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Your Brain on Back-to-School Stress? There’s a Science for That.
Life Alive x Dr. Uma Naidoo's 'Open Your Mind Challenge' turns nutrition science into a game plan for a boosted mind and mood.
By Dr. Uma Naidoo
September marks a significant transition for students. The carefree vibe of summer gets replaced by syllabi, deadlines, and that familiar knot in your stomach about everything ahead. If you're feeling it, you're not alone—recent research shows that anxiety and depression are very common among college students, with about one in three to one in two students reporting
symptoms.
Here’s what may surprise you: your gut might be the key to handling it all better.
I'm a Harvard-trained Nutritional Psychiatrist, and I've spent years studying how food affects mental health. In my research and in my book Calm Your Mind with Food, I’ve discovered that your brain and gut are intricately connected. They developed from the same cell when you were in utero and stayed connected through the vagus nerve your entire life. Even more eye-opening? About 90% of your body's serotonin (the "feel good" chemical) gets made in your gut, not your brain.
Translation: what you eat directly impacts how you feel, think, and handle stress.
That's why I partnered with Life Alive Organic Cafe, the brand known for its “Eat Positive. Live Positive” philosophy, to create the Open Your Mind Challenge. The four-week challenge outlines simple, science-backed food habits that can genuinely change how you feel.
Dr. Uma Naidoo
The Gut-Brain Connection: Your Secret Weapon
Think of your gut-brain axis like a sophisticated communication network between your digestive system and your mind. This two-way highway doesn't just process food—it processes emotions, stress responses, and cognitive function. Your gut microbiome contains trillions of bacteria that produce neurotransmitters, metabolize nutrients into brain-supporting compounds, and directly influence inflammation levels throughout your body.
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Here's what this means for students: when your gut microbiome is diverse and balanced, you get clearer thinking, stable energy, and better stress resilience. When it's disrupted by poor diet, lack of sleep, or chronic stress, you can experience brain fog, mood swings, and that overwhelmed feeling that makes everything harder.
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The great news? By making small, intentional shifts to how we eat, we can support a thriving gut microbiome, and in turn, nourish our brains.
Here's how to do it:
The Open Your Mind Challenge: Four Weeks to Better Mental Health
Week 1: Eat the Rainbow (5 Colors Daily)
When it comes to gut health, variety is everything. Each color in plant foods represents a different set of nutrients and beneficial plant compounds, particularly polyphenols, which act as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. By eating a rainbow of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices, you’re not only keeping meals exciting, you’re also providing a wide array of prebiotics to feed your beneficial gut bacteria.
Week 2: Boost Your Fiber Intake (Gradually)
Fiber is one of the most underrated superfoods. Fiber is the favorite fuel of our gut microbes. When we eat more fiber, we feed the beneficial bacteria that keep our gut lining healthy, regulate inflammation, and even produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that are linked to improved mood and cognitive function.
Unfortunately, most Americans fall far short of the recommended 25–38 grams of fiber per day. If you are currently consuming low amounts of fiber, the trick is to add it gradually because jumping too quickly can cause bloating or discomfort as your microbiome adjusts.
Simple ways to add more fiber:
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Swap white rice for quinoa or farro.
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Add lentils, beans, or chickpeas to your salads.
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Snack on raspberries, pears, or apples with skin.
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Sprinkle ground flaxseed or chia seeds into smoothies or yogurt.
By the end of this week, aim to make fiber a natural part of every meal. Your gut (and brain) will thank you.
Week 3: Rebalance with Omega-3s
One of the most common dietary imbalances in the modern Western world is the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. When metabolized, omega-6 fatty acids have an inflammatory effect on the body while omega-3s are antiinflammatory. Ideally, this ratio of these two fats should be somewhere between 1:1 and 4:1. But today, thanks to an overabundance of processed seed oils (like soybean, corn, and sunflower oil) and too little omega-3-rich foods (like wild caught fatty fish, nuts and seeds), the average person’s ratio is closer to 15:1 or even 20:1. This shift has been linked to the rise in chronic inflammation.
Inflammation in the body doesn’t just affect physical health; it’s also closely linked to depression, anxiety, and brain fog. Increasing omega-3 intake can help restore balance, reduce inflammation, and support the building blocks of brain cells.
Where to find omega-3s:
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Seafood: Salmon, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies are top sources.
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Plant-based options: Flaxseeds, chia seeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, and algae-based supplements.
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Smart swaps: Cook with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil instead of seed oils when possible.
Even one or two servings of fatty fish per week can make a meaningful difference in inflammation levels and support your gut-brain connection.
Week 4: Add Fermented Foods Daily
Fermented foods are one of the most powerful ways to introduce beneficial probiotics into your diet. These foods, which include yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, and kombucha, naturally contain live microbes that can help replenish, diversify and strengthen your gut microbiome.
Research shows that regularly consuming fermented foods not only boosts gut health but also reduces inflammation and supports better communication between the gut and brain.
If fermented foods are new for you, start slowly:
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Add a spoonful of sauerkraut to a salad.
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Pair kimchi with scrambled eggs or grain bowls.
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Enjoy unsweetened yogurt with berries as a snack.
Try adding one serving each day and gradually adding more if your body responds well.
Your Liquid Study Break: The Open Your Mind Smoothie
I worked with Life Alive's Head of Culinary Innovation, Chef Dylan Mendelsohn, to create a collab smoothie that tastes amazing while hitting all the brain-boosting notes: fiber-rich blueberries and pineapple, anti-inflammatory ginger, focus-enhancing lion's mane mushroom, and probiotic coconut yogurt and topped with a blissfully sweet and tart blueberry foam.
Harvard students can enjoy $3 off this smoothie before September 30th with the single-use code 'CRIMSON'—consider this my back-to-school welcome gift. Use this code online at checkout or mention it at the register exclusively at our Life Alive Cafe Harvard Square location at 22 JFK St in Cambridge.
Expires September 30th
Get 3$ Off the
Open Your Mind Smoothie
with code 'CRIMSON'
Putting It All Together
By following this four-week challenge, you’re giving your gut and your brain exactly what they need to thrive!
These changes don’t have to be overwhelming or restrictive. Instead, think of them as simple, nourishing upgrades that build on each other week by week. Over time, they’ll become habits that naturally support your mental health, energy, and resilience.
Ready to start the challenge? Grab a "Mind Mood Passport" at any Life Alive location or download it here. And tag @lifealivecafe and @drumanaidoo on Instagram for weekly giveaway entries.
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Dr. Uma Naidoo is a Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist, professional chef, Nutritional Biologist and author. She founded the first hospital-based Nutritional Psychiatry Service in the U.S. and directs Nutritional, Lifestyle & Metabolic Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, combining cutting-edge science and culinary expertise to explore how food impacts mental health.