In this webinar, we discuss whether there is evidence for diet as an addition to medication for bipolar disorder, the idea that bipolar disorder often involves metabolic factors, as well as changes in day/night rhythms, and diets that might help target those issues. Another topic discussed is the current level of evidence for the Mediterranean diet, time-restricted eating, and the keto diet.
Dr. Sheri Johnson is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California Berkeley, where she runs the Cal Mania (CALM) program. She is co-author/co-editor of six books, including “Bipolar Disorder for the Newly Diagnosed” and 275 other manuscripts. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Association for Behavioral Medicine Research, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (2013-2014). Her most recent study focuses on the benefits of healthy lifestyles as an adjunct to medication for people with bipolar disorder. In her spare time, she enjoys baking sourdough bread and traveling.
Robert Villanueva, based in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, is an international mental health advocate, speaker and mentor in arena of lived experience of bipolar disorder. His advocacy journey began over 25 years ago when he received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, prompting him to confront the stigma surrounding mental illness. Robert collaborates with researchers, academics, and policymakers both in the United States and globally, providing insights drawn from his own journey and representing the often-overlooked voices of the “ordinary” population affected by mental health conditions. He currently chairs the lived experience advisory board for the “Healthy Lifestyles with Bipolar Disorder” research study at the University of California, Berkeley’s CALM program.
The CALM program at UC Berkeley has just launched a new international study comparing the benefits of Time-Restricted Eating and the Mediterranean Diet for bipolar disorder. You can learn more about the study and getting involved, here.