Are ultra-processed foods really the villain, or is the story more complicated? In this lively, no-nonsense conversation, endocrinologist Dr. David Ludwig (of Harvard and Boston Children’s Hospital) and journalist Gary Taubes unpack why “UPF” is an enticing label but a blunt tool for science, policy, and everyday guidance. They cover: Why defining “ultra-processed” is messy, and how lumping diverse packaged foods into one bucket can mislead. How high-profile trials are interpreted (and misinterp...
Sep 09, 2025•54 min
What happens when someone living in and out of homelessness, battling schizophrenia, and cycling through hospitals and medications discovers ketogenic therapy? In this powerful interview, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with registered nutritional therapist Moira Newiss about one of the most remarkable published case reports to date. Despite overwhelming socioeconomic challenges, including periods of living in shelters and cooking on nothing more than a hot plate, this individual achieved sustained ketosi...
Sep 08, 2025•32 min
Could tackling visceral fat be the key to finally reversing the chronic disease crisis? Unlike the fat you see on your waistline, visceral fat hides deep inside your body, wrapping around organs like your liver, pancreas, and even your heart. And far from being inert, this fat acts like an inflammatory organ, fueling disease, undermining your immune system, and raising the risk of diabetes, cancer, and heart attacks. In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher sits down with Dr. Sean O’Mara, a physician w...
Sep 02, 2025•45 min
Despite decades of therapy and pharmaceutical use, most patients with major depressive disorder fail to achieve full relief. In part three of our series, Harvard-trained psychiatrist and nutrition specialist Dr. Georgia Ede shares why lifestyle interventions are actually some of the most powerful tools we have for fighting treatment resistant depression. Drawing on years of clinical practice and pioneering work in metabolic psychiatry, Dr. Ede explains how metabolic health, sleep, exercise, circ...
Aug 25, 2025•29 min
Treatment-resistant depression can feel like the end of the road, but there are more options than most people realize. Beyond traditional antidepressants, a range of innovative treatments exist, including: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) Repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) Vagus nerve stimulation Rapid-acting compounds like ketamine, esketamine, and psilocybin These treatments are offering new hope for patients who haven’t found relief in the current standard of care. In this sec...
Aug 20, 2025•27 min
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have become household names, celebrated as breakthrough treatments for weight loss and obesity. But while headlines showcase dramatic before-and-after photos and promises of rapid transformation, when we step beyond the marketing, a more nuanced reality comes to light. In this candid conversation, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, a family medicine physician, and Dr. Tro Kalayjian, board-certified in internal and obesity medicine, draw on decades of clinic...
Aug 19, 2025•44 min
What is treatment resistant depression and perhaps more importantly, what does it say about the ineffective care many receive? Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is defined as major depressive disorder (MDD) that fails to respond to at least 2 anti-depressant medications. Nearly 10% of the adult population in the U.S. experience a major depressive episode each year. The numbers in our youth are even more alarming with some studies suggesting that between 40-50% of college-aged students are liv...
Aug 13, 2025•25 min
Is food addiction a mental illness? Should ultra-processed foods rich in sugar and refined carbohydrates be classified alongside alcohol, nicotine, and other addictive substances linked to substance use disorders? Food addiction (especially to processed, packaged, carb-heavy foods) is real, widespread, and often misunderstood by both the public and healthcare professionals. Dr. Bret Scher and Dr. Georgia Ede sit down with Dr. Jen Unwin, a psychologist with over 30 years of NHS experience, to exp...
Aug 11, 2025•57 min
Ketogenic therapy for mental health is gaining traction, but what happens when it doesn’t seem to work or even makes things worse? In this episode, Dr. Georgia Ede and Dr. Bret Scher answer some of the most common questions about ketogenic diets, including what to do when your mental health doesn’t improve, how to properly enter ketosis, and why sweeteners, snacks, and dairy might be holding you back. They break down the difference between a ketogenic diet and ketogenic therapy, and why things l...
Aug 07, 2025•28 min
Is high protein intake responsible for chronic kidney disease? Have you ever heard that ketogenic diets are harmful to your kidneys? These are just a few of the common kidney health myths debunked in this interview with Dr. Thomas Weimbs, who says that traditional views on what causes chronic kidney disease are “definitely not founded in science.” Dr. Thomas Weimbs, professor and vice chair at UC Santa Barbara, has spent decades studying chronic kidney disease (CKD). His recent research explores...
Aug 04, 2025•32 min
What’s the difference between a low-carb diet and a ketogenic diet, especially when it comes to mental health? In this premiere Mailbag episode, Dr. Bret Scher (Medical Director at Metabolic Mind) and Harvard trained psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede answer some of the most common questions they receive about ketogenic diets specifically for mental illness. Whether you're new to ketogenic therapy or have been experimenting for years, this discussion offers valuable clarity on concepts that often caus...
Jul 30, 2025•33 min
GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are changing how the medical system approaches obesity and metabolic disease. But are they a replacement for dietary intervention? Or are dietary interventions a replacement for these medications? Could they be used together for even better outcomes? In this conversation, Dr. David Ludwig (Harvard, Boston Children’s Hospital) and journalist Gary Taubes explore the science behind GLP-1s, their impact on insulin, weight loss, and chronic disease, and where...
Jul 28, 2025•45 min
Ketogenic therapy for mental illness is changing lives. And now, it’s becoming more accessible than ever. Dr. Bret Scher chats with licensed mental health counselor Nicole Laurent about her innovative online program and nonprofit initiative aimed at providing low-to-no-cost metabolic therapy support to people with serious mental illness. Nicole shares how her own journey through cognitive impairment led her to ketogenic therapy, and how that experience transformed her clinical practice. Today, h...
Jul 24, 2025•18 min
Does psychiatric medication withdrawal exist — or is it just a myth? For anyone who’s lived through it, the question alone can feel insulting. Psychiatric drug withdrawal is real. While the experience varies widely, for many, it’s not “brief and mild” as many guidelines state it is. It can be intense, destabilizing, and often misunderstood. One of the most painful challenges is trying to determine whether what you're experiencing is withdrawal or relapse. Unfortunately, current clinical guidelin...
Jul 23, 2025•38 min
Visceral fat, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction are driving the chronic disease epidemic—and yet, they're still misunderstood. In this compelling conversation, former FDA commissioner Dr. David Kessler, MD, explains why he believes visceral adiposity is the greatest public health failure of our lifetime. Dr. Kessler brings decades of experience (as a pediatrician, legal expert, policy leader, and author of “The End of Overeating” and “Diet, Drugs, and Dopamine”) to explore how ultra-...
Jul 21, 2025•38 min
What if We're Using GLP-1 Medications All Wrong? Drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro are transforming the landscape of medical weight loss, but could their side effects be a sign that we’re not harnessing their full therapeutic potential? In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Ben Bikman, metabolic health researcher and professor at BYU, joins Dr. Bret Scher to explore a powerful new framework: using GLP-1 medications at low doses and for short durations to help curb carbohydrate cravings, b...
Jul 14, 2025•34 min
Did you know that your blood sugar spikes differ from everyone else's? Even with the same food! A new study in Nature Medicine supports what many have long suspected: there is no one-size-fits-all diet. The foods that spike your blood sugar might not affect someone else the same way, and your unique metabolic profile could be the reason why. In this episode of the Metabolic Mind podcast, Baszucki Group Neuroscience Program Officer Dr. Cristina Nigro joins Dr. Bret Scher to break down the study “...
Jul 09, 2025•25 min
Can ketogenic therapy help treat multiple mental health disorders at once? In this video, we explore a dramatic case report where ketogenic therapy put bipolar depression, binge eating disorder, anxiety, PTSD, and ADHD into remission. Clinical psychologist Dr. Erin Louise Bellamy joins Dr. Bret Scher to discuss her recently published case report of a 38-year-old woman whose life went from “a mind shattered now restored” in just 12 weeks on a medically supervised ketogenic therapy program. Result...
Jul 07, 2025•33 min
Can adenosine and a ketogenic diet help treat addiction? New research explores the powerful role of adenosine, dopamine, and metabolic health in addiction, and how dietary strategies could support recovery. In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Dr. Susan Masino, a neuroscience and psychology professor at Trinity College, about her groundbreaking work on adenosine and its potential to regulate addiction through metabolic pathways. They dive into: The dopamine-addiction connection The role...
Jun 30, 2025•31 min
Have you ever thought about stopping psychiatric medications? Maybe you have tried it. If so, you’re not alone. Many individual across the world have considered or tried stopping their psychiatric medications and success is variable. The withdrawal from psychiatric medication tapering can be incredibly complex, and doing it safely requires both medical and psychological support. But, as Dr. Anders Sørensen highlights in this interview, the guidelines around medication tapering and withdrawal mis...
Jun 23, 2025•44 min
Is it really treatment-resistant depression or are we using the wrong treatments? In this episode, Dr. Bret Scher is joined by psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede to examine a new large, population-based analysis on the use of antipsychotics versus third-line antidepressants in people diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression, and what effect that has on suicide risk. They discuss: What treatment-resistant depression actually means Why so many people fall into this category The surprising data on s...
Jun 23, 2025•23 min
Are ketogenic diets dangerous? What about nutrient deficiencies, gout, gut health, keto rash, bone density loss, or kidney stones? In this video, registered dietitian and ketogenic therapy expert Beth Zupec-Kania, RDN, CD, shares insights from over 30 years of clinical experience to address the most common concerns and misconceptions about ketogenic therapies From vitamin and mineral intake to gallbladder issues, sleep disruptions, leg cramps, keto flu, and more, this interview covers it all. Be...
Jun 18, 2025•52 min
Is nutrition research getting the support it needs to inform public health policy? Despite the rise in chronic diseases related to lifestyle factors like diet, nutrition research only receives $2.2 billion of the $30 billion NIH budget. At first glance, this may seem like a lot of money, but its utilization is spread thin, and, as Dr. David Ludwig and Gary Taubes highlight in this interview, it’s primarily used to fund misleading short term trials that confirm existing nutrition biases. However,...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Can exogenous ketones help treat mental illness? In this interview, psychiatry resident and researcher in the Netherlands Dr. Karin Huizer shares groundbreaking insights into her pilot study using ketone esters for mental health. The hope is that this early research will inform us to whether or not supplemental ketones are a viable option for mental health, which could be especially useful for patients who struggle to follow a full ketogenic diet. Dr. Huizer brings a unique perspective as both a...
May 31, 2025•32 min
Youth mental illness is on the rise, and treatment options are often limited, especially for kids with bipolar disorder. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re highlighting a groundbreaking new real-world data collection funded by the Baszucki Group exploring ketogenic therapy as a promising intervention for children and adolescents living with bipolar disorder. In this interview, Elizabeth Errico, founder of the Children's Mental Health Resource Center (CMHRC), shares how her organization is...
May 31, 2025•33 min
Can ketogenic therapy help reduce or even resolve symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)? Dr. Chris Palmer and research assistant Aaron MacDonald join Metabolic Mind to discuss one of the first published case series exploring metabolic and ketogenic interventions for OCD. In this video, you’ll learn: - Why OCD deserves more attention as a serious, life-limiting condition - How three individuals saw dramatic symptom relief using a therapeutic ketogenic diet - What role ketosis may play i...
May 27, 2025•40 min
Can ketogenic therapy improve both cardiovascular and mental health? A new study at Mayo Clinic is exploring that question—and during Mental Health Awareness Month, it's especially exciting to see one of the world’s most prestigious medical institutions investigating the connection between ketogenic therapy and psychiatric care. This research marks a powerful full-circle moment: the ketogenic diet was first used to treat epilepsy at Mayo Clinic over 100 years ago. In this episode, we sit down wi...
May 19, 2025•50 min
Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and cognitive decline should not be inevitable parts of aging. In this interview, Dr. Lily Mujica-Parodi and Dr. Kirk Nylen join Dr. Bret Scher to discuss groundbreaking research revealing a key metabolic midlife marker of accelerated cognitive decline and a potential solution for slowing it. In this interview, you’ll learn: Why brain network stability rapidly declines in midlife How insulin resistance in neurons may be the early driver of neurodegeneration The cri...
May 12, 2025•47 min
Mitochondria do more than power our cells: they shape how we think, feel, and experience the world. In this interview, Dr. Martin Picard breaks down his new research that illuminates how mitochondria affect brain energy, brain networks, mental health, and ultimately, our quality of life. Dr. Picard walks us through his team's revolutionary brain mapping study, which examined over 700 sections of the human brain to uncover how mitochondria are distributed and specialized by brain region and cell ...
May 05, 2025•38 min
Creatine isn’t just for gym gains, it supports your brain too! Creatine is best known for boosting physical performance, but research has also identified its ability to improve areas of cognitive function like memory and mood. Research suggests that when creatine is used alongside first-line treatments, like antidepressants and CBT, it may enhance therapeutic outcomes, leading to faster and more robust improvements in symptoms. In this interview, Dr. Nick Fabiano, a psychiatry resident and resea...
Apr 28, 2025•26 min
