First Keto RCT for Serious Mental Illness: Hear from the Study Authors

Can ketogenic therapy improve symptoms, cognition, and metabolic health in people living with serious mental illness?

In this episode of Metabolic Mind, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Dr. Judy Ford, Juliette Kyner (previously Juliette Ward), and Dr. Shebani Sethi about the first-ever randomized controlled trial of a ketogenic diet intervention in individuals living with schizophrenia spectrum disorder or bipolar I disorder with psychotic features.

The conversation explores what made this trial possible, from prepared meals and coaching to the structured support that helped participants stay engaged. It also highlights encouraging four-month findings across metabolic health, cognition, depressive symptoms, and both positive and negative psychiatric symptoms.

They discuss:

• Why this trial is an important step for metabolic psychiatry
• How participants adhered to a ketogenic diet with structured support
• What changed in metabolic health markers like BMI, A1C, and HOMA-IR
• Why cognitive improvements were especially meaningful
• How positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and depressive symptoms changed over time
• What family members noticed as participants re-engaged with daily life
• Why future studies may need to be longer, larger, and more mechanistic

This trial marks an important step for metabolic psychiatry and points to the need for larger, longer, fully controlled studies that can better clarify how ketogenic interventions may affect metabolic, cognitive, and psychiatric outcomes.

👉 Learn more about this trial on our study page: First-Ever Randomized Controlled Trial of Ketogenic Diet in Schizophrenia-Spectrum and Bipolar I Disorder

🔎 Have questions about how to apply metabolic therapies effectively? Submit them at metabolicmind.org/questions to be featured in a future Metabolic Mailbag episode.

#MetabolicMind #KetogenicTherapy #Schizophrenia #BipolarDisorder

Expert Featured:

Dr. Judy Ford

• https://bbrfoundation.org/about/people/judith-m-ford-phd

Juliette Kyner, Research Assistant at UCSF

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliette-marie-kyner/

Dr. Shebani Sethi

• https://www.metabolicpsychiatry.com/team
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsethi/
• https://x.com/ShebaniMD

Resources Mentioned:

Metabolic Improvements with a Ketogenic Diet Correlate with Symptom Improvement in Psychosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbag082

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Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry.

Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/

About us:

Metabolic Mind is a non-profit initiative of Baszucki Group working to transform the study and treatment of mental disorders by exploring the connection between metabolism and brain health. We leverage the science of metabolic psychiatry and personal stories to offer education, community, and hope to people struggling with mental health challenges and those who care for them.

Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications.