Do you want to clean up your diet to avoid disease and depression? Would you like to shed a few pounds and improve mental performance? If you have questions about how healthy eating can help you feel better in your body and improve your mood, this episode is for you. In this episode, Cheryl Jones interviews Dr. Shawn Talbott about the relationship between food and mood. Shawn explains what the gut- brain connection is and teaches you why a healthy diet positively impacts your overall health and well-being. They explore the importance of eating fewer processed foods and more whole fruits and vegetables. And dive into the way the body processes different kinds of food and stores calories. You'll gain a better understanding of what you can do to lose weight, and to avoid weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. As well as depression, anxiety, and stress. Take the 30 plants in seven days challenge to create and maintain a good gut environment. Get ready for an invigorating exploration created to help you uncover more of who you already are and what you need to thrive forward. In this episode, you’ll discover:·     What you can do to prevent disease and depression with healthy eating·     Why eating more whole foods and less processed foods matters·     How creating a healthy gut microbiome improves mental performance Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(02:00) How nutrition serves us well as we age03:20 Applying what we know about nutrition for elite athletes to the average person(04:00) The journey from eating less processed foods to eating more whole foods(04:45) Shop the perimeter but stay focused on the actual fruits and vegetables(05:54) North American diet includes about 70% of calories from processed foods(06:07) Forget about the amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats(07:45) Why your body doesn’t like heated up in the microwave sorts of foods(08:10) Overeating processed foods, storing fat, and appetite signals(09:00) The relationship between fast foods and depression(10:20) How the bacteria in the gut called the microbiome impacts the brain and its neurotransmitters(11:22) Patterns of eating impact our predisposition to mental wellness conditions long-term(13:00) What happens in the gut changes how we feel(15:12) The role of probiotics in maintaining a healthy gut environment(16:28) Probiotic strain specificity(18:10) How do you know if you have a healthy gut?(20:31) Correlating changes in microbiome with psychological profile(23:00) How to measure gut microbiome and when to do this test(26:12) Eat 30 different kinds of plants within a seven-day period(29:20) How to get in touch with Dr. Shawn Talbot There is no AI generated content in this podcast. This has been created by subject matter expert Cheryl Jones. Partners:Produced by Creative Audio Music (https://creativeaudiomusic.com/home)Music courtesy of APM Music (https://www.apmmusic.com/)Intro and outro voiceover by Liz Solar (https://lizsolar.com/embark-podcast/)Recording studio provided by Ultrasound Productions (https://ultrasoundproductions.com/about) Resources:https://doctalbott.com/ (https://doctalbott.com/)https://www.thrivingwithcheryljones.