Probably The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The illustrations have a lovely graphic quality to them and, as a woman with a good appetite, I felt I had found a kindred spirit very early on in life. What’s your favourite book now? We all know that as a nation our mental health is in crisis. But what most don't know is that a critical ingredient in this debate, and a crucial part of the solution - what we eat - is being ignored. The author's first book, How to Build a Healthy Brain, is a good book and worth the price. I have trouble describing what this new book is trying to achieve. The author spends so much time on a soap box moaning and moaning about the current government that I just had to keep taking breaks. I am no fan of the Tories but please the title of the book is not 'Why I hate Tories'. Memories are often fallible. We often forget difficult times. Part of therapy is re-evaluating and reframing memories in light of new information. It’s less about what happened and more about how we understand it. The idea that your diet affects your brain is not ground-breaking. But Wilson argues that what we eat not only has an impact on our mood, but affects our brain function at every stage of life: from before life begins, in pregnancy, to reducing the impact of cognitive decline in old age.

If you are hoping to conceive or are currently pregnant or have young children then the book has some merit. If you are, like me, middle aged then you may as well give up all hope as the author does not give you any.

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In the third (and largest) part of the book, she explains the harmful role of (excess) sugar, ultra-processed foods and alcohol in the health of the brain throughout one’s life (from conception to old age). She then discusses research studies which have shown improvement in mental health (mood and ADHD) symptoms as a result of a better diet. She specifically discusses prison studies that have shown reduced levels of aggression following simple nutritional interventions. In the last two parts of the book, she examines the links between nutritional deficiencies and dementia, as well as the potential pitfalls of veganism.

A brain-healthy diet doesn’t have to be complicated. Wilson’s go-to is porridge for breakfast: “I use a few different grains in it and top it with raisins and cranberries or chopped apple.” Oats are rich in fibre and nutrient-dense. As recent research suggests, you should be aiming for 30 plants per week – fruit, nuts and seeds all count towards that target. The high-profile SMILEs trial (“supporting the modification of lifestyle in lowered emotional states”) published in 2017 found that, among a group of 67 people with depression and a poor diet, those who switched to a Mediterranean-style diet were four times more likely to recover and also experienced reduced anxiety symptoms.

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I am not sure I could choose a single favourite. The books I love tend to have served different purposes over time. In the running would be Like Water for Chocolate, Don Quixote, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Man’s Search for Meaning and On the Shortness of Life. What do you think are the key ingredients of a good book? I’m incredibly conscious of the shortness of life. It’s why I take risks and try new things: I’ve done parachute jumps, paraglided solo in Nepal. I want to taste the whole human experience. I want that for my patients, too. To help them repair what is damaged, move on from what is ended, heal from pain, but also to see the opportunities in the here and now, and to make fun a key part of living. I rather like food, as I imagine many of you do too. As a result, the bold title of Kimberley Wilson’s book, ‘Unprocessed: How the food we eat is fuelling our mental health crisis’ caught my attention. Kimberley Wilson is a British psychologist (and Great British Bake Off contestant) with an expertise in nutrition who has written a fascinating book about the influence of food on our mental and physical health. However, Wilson doesn’t limit herself to the issue of health. The pursuit of social justice is also a significant motivation as the relationship between diet and socio-economic disadvantage frequently feature within her book. Wilson is unafraid to display her political views, with damning polemics accompanying her well researched and constructed arguments. Appetiser: What should we be eating? What if, instead of starting with your stress levels, work and relationships, a therapist asked you what you had for lunch? Unprocessed: How the food we eat is fuelling our mental health crisis by Kimberley Wilson is published by WH Allen.