More than once in his Current Psychiatry essays, Henry A. Nasrallah, MD, has stressed the seismic paradigmatic shifts in our understanding of mental illness and brain disease. He has highlighted the critical significance of processes of neurogenesis and neuroinflammation, yet little has been offered to practitioners in terms of practical approaches to promoting the brain health that he encourages.
Two of the most potent modalities for maintaining brain wellness and facilitating ongoing neurogenesis and synaptogenesis are exercise and nutrition—specifically, high-intensity interval training and a diet heavily, if not entirely, plant-based. The neuroprotective capabilities of mindfulness practice and its impact on prefrontal cortical regions also are relevant.
In society at large, it strikes me that physicians have not fared any better than the general population when it comes to maintaining a healthy diet and engaging in physical exercise. I encourage Dr. Nasrallah to continue addressing these themes, and to remind his audience of physicians to “heal thyself.”