Virtual—On January 20-21, 2020, WholeFoods Magazine and Trust Transparency Center will host our next virtual event in the #NaturallyInformed series: Mental Wellness: Mastering the Market. This event will cover a range of pressing topics focused on boosting brainpower with strategies such as nootropics and brain hacking, as well as fostering mental wellbeing by enhancing stress resilience, elevating mood, and more, with insights for retailers, brands, suppliers, healthcare practitioners (actually everyone in the natural products industry!). There's so much I'm looking forward to over the course of the two days, and I wanted to give you a glimpse of some of the topics I'm especially jazzed about on day 2, which I will be moderating. I hope you'll join me for this event, which is free thanks to our sponsors (champion sponsor NutriScience, partner sponsor ChildLife, and content supporter Euromonitor).

1. Exploring nutritional psychiatry: A keynote by Uma Naidoo, M.D, author of This Is Your Brain on Food. Recently on Instagram, Dr. Naidoo shared, "The ongoing uncertainty and instability in our world has led to mirrored instability for many of us in our mental health. But while we can’t control the circumstances, we can control our lifestyles, including what we’re eating, and how we let that affect our brain." Dr. Naidoo brings her unique perspective as a Harvard psychiatrist and trained professional chef, and I can't wait to hear what she has to say!
2. Spotlighting psychedelic therapy. David Bronner will fill us in on how psychedelic-assisted therapy can help heal epidemics of depression, PTSD, and more, and discuss how Dr. Bronner's Heal Soul campaign supported various efforts and organizations working to integrate these medicines and therapies. I've had a sneak-peak at David's presentation, and I can tell you Psychedelic Therapy: Healing Hearts, Minds and Souls is a must-watch!
3. Addressing workplace stress—a panel on our current reality. 2020 was hard. 2021 isn't looking so hot either. Our three panelists for Creating a Healthier, Happier (and Successful!) Workplace—Michelle Canada, Tim Salau "Mr. Future of Work" and Ruth C. White, Ph.D.—are going to discuss stress management; preventing burnout and compassion fatigue; fostering diversity, equity and inclusion; and more. In the talks I've already had with them, I know this session is going to be incredibly valuable for all of us throughout the industry.
4. Stress, Sleep & Immune Health. I'm tired. For real. Stressed too. So in addition to loving that we are delivering this informative session to all of you, I am personally looking forward to everything I'm going to learn at New Ashwagandha Research for Stress, Sleep & Immune Health. Dr. Michael Lelah is going to discuss how stress effects sleep and immune health and how this adaptogen can benefit overall emotional wellbeing. It's going to be an info-packed session!
5. Networking Happy Hour! I'm looking forward to connecting with industry friends for a game of trivia and to raise a glass. We have two signature drinks: Green Comfort featuring green tea, which is rich in polyphenols and has been known to help reduce stress, and Care-Free Choco-tini, with stress-soothing chocolate. Get the recipes here.

Check out the full schedule for the two-day event here—we're going to cover a lot of ground, and we have even more world-class speakers lined up, as well as intimate breakout sessions for networking and brainstorming each day. Save your spot. You won't want to miss it!