Prime Highlights :
- Jacka’s 2017 SMILES trial was the first to show diet improvement could reduce depression symptoms.
- She said overall dietary patterns matter more than individual ingredients or trends.
Key Facts :
- Jacka is Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, Australia.
- L’Oréal and Shiseido are researching the skin-brain connection in beauty science.
Background :
Dr. Felice Jacka, Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University in Australia and founder of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research, was honoured at the 2026 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards, recognising her decade-long work linking diet to mental health.
Jacka, credited with establishing the field of nutritional psychiatry, said the recognition reflected a broader shift in how wellness was understood across industries, moving beyond cosmetic concerns toward brain, body and long-term health.
Her research has consistently shown that people with healthier diets experience lower rates of depression and anxiety, even after accounting for income, education and smoking. In 2017, she led the SMILES trial, the first randomised controlled study to show that improved diet could meaningfully reduce symptoms of clinical depression, with participants receiving dietary support showing greater improvement than those given only social support.
The beauty industry has begun exploring similar territory, with companies including L’Oréal and Shiseido investing in neuroscience research on the skin-brain connection and how stress and emotion affect skin health.
Jacka noted that chronic inflammation played a role in depression, heart disease, cognitive decline and skin ageing, but cautioned against chasing single ingredients or trends. She said overall dietary patterns mattered more than isolated interventions, and that no supplement could offset a diet high in ultra-processed food. She added that brands could make real impact by reformulating products, funding independent research and supporting access to whole foods.
