Patrick Holford is a author, researcher and spokesman on nutrition and mental health, and as founder and CEO of the UK charity Food for the Brain, he is leading an unprecedented mission to help the public to improve their brain health through better nutrition.

Spreading the word about declining IQ scores across the globe since the 1970s, Holford advocates for a diet high in fats and essential vitamins and minerals, as he argues the drop in intellect stems from diets based around complex carbs and sugar.

“There have actually been three government reports since 2010 that have rated mental health problems as the number one most expensive and urgent health issue… and this reflects the fact that depression, autism, ADHD, dementia, are all on the increase.

“Studies on the IQ are showing about a 7% decrease in IQ per generation since the 1970’s so something is going seriously wrong.”

He adds: “We have a massive increase in children’s mental health problems and in some parts of the UK 50% of women are on antidepressants… so it is a major issue.

“It is extraordinary that it’s not being addressed and that’s one of the reasons why, at Food For The Brai,n we’re making as much noise as we can.”

His charity is now using at home blood spot tests alongside digital cognitive health questionnaires to analyse the nutrition and cognition status of thousands of participants.

Providing these participants with nutrition advice and building a huge databank to back its cause, the charity hopes to catalyse a widespread shift in perceptions around mental and cognitive health.

Listen to this podcast with NutraIngredients Europe Editor Nikki Hancocks, for the full details.