Fuel Your Mind: Nourishing Mental Health Through Food Choices

Join us this Mental Health Month for an enlightening webinar that explores the powerful connection between what we eat and how we feel. "Fuel Your Mind" will delve into the fascinating relationship between nutrition and mental wellbeing, while highlighting the positive changes happening right here on UNSW campuses.

What you'll discover:

How your daily food choices directly impact both your mental and physical health
The surprising ways our campus environment shapes what we eat
Exciting new initiatives UNSW has implemented to make healthier, more diverse, and affordable food options easily accessible to students and staff

Whether you're looking to boost your mood through better nutrition, understand the psychology behind food choices, or simply want to learn about the improved dining options available across UNSW campuses, this webinar offers valuable insights for everyone in our university community.

Perfect for students, staff, and anyone interested in the intersection of food, environment, and mental health. No prior knowledge required – just bring your curiosity and appetite for learning!

Panelists:

Dr Miaobing (Jazzmin) Zheng

Dr Zheng is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales. She is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritional Epidemiologist with research focuses on understanding the role of dietary factors in programming of health and disease across the lifespan. Her research is supported by an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (ARC DECRA) fellowship (2024-present) and was previously supported by an Australian National Health Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Research Fellowship (2017-2023). She is the chair of the Australian New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS) Early-and Mid-Career researchers subcommittee, and the council member and Chapters/Special Interest Groups coordinator of Australasian Epidemiological Association.

Justin Di Lucca

Justin Di Lucca is Retail Strategy Manager at UNSW. As part of the Asset Management team, Justin leads the development & implementation of the retail strategy to optimise the retail landscape across campus. Specific initiatives focus on addressing key feedback provided by the campus population, to increase and improve availability of nutritious and affordable food options for staff and students. The goals of the retail strategy feed into the broader framework of the Asset Management campus planning. With a background in commercial property, and experience across retail leasing, transformation, strategy and operations, at major landlords such as Mirvac and Stockland, Justin brings strong retail specific experience to the broader Estate Management team.

Jason Wu

I am a Professor and the Head of the Nutrition Science Program at the George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales. My research and teaching focuses on reducing diet-related chronic diseases through implementing innovative ‘Food is Medicine’ interventions, modelling the health and economic impact of food policies, and determining the role of dietary factors for disease prevention. I have >200 publications and have received >$20million research funding. I try to get out hiking in the mountains when I can.

Content context: Our mental health is a part of what makes us who we are. Conversations about our mental health can sometimes be difficult but you don’t need to face it alone. Find the support you need to deal with what’s going on in your mind through services like Psychology & Wellness, through a range of helplines or check out UNSW’s range of support services.

Mental Health Month is coordinated by the UNSW Health Promotion Unit in partnership with students and staff across UNSW. We aim to encourage you to build your mental health skills and knowledge to make lifelong positive changes that will support your overall health and wellbeing beyond your time at UNSW.