New research by a Canterbury University professor reveals that people who eat processed food are at a greater risk of becoming clinically insane. According to research by Julia Rucklidge, the decreasing nutritional value of our food may be contributing to an “epidemic” of mental illness. Nzherald.co.nz reports: Research has shown that eating more fresh foods consistent with a Mediterranean-style diet, and eating less Western foods, could reverse spiralling rates of conditions such as attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and depression. Eleven years ago, when Rucklidge started using vitamins and minerals to treat mental illness, she says people were “completely uninterested”. “Many didn’t believe there was a possibility that nutrition can influence your mental health,” she said. But she was in Auckland this week for her second workshop for professionals at Massey University’s Albany campus after a first workshop in June sold out, and she now gets so many inquiries about her work that she has had to set up a standard email reply. Next week she will speak at three conferences in three days -dietitians on Thursday andpsychologists on Friday, both in Wellington, and the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association in Sydney on Saturday. “Suddenly there is an insatiable demand from people [...]