Welcome to the resource page, where you will find places to learn more about ketogenic diets for mental health.

Table of Contents

Ketogenic Diets for Mental Health Clinician Directory

The practitioners listed in this directory offer clinical services that support the use of ketogenic metabolic therapies for the management of mental health and neurological conditions. You can find it here.

Be sure to check out the Metabolic Mind YouTube Channel!

Check out this informative video from the Metabolic Mind YouTube channel, featuring an experienced psychiatrist discussing the role of the ketogenic diet in tapering medications for conditions such as bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, and anxiety.

This is a must watch resource for providers and patients.

DiagnosisDiet with Nutritional Psychiatrist Georgia Ede, MD

Fantastic science-based blog. Amazing podcasts and videos. She is a well-known speaker and medical educator on the topic of nutrition and mental health.

https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/

Note this particularly excellent blog she wrote on the ketogenic diet and psychiatric medications.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/diagnosis-diet/201803/ketogenic-diets-and-psychiatric-medications

Chris Palmer, MD

Harvard Medical School physician, researcher, consultant, and educator who is passionate about improving the lives of people suffering from mental illness. Videos, podcasts, blog posts, and info on his latest research.

https://www.chrispalmermd.com/

You can learn more about the Metabolic Theory of Mental Illness by ordering Chris Palmer’s book here —> https://brainenergy.com/

KetoNutrition: Science to Application

Such a great resource with so many good parts, but my favorite is the Science and Resource page.

Science & Research

Any podcast by Dom D’Agstino is full of amazing and interesting information.

Podcasts

Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners (SMHP)

Great provider directory to find prescribers who have a knowledge base of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction as an intervention

https://thesmhp.org/membership-account/directory/

Can keto help depression and anxiety?

Underlying mechanisms of depression and anxiety include glucose hypometabolism, neurotransmitter imbalances, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Ketogenic diets are powerful metabolic interventions for mental illness, capable of balancing neurotransmitters, reducing oxidative stress and inflammation, and providing an alternative fuel for the brain known as ketones.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32773571/

Does ketosis affect your mood?

You do not need to eat carbohydrates to regulate your mood. If you are “hangry” it is likely because you have developed insulin resistance. Ketogenic diets help reverse insulin resistance and have a neurotransmitter balancing effect that increases your natural production of GABA and reduces your production of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. It also provides ample fuel for the brain and reduces neuroinflammation. If anything ketosis affects your mood quite positively.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10545-005-5518-0

Does Keto mess up your body?

Keto does not mess up your body. Keto or low-carbohydrate diets, in general, can be used to treat a variety of chronic diseases that are linked to the underlying mechanism of insulin resistance (hyperinsulinemia). Some of these include hypertension, Alzheimer’s Disease, Type II Diabetes, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), Obesity, some Cancers, Dyslipidemia, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, and Asthma. Ketogenic and low-carbohydrate diets help heal and balance your body.

How does your body feel in ketosis?

Once you are past the adaptation phase of 3 to 6 weeks and have consistently reduced carbohydrates for that period of time you will likely begin feeling changes. People report feeling much more energy, a better mood, and fewer aches and pains. They also report that their brain works a lot better with improved cognition and memory.

seniors feeling better on the ketogenic diet

Recent literature on Ketogenic Diet for the Treatment of Mental Illness

Ketogenic diet as a metabolic treatment for mental illness

Summary: It is important that researchers and clinicians are made aware of the trajectory of the evidence for the implementation of ketogenic diets in mental illnesses, as such a metabolic intervention provides not only a novel form of symptomatic treatment, but one that may be able to directly address the underlying disease mechanisms and, in so doing, also treat burdensome comorbidities (see Video, Supplementary Digital Content 1, which summarizes the contents of this review).

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32773571/

Ketogenic therapy in neurodegenerative and Ketogenic Therapy in Serious Mental Illness: Emerging Evidence