Here’s Why Another Landmark Study on the Ketogenic Diet Deserves Urgent Attention
Imagine a world where nutrition — not drugs — could transform the lives of people battling debilitating neuropsychiatric disorders.
Harvard-affiliated researchers offer precisely that promise, highlighting the ketogenic diet as a potential “transdiagnostic” treatment for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions, including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
Mental health is not a luxury and cannot be undermined. It is a fundamental human right. When research can potentially change lives, the media must spotlight it. Until then, the question remains: Where is the press?
I felt compelled to write this with rigor and passion so anyone reading can take away valuable insights, explore this topic further, and begin meaningful conversations with their medical doctors. The time for silence on this critical subject is over — it is time to bring it into the light.
The media reaction was overwhelming when the American Heart Association blogged about a questionable review study a while back saying that intermittent fasting has a 91% risk for heart attacks.
Mainstream outlets, including the New York Times, turned it into a headline frenzy, confusing the public. I wrote about that “storm in a teacup” at the time, detailing how misinformation can spread unchecked.
Then, the ketogenic diet made headlines in the scientific community in a clinical trial by decisively outperforming the DASH diet—one of the most widely recommended diets by doctors. I wrote about it passionately, eager to share this groundbreaking result. But the media remained silent.
Then, last year, Stanford scientists conducted a bespoke clinical study demonstrating the remarkable benefits of a ketogenic diet for severe mental health conditions. This was a game-changing moment — a ray of hope for countless patients struggling with mental health issues.
Yet once again, mainstream media ignored it. Even open-minded and reliable platforms like Medium didn’t distribute my story. Valuable knowledge, rooted in rigorous science, remained locked in academic journals or hidden in suppressed blog posts.
This is why I wrote this story today. The public deserves access to this critical information. Knowledge like this can change lives, but only if people can read it.
Three days ago, a comprehensive study was published in Current Treatment Options in Psychiatry of Springer Nature by reputable scientists, yet despite the groundbreaking nature of this research, the media has been silent.
Where are the headlines? Where are the interviews? Where is the widespread discussion about this potentially life-changing study?
Let us be clear here: I am not talking about just another diet fad.
The ketogenic diet is being explored as a legitimate medical intervention with mechanisms that directly target the brain’s energy metabolism, reduce inflammation, and stabilize neurotransmitter systems.
I have studied it methodically for over 30 years and practiced it. The ketogenic diet is not an alternative medicine gimmick. It is rooted in solid science and backed by compelling evidence.
In fact, ketogenic diets in various forms have been used since the 1920s to treat epilepsy, often with remarkable success when medications failed. Even today, this approach is used in many countries for the same purpose, though you’d never know it from mainstream media coverage.
Why? Because the media seems more focused on promoting the most expensive pharmaceutical drugs — options that many people simply can’t afford. Meanwhile, anyone can enjoy a healthy, delicious ketogenic diet that is effective and more affordable than a typical junk food diet.
This paper could reshape how we understand and treat mental health, opening doors for millions of patients who often face limited or ineffective options with traditional pharmacological treatments. It is a message of hope, a call for more research, and an opportunity to challenge the status quo in psychiatry.
So why the silence?
One cannot help but wonder if the media’s priorities are elsewhere. The airwaves are extensively saturated with pharmaceutical advertisements and coverage of the latest drug approvals.
The ketogenic diet, by contrast, does not have a billion-dollar marketing budget. It cannot buy prime-time slots or full-page ads. And while drugs have their place, the overemphasis on them often eclipses non-pharmaceutical approaches that deserve equal attention.
This lack of coverage is not just an oversight but an injustice to the public. The ketogenic diet represents a low-cost, accessible intervention that could benefit countless people. Yet, without mainstream visibility, this knowledge may remain confined to academic circles, far from those needing it most.
We have seen the media rally around less substantiated trends and unproven wellness claims, but when it comes to a rigorously researched, peer-reviewed study by Harvard professors, there is only silence. This silence robs people of the opportunity to make informed decisions about their health.
This is a call to action for the press, for health professionals, and for the public. We must demand that innovative, evidence-based approaches like a well formulated ketogenic diet for mental health receive the attention they deserve.
The conversation about mental health cannot afford to ignore potential breakthroughs simply because they do not fit into the traditional profit-driven framework.
I have been practicing ketogenic diets for a long time and have written many articles about them. Although I follow a keto-carnivore diet myself, I also see the great value in keto-omnivore and keto-vegan diets, which can appeal to a broader audience.
As an advocate of nutritional biochemistry, I am diet independent as long as the nutrition we get has a ketogenic capability, such as producing BHP, signaling molecules for our cells and genes going beyond alternative energy sources.
The simplified review of a new outstanding paper on Springer Nature, “The Ketogenic Diet as a Transdiagnostic Treatment for Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms and Clinical Outcomes.”
Three days ago, famous Dr. Christopher Palmer (Harvard Psychiatrist) and his team dropped a scientific bombshell on Springer Nature, showing us the true science behind ketogenic diets, which are no longer fad diets but represent nutritional biochemistry for the brain and other vital organs.
This valuable study highlights the potential of the ketogenic diet as a transformative treatment for various mental health disorders. Unlike traditional approaches, which target specific symptoms or neurotransmitters, the ketogenic diet addresses underlying metabolic dysfunctions that are common across many neuropsychiatric conditions.
Using my science background, I’d like to touch on the science behind the diet to give you some perspectives. The ketogenic diet operates on a deep biological level, targeting the core mechanisms that contribute to mental health disorders. These include the following five mechanisms affecting metabolic and mental health:
1 — Mitochondrial dysfunction: Supporting cellular energy production.
2 — Oxidative stress: Reducing harmful free radicals.
3 — Inflammation: Lowering chronic inflammation linked to mental illness.
4 — Glucose hypometabolism: Providing ketones as an alternative brain fuel.
5 — Glutamate/GABA imbalance: Stabilizing the brain’s excitatory and inhibitory signals.
What Disorders Could Benefit from Keto Diet?
This new paper and recent findings suggest that the ketogenic diet may offer therapeutic benefits for mental health conditions, including schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety, Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorder, eating and somatic disorders, and alcohol use disorder.
How does a keto diet help mental health?
Psychiatric disorders share metabolic pathways that exacerbate symptoms. The ketogenic diet tackles these root causes, offering hope for non-pharmacological treatments.
By improving symptoms like depression, anxiety, mania, psychosis, and cognitive decline, the diet holds the promise of reducing the global burden of neuropsychiatric conditions.
This research is a call to explore new horizons in mental health care. If the ketogenic diet can ease symptoms and restore balance, it could revolutionize how we approach treatment — empowering patients with an option that is both natural and evidence-based.
I explained the details in a previous story titled Insights from a New Clinical Study Showing a Ketogenic Diet That Improved Bipolar & Schizophrenia. It is the summary of a pilot study (clinical trial NCT03935854) by Stanford University on humans for metabolic psychiatry, giving promise for the keto diet on metabolic and mental health.
Practical Points for All Diet Types
You might be thinking, “Alright, enough with the science. Tell us how to actually use a keto diet to improve mental health.” And you’d be absolutely right. Knowledge is only as valuable as the action we take with it.
It’s not enough to understand the theory; we need to translate it into real, actionable steps that make a difference in our lives. Let’s dive into the practical ways you can use the ketogenic diet to support your mental health and well-being.
If you are a science buff or simply curious about the details, you can access the paper freely and learn about the research yourself. It is a fascinating read and highly informative for anyone interested in the connection between the ketogenic diet and mental health.
Here is the link to it: The Ketogenic Diet as a Transdiagnostic Treatment for Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Mechanisms and Clinical Outcomes.
If you want to learn more about ketosis, ketogenic diets, and ketone bodies, I wrote two comprehensive stories linking to many credible scientific journal sources. Below are the links:
Biochemistry of Ketosis Simplified with Nuanced Perspectives and Personal Experiences
β-Hydroxybutyrate: 2 Vital Role of Ketogenesis in the Brain for Dementia Prevention / Treatment
Addressing Common Issues and Most Frequently Asked Questions About Keto Diets and Ketosis for Herbivores, Omnivores, and Carnivores
The most talked-about and, frankly, overhyped aspect of ketogenic diets — or anything that induces ketosis, like intermittent or periodic fasting — is the so-called “keto flu.” In reality, it is so easy to fix that it won’t cost you a dime.
All you need is a pinch of Himalayan, Redmond, or sea salt dissolved in a bottle of clean water. Sip it throughout the day, take a 400 mg magnesium tablet before going to bed, and voilà — problem solved.
I genuinely cannot understand why the media makes such a fuss over it. Sometimes, it feels like they are trying to create excuses to steer people away from natural healing methods and toward expensive drugs laden with side effects.
Then there is the classic line: “I’m following the XYZ diet, so I can’t do keto.” I hear this so often that I have written a dozen articles about it, complete with real-life case studies from my empowering and healed network. Many of them successfully entered ketosis while still including some carbs in their diets.
Honestly, I feel like we should rename the ketogenic diet to “nutritional ketosis.” It is a term that reflects the science and cuts through the noise. I attribute this to pioneers like Emeritus Professor Stephen Phinney, who, despite being sidelined by traditional academia, has thrived as the public began to see the benefits of his work.
Sadly, many scientists still shy away from advocating for these approaches, likely out of fear of upsetting their bosses or the status quo.
Are you a vegan? No problem!
Let’s start with one of the most common misconceptions.
Some of my friends who follow strict vegan diets usually say, “I’m on a fully plant-based diet, so I can’t do ketogenic.”
My constructive response, of course, you can!
Nature has generously provided enough plant-based foods to help us enter ketosis—a survival mechanism our bodies evolved for times of scarcity, like famines throughout history, as anthropological studies documented.
If you enjoy avocados, olives (or olive oil), coconut butter, macadamia nuts (or macadamia butter), walnuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, flaxseeds, or pumpkin seeds, you already have the tools to enter ketosis.
The plant world has all the healthy monosaturated, saturated, and omega-3 three fats you need to fuel your body and make ketosis not only possible but delicious.
I explained the details in story titled How to Benefit from Ketosis in a Keto-Vegan Diet: Vegans can introduce ketosis to their lifestyles by customizing their diets without compromising their preferred eating regimen.
Here is a case study to inspire you: After I Defeated a Teenage Rock Climber, His Vegan Mum Asserted I Was on Steroids. It didn’t occur to Lucy that an older adult on an empty stomach could beat a young person drinking Red Bull until she became a keto-vegan.
I want to highlight a word of caution for health-conscious vegan friends. Being vegan doesn’t automatically mean being healthy, especially if your diet includes a lot of unnatural or junk foods.
Foods like Oreos, candies, donuts, pavlova, sugary drinks, and even excessive fruit juice can sneak into the mix — and that’s where trouble begins.
I’ve seen this firsthand with my son. He used to rely on these sugary staples, and over time, he gained 40 extra kilos at 24 and developed fatty liver disease. It hit him so hard that he struggled with suicidal thoughts — a painful chapter I shared in a heartfelt story recently.
Thankfully, that story had a happy ending. He turned his life around and is now thriving as a metabolic psychiatrist, helping others navigate the same struggles he overcame.
Are you an omnivore? No worries at all!
One of the most surprising questions I have received came from a social scientist friend who was once obese and prediabetic. She said, “But I can’t eat eggs — they have too much cholesterol.”
I explained to her that dietary cholesterol has little to no impact on blood cholesterol. She had been living under the false belief perpetuated by the media. I had written about the cholesterol paradox before, which she had read with fascination.
As an academic, she later felt terrible for having missed the words of Ancel Keys himself — the architect of the faulty cholesterol hypothesis — who admitted in his writings that dietary cholesterol doesn’t significantly affect blood cholesterol.
Thankfully, the cholesterol myth is fading, but it is astounding how many intelligent people have fallen for it. Thanks to the work of caring and rigorous scientists, cholesterol and saturated fats are no longer demonized.
For what it is worth mentioning for skeptics, I have been eating 200 grams of healthy fats daily for decades — and I am still here to tell the tale. I wrote about healthy fats recently from another account, but no one has had a chance to read this nuanced story.
Even doctors need a lesson sometimes. Not long ago, my new, well-meaning family doctor panicked during a routine check-up and tried to put me on statins.
I could see the concern in his eyes, but instead of blindly agreeing, I turned it into a teaching moment. By the time we finished our conversation, he had a fresh perspective and perhaps a valuable medical lesson he could pass on to others.
Besides, as award-winning medical Dr Robert Lufkin said in a recent tweet, High blood sugar is much more dangerous than high cholesterol.
You may check out his instant NYT best-selling book “Lies I Taught in Medical School: How Conventional Medicine Is Making You Sicker and What You Can Do to Save Your Own Life.”
I plan to comprehensively review this educational book because everything Dr. Lufkin wrote aligns perfectly with my research and personal experiences.
Mediterranean Diet Is the Closest!
Recently, an academic friend told me he was following a Mediterranean diet and didn’t see the need to try ketosis. My response: “You’re already 90% there!” The Mediterranean diet, when done right, is an excellent foundation for entering ketosis — something my Mediterranean relatives discovered after a bit of guidance.
The trick is simple: just like vegan friends, you need to cut out all junk foods with refined carbs and focus on wholesome, delicious Mediterranean dishes.
Stick to meals cooked with olive oil, enjoy plenty of vegetables, and eat fruits in moderation. But let’s be clear: sugary desserts have no place in the authentic Mediterranean diet.
The best part is even if you include some carbs, you can still enter ketosis — many of my friends have done it successfully. I’d like to share a case study I summarized earlier to show how it works:
Here’s How Amy Entered Ketosis without Following a Ketogenic Diet: Three tips to increase ketone bodies with healthy lifestyle habits without changing the diet radically.
As long as you follow the well-documented principles of nutritional ketosis, anyone can enter ketosis with awareness, an open mind, and a little discipline. I documented my research and perspectives on it in a story titled Here’s Why I Focus on Nutritional Biochemistry Rather Than Diets.
Now, My Carnivore Friends Are the Most Fun 😊
Some of my carnivore friends drive me a little crazy (in the most endearing way). They are among the easiest to guide into ketosis, yet they bring me all sorts of excuses — some of which, with all due respect, are a bit shaky.
For example, some worry about eating fatty meat, fish, or eggs because they believe it will skyrocket their cholesterol and lead to a heart attack. However, if you are a pure carnivore eating only lean meat, excessive protein might be a bigger concern than fat from animal products.
Eating lean meat three times a day to build muscle can sadly lead to belly fat because the body converts excess protein into glucose, which can turn into visceral fat. In some cases, it even stresses the kidneys.
A simple solution is adding a little fatty meat to the diet, which can address these issues while reducing excess protein intake and preventing protein toxicity — something real. I plan to cover it in another story.
Adequate protein tailored to individual needs is fundamental, especially as we age. But like anything, too much of a good thing can become harmful, especially if not paired with healthy fats.
This is why I love a keto-carnivore approach with one meal a day for a long time. It has helped me thrive without weight gain and has kept major conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, dementia, and metabolic cancers at bay.
Nutritional ketosis prevents muscle loss, while occasional deep ketosis through periodic fasting activates processes like autophagy and mitophagy, which clean out cellular and mitochondrial “garbage.” I shared my personal experience in a story titled Remarkable Health Benefits of Long-Term Fasting.
When our cells and mitochondria are healthy, so are our tissues, organs, and systems. And when our metabolism is healthy, our mind follows suit.
Ketosis, in many ways, is a gift from nature — a tool honed through evolution to keep us resilient. Now, even pharmacologists are mimicking ketogenesis by creating supplements and drugs. These can be beneficial when used for people who cannot enter ketosis naturally but problematic when misused for convenience or luxury.
However, it’s important to end with a word of caution: ketosis is not for everyone. People with type 1 diabetes or severe type 2 diabetes need to be wary of ketoacidosis, a serious health condition I have covered in earlier stories. Children, the elderly, and pregnant women should only attempt ketosis under medical supervision.
At the end of the day, finding what works for your unique body is key. Ketosis is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but for many, it is one of nature’s most effective tools for metabolic and mental health.
Here are two lists with lots of articles to get you started with ketosis and a ketogenic lifestyle, whether you are an herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore:
Ketosis and Ketogenic Lifestyle
Fasting, Ketosis, Autophagy, Mitophagy
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
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