Professor Jane Plant, in a controversial new book, proposes a number of unorthodox treatments for the millions of Brits suffering from depression and anxiety.
One in six people can expect to experience depression at some point in their lives, while around 2.4 million are affected by an anxiety disorder.
Antidepressants alone cost the health service £300 million a year, even though a recent study showed taking Prozac and similar pills have little effect.
Rather than just being prescribed a diet of pills such as Prozac, Plant and co-author Janet Stephenson advise their readers to get a taste for seaweed and sushi, treat yourself to a smoothie, and send fewer text messages.
Plant is a professor of environmental geochemistry at Imperial College, London, is the government's chief adviser on toxic chemicals and a trustee of Prince Charles's Foundation for Integrated Medicine, while Stephenson is an NHS psychologist.
In "Beating Stress, Anxiety and Depression", the authors urge a radical overhaul of the way the NHS treats the increasingly large number of people with some form of mood disorder.
They advise sufferers to eat an increased amount of kippers or poached haddock for breakfast because they contain omega-3 fatty acids.
They write: "We do not agree with the usual advice to 'keep taking your medication and eventually all will be well, because doctor knows best'.
"We challenge many of the conventions in the treatment of mental illness."
They recommend people with low self-esteem to avoid celebrity culture, while also allowing yourself to get a new hairstyle or clothes in an attempt to improve self-confidence.
In the latest issue of journal Science in Parliament, former president of the British Medical Association Lord Walton of Detchant, praised the authors for an "admirable book, which would do much to alleviate the fear, helplessness and hopelessness which many feel when suffering from mental ill-health.
"Many sufferers from stress, anxiety and depression will find invaluable information, guidance and comfort."