[16:43]just by finding a recipe that had healthier ingredients
[16:47]and less loaded with sugar.
[16:49]It finding other treats that were sweet
[16:53]but actual whole foods like a clementine
[16:56]with a piece of extra dark chocolate
[16:58]which actually helps your iron levels
[17:00]very important for anxiety too.
[17:02]So just almost finding something like that
[17:05]is really key as the starting point.
[17:08]From there, what I'd like people to do
[17:11]is do some simple things, add more fiber to your diet.
[17:14]I talk about the kaleidoscope of colors in the book
[17:17]because rainbow doesn't quite grasp it.
[17:19]The rainbow is beautiful
[17:21]but it's only a set in our colors.
[17:23]The kaleidoscope, if you think about it as a child
[17:25]the many, many myriad of beautiful colors
[17:28]that actually represents those plant polyphenols
[17:31]and every single, you know, berry that you eat
[17:34]every single, you know,
[17:35]cruciferous vegetable and food that you eat.
[17:39]And I want people to think about it.
[17:41]That's why we put purple sprouting broccoli on the cover
[17:44]because it's one of my favorite cruciferous vegetables.
[17:47]And it's, you know, it has these blue cosinates
[17:50]the sulfur fans.
[17:52]It's really rich in a lot of different things.
[17:54]So that's why I want people to lean into vegetables
[17:56]as one of the components of their nutritional
[17:59]psychiatry calming plate.
[18:01]And another is fermented foods
[18:03]and those probiotic rich foods, easy to do.
[18:06]Almost every culture has a fermented food,
[18:08]could be a fear, could be a kombucha, it could be kimchi.
[18:11]Something that appeals to you
[18:13]and have a little bit of that every day.
[18:16]And then I want people to lean into those omega threes.
[18:20]The omega threes from wild called salmon
[18:22]or from chia seeds of flax seeds,
[18:25]hugely important for the brain.
[18:27]Now, I only mentioned a few foods here
[18:29]but all of those have antioxidants, anti-inflammatory.
[18:32]They each power packed in nutrient dense.
[18:35]So switching up one habit that you're worried about,
[18:38]making it a healthier habit, cutting back on,
[18:40]on maybe the soda or the cookies, whatever it is.
[18:43]And then adding in even one thing,
[18:46]like building up your salads with your vegetables
[18:49]every single day would be a step in the right direction.
[18:52]From all that, I took away.
[18:54]I can eat dark chocolate.
[18:58]Yes, you can.
[18:59]I'm kidding, I already eat it.
[19:00]It's fine.
[19:01]Exactly, it's actually a really good choice
[19:04]for people outside.
[19:06]What do you think about the weight loss medications?
[19:10]So I think there's a place for them
[19:11]because there's such a huge abuse in the epidemic.
[19:15]And so I think that people who are going through their physicians
[19:19]and taking them, the one downside I've heard is
[19:23]that people are worried about the right need
[19:24]to stay on this medication's rest of my life.
[19:27]I've met several people anecdotally
[19:29]who've lost the weight doing really well-driving,
[19:32]but worried like, do I need to now stay on this rest
[19:35]of my life?
[19:35]Because they've also looked at adopted healthy eating habits,
[19:39]which I think is great that have a change, it's huge.
[19:42]I do think there are some anecdotal good points about it,
[19:45]like some because we understand this amazing connection
[19:49]between metabolism and anxiety now.
[19:51]It could be that as you improve your metabolism,
[19:54]people are having less anxiety.
[19:57]So is that because...
[20:00]they were metabolically unfit,
[20:03]and the anxiety was being driven
[20:05]when they were in that state,
[20:06]but as they lose the weight they feel better.
[20:09]So I think there are many positives to it.
[20:11]I think that unfortunately,
[20:13]when it becomes one of a better word commercialized,
[20:17]so it becomes the next popular thing,
[20:19]it may be that people may not be using it
[20:22]for the right benefits.
[20:24]And I think that that's where, you know,
[20:26]going through a physician,
[20:28]making sure you get the right assessment,
[20:30]if it's something you can remember that.
[20:31]With the remaining question,
[20:33]we don't have the research,
[20:34]it is, do I need to use this rest of my life?
[20:37]Because many people don't,
[20:38]this is gonna wanna take a coat
[20:39]or a shock to the rest of that.
[20:41]Interesting.
[20:42]So how are your anxiety levels today?
[20:45]I'm actually, you know,
[20:47]well, that's it, the little high,
[20:48]but it's good anxiety.
[20:50]I have two recorded TV studio later today,
[20:53]so I'm, you know, I'm in a good way.
[20:56]I'm anxious, you know?
[20:57]And listeners can't see this,
[20:59]she just took a big bulb of water.
[21:00]See, it's just like the big anti-anxiety
[21:05]and remedy, it's like I must hydrate.
[21:08]But again, you know, this is,
[21:10]I think sometimes we have to use the,
[21:13]people generally think of the anxieties of negative,
[21:16]and it's not, I'm not trying to minimize
[21:19]that it can be rain, it can be very difficult for people,
[21:23]but you can also have anxiety over, you know,
[21:25]things that are not bad,
[21:27]but they can kind of set you in a seven direction.
[21:30]So yeah, it's so funny that it's making the water too.
[21:33]He lives.
[21:36]Do you have another book in the works?
[21:38]And will there be another beautiful image on the cover?
[21:42]I love the whole, I'll get you all of your series.
[21:44]I'm anticipating many, many more.
[21:46]Thank you Zebiya.
[21:47]I feel honored to get that feedback from you.
[21:49]You know, a lot of people have asked me,
[21:52]especially on a podcast, will it be a cookbook?
[21:54]And I guess I need my other than I need to think.
[21:57]I know that she very much, she's already asked me
[21:59]about another book and we're still thinking
[22:01]about what that should be.
[22:03]You know, calm your mind with food.
[22:05]It's interesting, each book has had a real origin story.
[22:08]Like this is your brain on food,
[22:09]really came from development of my clinical work
[22:13]and my work at my channel, seeing patients
[22:16]and then having several media opportunities,
[22:19]which led to a book.
[22:20]And then calm your mind with food,
[22:23]of my work during the pandemic,
[22:25]because we know through research,
[22:27]I published in the Lancet,
[22:29]that anxiety is increased by 25%, 25%,
[22:33]and it was already the leading cause
[22:36]of mental health issues in the United States.
[22:38]So I was grateful that that was proven in research,
[22:43]but also this is what I was seeing.
[22:45]And I felt we just need more tools
[22:47]in our toolbox to feel better.
[22:50]So I'm not sure if it'll be a cookbook.
[22:51]I'm open to suggestions,
[22:53]but I think something will come of this
[22:57]and I'll let you know.
[22:59]Well, you could do one for kids,
[23:02]you know, a kid's brain on food or something like that.
[23:06]That's a great idea,
[23:07]because I've heard a lot about that.
[23:10]And I feel, you know,
[23:12]that that can really, every pain comes
[23:16]that the child to have the best brain,
[23:18]to have the best possible outcomes in life.
[23:20]So in food is such an easy thing
[23:24]that when I say easy,
[23:26]I mean, it's something we roll up to eat.
[23:28]We don't have to feed our kids.
[23:29]So it's something that we can,
[23:31]we can edit, we can change, we can improve.
[23:34]And so a lot of that suggestion,
[23:35]I'm going to, I'm going to break it back to the team.
[23:39]Yeah.
[23:39]Like, help your kid's mind.
[23:41]Forget the extra curriculars.
[23:43]You know, forget the resume,
[23:47]help your kids with food.
[23:49]Because actually when we put two points of,
[23:52]you know, when we take care of those basics,
[23:54]those pillars, right, of lifestyle,
[23:57]even their sleep, right, sleep activity,
[23:59]you know, maybe less, less digital time,
[24:02]if it's possible.
[24:03]But if we do that,
[24:05]honestly, the other things try,
[24:06]I don't think because those,
[24:08]if they're thriving in their sort of basic physiology,
[24:14]their nutrition, their mental well-being,
[24:18]you know, it's going to lead to better things.
[24:20]It also do something on food and trauma.
[24:23]And nobody talks about that.
[24:24]What do you do?
[24:25]I mean, people aren't thinking about what they're eating
[24:26]during trauma, but even after what happens,
[24:30]you know, I know that anxiety is linked to that,
[24:32]but I don't know, helping,
[24:34]helping the post-traumatic, helping repair after trauma,
[24:39]helping to gain repair after trauma with food or something.
[24:42]We did, we did one chapter.
[24:44]This is your brain on food and PTSD,
[24:46]but I think that since that time,
[24:49]and it wasn't so long ago,
[24:50]it feels like trauma is just not only with the pandemic,
[24:54]but every other global situation.
[24:57]So I think that's an excellent topic.
[24:59]I love it.
[25:00]I love it.
[25:01]I think it's an amazing story.
[25:02]It's an amazing story.
[25:03]Exactly.
[25:04]We just like to try and make you have like really ideas.
[25:05]I love it.
[25:07]Thank you.
[25:08]Do you have any advice either for aspiring authors
[25:12]or for the struggling anxious person out there?
[25:16]Yeah.
[25:16]So for, I guess, I think I'm going to answer
[25:19]with two different, you know, so what's with authors?
[25:22]I think I am a little unusual.
[25:24]I kind of, if you asked me five years ago
[25:27]that if I was going to be an author,
[25:28]I would have said, not that I know off.
[25:30]I mean, I'm writing academic articles and doing research,
[25:33]but, you know, so I would say follow things
[25:36]that you love to do.
[25:37]You're a great example of that, Saby,
[25:39]and the amazing work that you've done.
[25:41]And you're just following things that you love to do,
[25:44]because with me, my books were born like the origin story.
[25:47]They were born out of loving that work
[25:49]and wanting to fundamentally help people
[25:51]with the different lands.
[25:53]And that's what led to newspaper article going around
[25:56]and then publishers reached out.
[25:58]So I think if you really want to, you know,
[25:59]then you love something.
[26:01]Do that.
[26:02]For the anxious mind, remember, it's,
[26:05]nutrition is a pillar, but simple things
[26:08]like a mindfulness practice, a glass of water in the morning.
[26:12]Five minutes of a meditation, that means something to you.
[26:15]It could be just closing your eyes.
[26:17]It could be just looking at the sunrise.
[26:19]Whatever appeals to you, that moment of stillness
[26:22]can actually help to calm your mind at the morning,
[26:24]because quite often we get up and we either go to our phone
[26:28]or, you know, the kids wake up to something like that
[26:30]and our bodies jump starts.
[26:33]And I think if there's any way to get up
[26:35]even a half hour early and just control that environment
[26:40]before your day starts, not easy to do.
[26:43]I struggle with it myself.
[26:45]But when I'm able to pull it off, my day goes differently.
[26:48]So glass of water, mindfulness practice,
[26:51]germaning if it helps, you know, I love my coffee in the morning
[26:56]or golden, the golden work I love for my grandmother,
[26:59]just something like that.
[27:01]And with some people, you know, if they can,
[27:03]they exercise, because exercise actually really releases
[27:06]those endorphins and a lot of people feel it kind of releases
[27:09]some acts.
[27:11]So I prefer exercising the morning,
[27:13]but it depends on everyone's schedule too.
[27:15]But those are a few things just to remember
[27:17]that it's an integrated approach.
[27:19]Another one, 10 minutes about door time
[27:21]without your sunblock or sunscreen,
[27:23]gives you 80% of your vitamin D,
[27:26]which really helps your anxiety and mood.
[27:29]So, you know, and then put on your sunblock sunscreen
[27:32]or whatever it is, but at least get that in
[27:35]and spending time in each of them when you have.
[27:37]Amazing.
[27:38]Okay, I feel like I've just gotten a big reset menu
[27:41]and I'm ready to go.
[27:42]I'm gonna get off the zoom and go get a glass of water
[27:45]and I will think of you in the mornings.
[27:47]I'm going to do that.
[27:49]You know, when I take my dog out,
[27:50]I'll have my own glass of water.
[27:51]I'll make it like a water.
[27:52]Yeah.
[27:53]All right, well, thank you.
[27:55]Thanks for coming back so much.
[27:57]All right.
[27:57]Good luck on TV today.
[27:59]Good luck.
[28:00]Okay, bye, bye.
[28:02]Thanks for listening to this episode
[28:04]of moms don't have time to read books.
[28:06]Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at zibbowens
[28:09]and at moms don't have time to read books.
[28:11]Also sign up for my newsletter at zibbowens.com
[28:14]and sign up for my virtual book club
[28:15]and meet lots of authors on Zoom every other week.
[28:18]Thanks so much to Steve and Ryan,
[28:19]in fact, texture sound for the sound editing.
[28:22]And thank you to Morning Moon Productions
[28:24]for providing this fantastic intro and out trim music.