Patrick Holford is an author, researcher, and spokesperson on nutrition and mental health. As the founder and CEO of the UK charity Food for the Brain, he is leading a mission to help the public improve their brain health through better nutrition. Holford has been spreading the word about declining IQ scores across the globe since the 1970s and advocates for a diet high in fats and essential vitamins and minerals as a solution to this problem.
According to Holford, mental health problems have been rated as the most expensive and urgent health issue in three government reports since 2010. Depression, autism, ADHD, and dementia are all on the rise, as is the decrease in IQ scores per generation since the 1970s. Holford highlights the alarming increase in children’s mental health issues and the high percentage of women on antidepressants in some parts of the UK.
Food for the Brain is using at-home blood spot tests and digital cognitive health questionnaires to analyze the nutrition and cognition status of thousands of participants. The charity provides participants with nutrition advice and hopes to build a huge databank to back its cause. Through these efforts, they aim to catalyze a widespread shift in perceptions around mental and cognitive health. To learn more, listen to the podcast with NutraIngredients Europe Editor Nikki Hancocks for further details.