Real Food Recovery Podcast

Ultra-Processed Food Use Disorder: Insights with Dr. David Wiss

In this eye-opening episode of the Real Food Recovery Podcast, hosts Paige Alexander and Jamie Morgan Reno talk with Dr. David Wiss, a mental health scientist and registered dietitian nutritionist, about the relationship between ultra-processed foods and mental health, addiction recovery, and the path to healing through nutritional approaches.

The Journey from Personal Healing to Professional Purpose

Dr. David Wiss, founder of Nutrition and Recovery in Los Angeles and creator of the Wise Mind Nutrition app, shared his powerful journey from personal health crisis to becoming a pioneer in nutrition and recovery work.

“I had a profound change in my own journey through nutrition, exercise, abstinence-based recovery from substance use disorder, spirituality, meditation, sunlight, sleep, water—all the things,” Dr. Wiss explained. “I transformed rapidly, and I really mean over the course of a year, which is pretty rapid in the life course.”

This transformation wasn’t just physical but extended to his relationships and how others perceived him. “People started feeling safe around me,” he noted, highlighting how healing his nervous system and reducing inflammation changed how he moved through the world.

The Mind-Body Connection in Recovery

A central theme throughout the conversation was the deep connection between physical nutrition and mental health recovery. Dr. Wiss emphasized how inflammation, nervous system health, and gut health directly impact our mental state and ability to trust ourselves.

“The disorder is associated with self-doubt, and it makes sense because we break so many contracts with ourselves,” he shared. “When you get into recovery, it’s normal that for a while you would still go back to self-doubt… It might take a while for your brain to actually have a go-to of ‘No, you’re safe. You’re on the right path.'”

This process of rebuilding self-trust becomes a cornerstone of recovery, allowing access to logical thinking and the ability to make better long-term decisions.

Understanding Ultra-Processed Food Use Disorders

Dr. Wiss brings a nuanced perspective to understanding food addiction, preferring to frame it as “ultra-processed food use disorders” and approaching it as both an individual health concern and a public health issue.

“I’ve shifted away from classic nutrition education… We’ve operated under this assumption that people need more information, and it’s information that’s going to lead to behavior change,” he explained. Instead, Dr. Wiss advocates for value-based eating—helping people eat in ways aligned with their personal values.

Rather than just focusing on ingredients or calories, he helps people recognize the larger system at play: “When I teach people that there are corporations making products more addictive and targeting them… it’s more about teaching someone, ‘Hey, this system is kind of set up for you to lose, and the corporations get to win, and they do so at the expense of public health.'”

The Chicken or the Egg: Mental Health and Ultra-Processed Foods

When asked whether mental health issues cause poor eating habits or if ultra-processed foods contribute to mental health problems, Dr. Wiss pointed to compelling research showing a bidirectional relationship—with strong evidence that diet impacts mental health.

“In the last few years, we’ve had some really good longitudinal data that suggests regular consumption of ultra-processed food contributes to the development of different mental health conditions—depression being the most commonly cited in the literature,” he noted. “The data supporting the role of nutrition in depression is pretty convincing because it’s dose-response, it’s longitudinal… and we also have several randomized controlled trials showing that reducing ultra-processed food improves depression.”

Making America Healthy Again: Confronting Industry Influence

Dr. Wiss discussed his support for the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, seeing it as aligned with his career-long efforts to address conflicts of interest in nutrition guidance and policy.

“My spirit has always felt unsettled, knowing that these things go on,” he shared, referring to commercial interests influencing health recommendations. “What I connect with is the revolutionary part of it—let’s turn the system upside down, let’s get corrupt actors out of Washington, let’s end the revolving door between industry and the regulatory agencies.”

Dr. Wiss believes his background positions him uniquely to bridge gaps in the conversation: “I’m one of the few people that knows both of those worlds really well… I really just want to be the guy to bridge the gap, to say we know how to satisfy this group, we know how to get this message out, we know how to say the truth without being controversial.”

Keys to Long-Term Recovery Success

For listeners struggling with their relationship with food, Dr. Wiss offered crucial advice for sustainable recovery: develop a positive relationship with food rather than seeing it as the enemy.

“If you want to heal and recover, you’ve got to fall in love with food in a new way,” he advised. “I don’t think that there’s a really good shot if you can’t walk the grocery store and start to experience some excitement or joy for this amazing food that you get to eat.”

Dr. Wiss challenged the notion that food restriction or complicated meal plans are the answer: “The solution is in eating. It’s not in not eating. It’s actually in eating—it’s just eating differently, eating the right foods, and learning how to eat foods that you enjoy and that also love you back.”

Resources for Your Recovery Journey

Dr. Wiss’s Wise Mind Nutrition app offers comprehensive support for those looking to heal their relationship with food. The app includes educational modules, assignments, reflection options, a food journal, nightly reviews, meditations, cooking classes, and recipes.

“If you want to heal your ruptured relationship with food, it’s gonna take some work,” Dr. Wiss emphasized. “Let’s spend 15 minutes a day. Let’s do the journaling. Let’s share. Let’s put in the necessary work so that you never need to seek nutrition-related treatment again.”

For more information, visit:

• Wise Mind Nutrition
• Nutrition in Recovery