Episode 132: Ally Houston

<p class="MsoNormal">Ally Houston is a former physicist who fixed his brain with food. After suffering from ADHD, seasonal depression, chronic anxiety, and a host of other metabolic problems, a paleo ketogenic diet and lifestyle change resulted in a quantum leap in his health. The effect was so profound that he switched career. He is now a metabolic mental health coach trained by PreKure and Dr. Georgia Ede.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Molly Painschab and Clarissa Kennedy (and I) asked Ally Houston about how changing his diet changed his life and career. Ally shared his story of how he was quite unwell from a young age and how his physics professor suggested he try a low carb diet. After trying it, Ally experienced a huge transformation in his mental health, gut health, and weight control. This led him to change his career to metabolic mental health coaching, helping people with food and mood, nutritional psychiatry, and depression and anxiety.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ally believes that there is a cultural component to why men are less likely to self-identify as food addicts, and that it is hard for them to admit they have a problem. He believes that if food addiction is recognized in the DSM, it will allow people to embrace it more and be more open about it. He also believes that meeting people where they are is important, and that understanding the mechanism of addiction can help people to make changes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ally shares his approach to avoiding giving unsolicited advice and talks about his experiments with different diets. He also discusses his podcast, Youtube channel, and book, which focus on mental health and nutrition science.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Ally discussed the importance of finding an individualized diet that works for each person, emphasizing the need to find foods that both taste good and are beneficial for one's health. He also discussed the importance of having hope and believing that things can get better.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style= "margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: nor