When I wrote my first book, This is Your Brain on Food, I had no idea that it would resonate so widely, and I feel so blessed that it has launched my work in mental health into the world more boldly than anything I could achieve within the confines of my clinic. My second book has been a journey to truly reaching those struggling with anxiety, a condition that inserts itself across every demographic. So I want to acknowledge every single patient, friend, family member, and colleague who shared their anxiety, which taught me so much and helped me develop the protocol of this book—that there is hope, that nutrition and the food we eat are the power at the end of our work.
To my oncology and surgical team: Dr. Eric Winer, Drs. Tari King, Adrienne Gropper Waks, Jennifer McKenna, NP, and all the staff at Dana-Farber (Boston) who helped me reach the survivorship landmark as I wrote this book.
My agents: Celeste, Sarah, Mia, Emily, and their entire team at PFLM who brought this book to life and rallied with me to make This Is Your Brain on Food a classic that is now backlisted.
My editor, Tracy: I feel blessed that she selected me, an unknown MD-author with a niche message in nutritional psychiatry—thanks for believing in my first book and for your ongoing encouragement.
Thanks to the entire team at Little Brown, Spark / Hachette: Jess, Jules, Karina, and the amazing foreign rights team. A very big thank-you to William—how fortunate I am to have worked closely with you another time.
To my mentors in science, medicine, psychiatry, and nutrition at Harvard and beyond: for standing by me and encouraging me every step of the way. People often find this an enigma, yet I’ve been fortunate to have all of you throughout my career.
To the Massachusetts General Psychiatry Academy: Dr. David Rubin, Jane Pimental, Shauna Futch, and the entire team: thank you for your enduring support in helping me bring forward the world’s first academic course in nutritional and metabolic psychiatry at Harvard.
I was very honored to meet HRH the former Prince of Wales. He suggested we need clear guidance for the public on what healthy food is, and this led to the UK Food for Mood Campaign.
To Dr. Dixon, Amanda King, and the entire team at the UK College of Medicine: thank you for working with me to amplify the Food for Mood Campaign.
My team, who are true gems and who love this work as much as I do and work hard to share this with the world: Olivia, Andrea, Roshini, Connor, Vina, Tanusha, Sayuj and team, Angela Jill, and Alexis.
Finally, I could not have written this book without my besties, Srini, Rajiv, and Denise.
A big thank-you to my entire family: my late dad; my mum, who is still an absolute superstar at everything; my siblings, Vahini, Hesh, and Vishy. To my beloved late aunty Nimi, who passed away suddenly prior to this book being released: thank you for the cookbook you bought me and all that you taught me; I miss you terribly. To the rest of my lovely family: Kamil, Laura, Namitha, Nag, Sashen, and Sayuri. To Oisín, Orin, and Nyra, who are beautiful reminders that food is love, even when it’s healthy food!