In the NEM Practitioner Series Dr Shami, Integrative GP and ACNEM Vice President, speaks with medical and health specialists who are practicing nutritional and environmental medicine (NEM), to get their personal insights and learn how their approach is transforming lives.
In this 15-minute interview Dr Shami chats with Integrative GP Professor Julia Rucklidge about:
- Dr Rucklidge’s journey into nutrition as a psychologist, while undertaking her PhD
- Why it’s important for academics to be open-minded and sometimes go down rabbit holes that aren’t always comfortable
- Why the average person’s food intake is not adequately feeding the brain
- How do you influence dietary changes with your patients, and how quickly do you see results?
- How the Christchurch Earthquake, and other major stressor events, have impacted the people of New Zealand
- Why being well nourished can future-proof your body so it is more resilient to stressor events
- 80% of GP consultations are due to stress (American Institute of Stress)
- Prof Rucklidge’s personal health regime
Professor Julia Rucklidge, PhD
Professor Julia Rucklidge, PhD is a 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 6 years, she has been investigating the role of micronutrients in the expression of mental illness, specifically ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, anxiety and more recently, stress and PTSD associated with the Canterbury earthquakes.