Research indicates that following a keto diet can be an effective form of metabolic treatment for depression, particularly atypical and treatment-resistant forms. Dr. Erin Bellamy has seen ketogenic therapy’s success through her online program Integrative Ketogenic Research and Therapies (ikrt.org), which helps patients implement a keto diet for mental health conditions and effectively coordinate with their prescriber and health care team for the best treatment outcomes. The length of time it ta...
Mar 11, 2024•33 min
Metabolic dysfunction is the root cause of most noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and mental health conditions. Luckily, simple, practical strategies can improve insulin sensitivity and overall metabolic health, including controlling carbs, eating whole foods rich in protein and fat, and doing resistance training to strengthen muscles. Dr. Ben Bikman is a professor of cell biology and physiolo...
Mar 04, 2024•39 min
DescreiptionIndividuals with bipolar disorder are at an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and obesity, often resulting in a decreased lifespan. Clinicians must address this critical issue. There is a complicated, interconnected set of factors driving this correlation, including: medications that increase cardiometabolic burden, symptoms of the illness itself, as well genetic factors that confer risk for both bipolar disorder and metabolic complications. Dr. Mark Frye has more th...
Feb 26, 2024•43 min
Dr. Uma Naidoo founded and directs the first US hospital-based nutritional psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Naidoo’s work focuses on empowering individuals with dietary strategies that improve overall mental health and conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression and OCD. She is a leading nutritional psychiatrist on the faculty at Harvard Medical School– she also brings unique flair as a professionally trained chef. She feels hopeful about the burgeoning fields of nutritional &...
Feb 19, 2024•41 min
GLP 1 medications, like Wegovy and Ozempic, might serve a purpose as a bridge treatment that enables patients to make positive lifestyle changes, such as implementing a ketogenic diet. This video is the last in our series exploring the potential use of GLP1 medications in psychiatry. While clinical evidence shows benefits for some patients using these medications, helping with both metabolic disease and relief from mental symptoms, they also come with some adverse side effects. Drs. Matthew Bern...
Feb 12, 2024•12 min
The Stanford Twin Study has made headlines suggesting that vegan diets are healthier than omnivore diets, and we would likely all benefit from a more plant-based diet. The problem is that the conclusions are misleading, and the study doesn't actually show that. The true conclusion from this study is that among high carb diets, after eight weeks, those on a vegan diet ate fewer calories, lost more weight and lowered LDL and insulin more than those following a high carb omnivore diet. The Stanford...
Feb 05, 2024•7 min
Do we all have to worry that LDL causes heart disease, or could certain people, like low-carb "lean mass hyper responders" have less concern about LDL and heart risk? A new study from Dave Feldman and Dr. Matt Budoff suggests markedly elevated LDL in the setting of metabolic health and ketosis may not contribute to cardiac plaque and heart disease. While these data are not conclusive, they are highly suggestive and set the stage for future studies in this critically important area. Will this lin...
Jan 31, 2024•41 min
At Metabolic Mind, we often focus on ketogenic therapy as a treatment for severe mental illnesses like bipolar, schizophrenia, and depression. But it’s important to realize that a keto diet can also be a powerful preventative medicine to protect and optimize brain function. Dr. Susan Masino, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Trinity College and the Charles Bullard Fellow in forest research at Harvard Medical School, discusses the therapeutic properties of ketogenic diets and the inte...
Jan 15, 2024•17 min
Is the key to optimizing physical and mental health eating so-called superfoods like dark chocolate, red wine and blueberries? Dr. Georgia Ede, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and metabolic psychiatry pioneer, shares counter-evidence to mainstream views on the optimal human diet. In this interview, she discusses nourishing the brain by eating the right foods, protecting it by staying away from the wrong foods, and energizing it by cultivating a healthy metabolism. Ede argues that the key to heali...
Jan 08, 2024•39 min
Dr. Megan Kirk Chang, Senior Researcher of Medical Science at the University of Oxford, discusses her upcoming trials looking at nutritional interventions: one focuses on ketosis for treatment-resistant depression, and the other will investigate whether the keto diet is as effective as the Mediterranean diet for individuals at risk for developing Alzheimer’s. She has a background in cognitive behavioral therapeutics (CBT), including experience coaching patients through interventions like mindful...
Jan 02, 2024•34 min
GLP1 medications like Wegovy and Ozempic can help with weight loss but may also be able to help with psychiatric symptoms from depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and more. But are GLP1s safe in psychiatry, and how do they compare to nutritional interventions like a ketogenic diet to treat mental health disorders? Dr. Roger McIntrye, a world-renowned psychiatrist and researcher, joins Metabolic Mind to discuss the potential roles of GLP1 medications and ketogenic therapy, and how clinicians a...
Dec 26, 2023•40 min
Ketogenic diets are emerging as an exciting new alternative treatment for bipolar disorder and other psychiatric conditions. Many people may see remission of their psychiatric symptoms and may be able to reduce or eliminate their intake of psychiatric medications. Dr. Iain Campbell, a researcher who lives with Bipolar II, collected survey data from over 100 individuals treating their bipolar disorder with ketogenic therapy. While the data are not at the same level as randomized controlled trials...
Dec 18, 2023•21 min
Ben Rolnik lived with depression, thinking often about suicide, and even when he was doing well, he never knew if his day would get upended by depressive symptoms. That all changed when he found ketogenic therapy, and Ben has now put his depression symptoms into remission. Ben shares his dramatic story but also discusses his unique position as the Director of Stanford's Healthcare Innovation Lab and how he hopes studies will soon identify those who may benefit most from ketogenic therapy. But in...
Dec 11, 2023•47 min
GLP1 agonist weight loss medications Wegovy and Ozempic have become popular medications for overweight and obesity and are also increasingly being used in psychiatry to target symptoms of depression and anxiety. But are Wegovy and Ozempic safe to use in psychiatry? University of Toronto psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Rodrigo Mansur discusses the research supporting the use of GLP1 agonist weight loss drugs and explores his clinical considerations when discussing these medications with patients....
Dec 04, 2023•21 min
Can you successfully lose weight that you’ve gained from antipsychotics and other psychiatric medications for bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, and other mental health disorders? Dr. Matthew Bernstein faces this question daily in his psychiatric practice and believes a combination of ketogenic therapy and medications like Wegovy or Ozempic may lead to sustained weight loss - as long as it is done safely and with a plan. Dr. Bernstein also acknowledges that stubborn weight gain is a co...
Nov 20, 2023•18 min
Hannah Warren treated her bipolar disorder and put it into remission with metabolic therapies, including a keto diet. Her symptoms of psychosis and mania have disappeared, and she attributes it to a combination of metabolic interventions, including exercise, meditation, fasting, and, most importantly, ketogenic therapy, the cornerstone intervention key to treating her psychiatric symptoms and restoring her health. But even though she was given a diagnosis of bipolar 1, and she found a diet that ...
Nov 15, 2023•30 min
According to Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Chris Palmer and the Brain Energy theory, mitochondria play a crucial role in mental health and in psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and others. But the good news is that recognizing the importance of mitochondria and metabolic health can help us see psychiatric illness in a whole new way and may offer novel, more effective treatments. Dr. Palmer argues this could be the solution to our mental health crisis and...
Oct 09, 2023•49 min
Now more than ever, we need to know how to improve our metabolic health. Disrupted metabolism, so-called metabolic dysfunction, is a dangerous condition that has been associated with numerous medical conditions, including mental illness, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and more. But what do metabolism and metabolic dysfunction mean, and what can we do to improve our metabolic health? This video gives you an understanding of what your metabolism is, how it can become dysfunctional, and...
Oct 03, 2023•9 min
Emerging evidence indicates that therapeutic ketosis, often from a ketogenic diet, can help treat mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anorexia, and others. But some may question if nutritional ketosis is safe, especially considering some associate ketosis with the dangerous medical condition ketoacidosis. This podcast discusses how ketosis is a safe and natural physiologic state distinctly different from ketoacidosis. This is crucial information for clinicians a...
Sep 21, 2023•7 min
Early evidence indicates that ketogenic therapy is a safe and effective treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease and other forms of dementia. Dr. Stephen Cunnane has been part of this field for decades and has seen the research take shape. But he’s also seen very slow adoption in clinical practice. Dr. Cunnane shares his journey through this field, why he got started with ketone research, how ketogenic therapies could revolutionize how we treat dementia, and what we need to do to make it more acceptabl...
Sep 07, 2023•41 min
Metabolic neurology is a growing field focusing on the connection between metabolic and neurologic health, and encompasses neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, other types of dementia, and more. Dr. Matthew Phillips is leading the way as a clinician and researcher exploring the use of metabolic therapies, like intermittent fasting and nutritional ketosis to help treat and prevent neurocognitive diseases. Dr. Phillips shares with us what he has learned from his research studi...
Aug 28, 2023•39 min
Emerging evidence suggests mitochondrial dysfunction can cause or contribute to many psychiatric and neurologic disorders. To promote metabolic and mental health, it’s crucial to better understand mitochondria and what we can do to keep them healthy. As Dr. Martin Picard explains, mitochondria are small components of cells that are involved in just about every disease process, and by extension, in every aspect of promoting health. Since mitochondria are where we transform food energy into energy...
Aug 23, 2023•55 min
Dr. Mary Newport saw first hand the beneficial effects ketones can have for Alzheimer’s dementia when her husband experienced dramatic cognitive improvements. But this was back in 2008 when coconut oil or MCT oil wasn’t easy to find, and metabolic neuroscience was rarely discussed. Fast forward to 2023, and we now have multiple studies demonstrating improved cognition with ketogenic interventions for those with dementia. Dr. Newport shares her husband’s dramatic story, and helps us understand th...
Aug 14, 2023•47 min
Nutritionist Amy Berger literally wrote the book on using therapeutic nutritional ketosis from a ketogenic diet to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s dementia. Now Ms. Berger joins us to review two new studies about ketosis and Alzheimer’s disease and how they fit into the overall scientific basis. Expert featured in this episode: Amy Berger, Certified Nutrition Specialist https://www.tuitnutrition.com/ Twitter @TuitNutrition Studies Referenced: Ketogenic Diet as a Promising Non-Drug Intervention for...
Aug 05, 2023•20 min
A new program for treating Anorexia Nervosa with Ketogenic Therapy called AnorExit is accepting clients. Early evidence and clinical experience indicate that therapeutic nutritional ketosis from a ketogenic diet may effectively treat anorexia nervosa. That's because therapeutic ketosis is much more than a so-called "restrictive diet." Ketosis changes how our brains create energy and can alter neurotransmitters, decrease neuroinflammation, improve mitochondrial health, and more. The family of Car...
Jul 26, 2023•17 min
Anorexia nervosa is a devastating eating disorder with the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. Restricted diets are considered contraindicated in anorexia. However, emerging evidence suggests that therapeutic nutritional ketosis from a ketogenic diet could be a safe and effective treatment for those battling anorexia. In this podcast, we share the stories of participants of the first case studies of monotherapy with a ketogenic diet to treat active anorexia. In June 2023, Dr. Nick...
Jul 14, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Caroline lived with anorexia for 15 years and got to the point where she gave up hope of ever recovering and living a “normal” life. That is until her aunt, Dr. Barbara Scolnick, helped Caroline start a ketogenic diet and ketamine infusions. The result was dramatic. Caroline says she is now cured of her anorexia and lives the “normal” life she never thought she would. But it took courage, support, and faith in an unproven treatment to get her to where she is now. Here’s her dramatic and inspirin...
Jun 27, 2023•31 min
A new study of Ketogenic Diet for treating Anorexia Nervosa will launch at UC San Diego in late summer 2023. Leading psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Guido Frank joins The Metabolic Mind Podcast to discuss the goals and design of the upcoming trial. Patients will be enrolled for a study duration of 16 weeks. Dr. Frank also discusses the lack of new treatment paradigms for Anorexia, as well as potential mechanisms of action of ketogenic therapy, including changes in brain metabolism. Dr. Frank and...
Jun 19, 2023•25 min
Dr. Matthew Bernstein is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist with over two decades of clinical experience. Yet, despite his extensive training and experience, he wasn’t helping his patients thrive as he had hoped. So when a personal experience led him to nutritional ketosis, he realized this could be a missing link for helping his patients. Over the ensuing year, Dr. Bernstein has focused on metabolic treatments and has seen dramatic improvements in his patients and a renewed sense of purpose and acc...
Jun 07, 2023•42 min
Michelle Hurn put her anorexia into remission using nutritional ketosis through a ketogenic diet. That meant going against everything she was taught as a patient and as a dietitian. Now she wants to share her journey and help others achieve similar breakthrough results. But the path wasn’t easy. In this interview, you’ll hear how Michelle struggled for years to treat her anorexia and how she had to overcome her fear to finally try nutritional ketosis. As a registered dietitian, she now understan...
May 23, 2023•33 min
