Can Keto Cure Mental Illness?

The most powerful way to change your brain chemistry is through food, because that’s where brain chemicals come from in the first place. ~ Dr. Georgia Ede, Author of Change your diet, Change your mind ~

Dear friend,

A human being can live without water for about 8 days max. Without food we can live for about 2-3 months - if we’re lucky! I’m sure it’s not news to you that our bodies and brains cannot function without food, and sustaining quality of life without proper nutrition is nearly impossible.

From this perspective nutrition is vital to our very survival and existence. So, what has led many people to believe that nutrition doesn’t play a much larger role in our metabolic and brain health?

That’s an interesting question…

And it has a long and complicated answer. Yet, in today’s letter I want to focus on discussing a more specific and practical question: Is keto an effective intervention for treatment of mental illness?

I get asked a lot of questions around this topic, “will keto work to improve my mental health? Will it work for me? Will it cure my mental illness?”

The honest answer is…

It may or it may not. There are no guarantees.

For some people nutritional keto as an intervention is a life saving measure. And for others it may just be something that allows them to enhance their overall well being while still minimizing psychiatric drug use.

There are also many additional benefit from keto’s effect on overall health besides improvement in mental health - weight loss, less fatigue, lowering blood sugar and pressure, improving insulin resistance etc.

Ketogenic diet is not a fad diet, a pill, or a fix.

It’s a powerful intervention with over 100+ years of research behind it for treatment of Epilepsy with 50% remission rate within 1- 5 years.

A recent pilot study done in Stanford University by Dr. Shebani Sethi, with 16 participants with bipolar disorder and 5 participants with schizophrenia treated with ketogenic diet for 4 month period found,

“The psychiatric outcomes indicate that, on average, the severity of mental illness, as assessed by the Clinical Global Impressions scale, improved by 31 %. Furthermore, 79 % of participants with baseline symptoms, experienced clinically meaningful improvement, with higher rates of improvement observed in the adherent group.” As well as 100% reversal of metabolic syndrome and 10% average weight loss.

Click below to see the findings of the study.

Many more clinical trails and studies are underway exploring the implication of metabolic therapies and the ketogenic diet for mental health. There have also been small clinical trails showing improvements in autism, and slight improvement in thinking, memory in people with early Alzheimer’s disease.

There are many anecdotal evidence of people who have put bipolar, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophrenia into remission.

However, many more rigorous and scientific research is needed and underway.

Personally I believe diet is one of the fundamental part of a healthy lifestyle and should be a huge consideration in mental and physical health. The fact that it’s being looked as an intervention for mental health is exciting. It’s a low risk solution for may people who cannot tolerate psychiatric drugs and suffer adverse effects.

Even in the event someone ends up taking psychiatric drugs long term, I believe properly lifestyle interventions like the ketogenic diet will minimize and mitigate the inevitable risks and adverse effects that come with those drugs.

Regardless, proper nutrition is worthwhile effort.

It’s something that will impact every aspect of our life. However, whether keto or any other type of diet will improve or cure your mental health condition depends on many factors. Adherence being one of the biggest factors.

But it is also possible that keto may not be the right diet for you. However, you won’t know it until you try. Everyone is unique.

If you’re ready to make change and see if this is an option for you please do not hesitate to reach out.

Please forward this information with anyone who you believe would benefit.

Feel free to leave me your questions, comments, and feedback below. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Until next time, we continue in solidarity. 

Neseret Bemient, BScN
Holistic Mental Health Coach 
Website: Return to Wholeness Healing Services
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@NeseretBemient
Twitter(X): Neseret Bemient (@JourneyofHope4U)

PS: If you are ready to stop struggling and start living the life you want starting today, you can click on the link below and schedule a 45 minute discovery/consultation session to see if we're a good fit to work together. 

I only have a limited number of spots for this month. I would love to support you take charge of your mental health and witness your transformation. 

You can also simply REPLY to this email and we’ll get you all the details on how you can work with me 1:1.

Schedule a session HERE.
https://calendly.com/returntowholenessnow/30min

BIG DREAMS

...start inside
...take courage
...involve effort
...include mistakes
...build character
...are achievable

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~