Episode #66: Nine tenets to building mental fitness, with Drew Ramsey, MD

Drew Ramsey, MD, is a leading board-certified integrative psychiatrist, best-selling author and leading proponent of nutritional psychiatry and mental fitness. He served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeon for twenty years. He also founded the Brain Food Clinic in New York City, a digital mental health practice, and Spruce Mental Health in Jackson, Wyoming. Using the latest research along with decades of clinical experience, he hopes to help people improve their mental health and build resilient mental fitness.

Drew is a sought-after speaker, conducts workshops nationally, and his work has been featured throughout the media. He co-hosts the Men’s Health Magazine series Friday Sessions and has delivered three TEDx talks, a video series with Big Think, and the BBC documentary Food on the Brain. His work and writing have been featured by The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Lancet Psychiatry, TIME and NPR.

Drew’s books have helped establish nutritional psychiatry and explore the connection between food and mental health: the international best-seller Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety (HarperWave 2021), now translated into 9 languages; the award-winning cookbook Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients that Fuel Brain Power, Boost Weight Loss and Transform Your Health (HarperWave 2016); the bestseller 50 Shades of Kale (HarperWave 2013), and The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood and Lean, Energized Body (Rodale 2011). His latest book is Healing the Modern Brain: Nine Tenets to Build Mental Fitness and Revitalize Your Mind (March 2025). 

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• Forthcoming book: Healing the Modern Brain: Nine Tenets to Build Mental Fitness and Revitalize Your Mind (March 2025)
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Timestamps:

[00:03:36] Mental fitness and health.

[00:09:53] Mental fitness and modern challenges.

[00:10:24] Modern mental health strategies.

[00:19:04] Lifestyle medicine and self-awareness.

[00:24:05] Connection and mental fitness.

[00:31:18] Nature's impact on mental health.

[00:38:13] Hedonism vs. Eudaimonia.

[00:45:07] Dopamine and pleasure balance.

[00:55:03] Goals for mental health.