about the project
Mental health begins in biology.
Mental symptoms are not character flaws. Whether it’s a diagnosed illnes or ‘just’ low motivation, irritability or exhaustion : they are signs of a brain and body under biological stress.
An inflamed brain cannot think, feel, focus, sleep, connect, or regulate the way it was designed to.
Many modern mental health problems are rooted in neuroinflammation — inflammation in the brain driven by gut dysfunction, systemic inflammation, immune activation, disrupted light signals, mitochondrial dysfunction and a nervous system receiving inputs it was never designed for.
The Primal Mind Project offers a revolutionary, biology-first approach to mental health, grounded in evolutionary science and the wisdom of our ancestors.
Not managing symptoms.
But changing the biological conditions that create them.
About me
My name is Marit Verwer, mom of 2. My background is in developmental psychology, with thirteen years of experience in youth care and child and adolescent psychiatry. I am also a certified health coach at Institute of Integrative Nutrition.
14 years ago, coming forth from my own experience as a mother, I went looking for alternative explanations for 'behavioral problems'. I began to learn about the link between food and mental health. I can safely say this knowledge has changed our lives. A few years later I began working with food-based interventions for children and families struggling with ADHD and behavioral challenges. The results were striking — when the approach was followed with real precision. That taught me something important: biology does not respond to half a message.
Over time, so much new and revolutionary knowledge has emerged about how our body works, identifying factors that can worsen symptoms, speed up healing or allow for healing on a deeper level. Hence my work expanded beyond food alone into a broader evolutionary framework: gut health, inflammation, metabolism, light, rhythm, dopamine, mitochondrial energy, and natural environmental signals.
Why I started this project
The Primal Mind Project aims to shift the mental health paradigm.
Bringing together evolutionary science, gut-brain biology, circadian biology, metabolic health, and natural healing to show that many mental health problems are NOT lifelong defects of the mind, but biological responses to inflammation, gut dysfunction, information mismatch, and modern environmental stress. This knowledge belongs in the world.
Parents need it. Children need it. Adults need it. Practitioners need it.
Because when we understand the biology beneath mental suffering, we stop asking people to simply cope with symptoms — and start restoring the conditions that allow the brain to heal.