Metabolic Psychiatry in Practice: Ketogenic Therapy for Mental Health Care

People with treatment-resistant depression and anxiety are seeing real improvements through ketogenic therapy. Now there's real-world clinical data to back it up.

In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher sits down with Dr. Erin Bellamy to discuss her newly published findings from a clinical program bringing ketogenic therapy into everyday mental health care.

While this was not a randomized controlled trial, the results offer an important look at how these interventions may work in everyday clinical practice, with meaningful improvements reported across both depression and anxiety measures.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• What the study found and how to interpret the results
• The difference between real-world evidence and randomized trials
• Why some individuals were able to achieve clinically meaningful improvements, including remission
• The role of structure, education, and ongoing support in implementing ketogenic therapy
• Common challenges people face and how group support can help navigate them
• How ketogenic therapy can be personalized based on individual needs
• The real-life improvements participants experienced in mood, anxiety, daily functioning, and quality of life

Dr. Bellamy also shares powerful insights from her clinical experience, including how individuals with long-standing, treatment-resistant symptoms were able to make meaningful lifestyle changes, challenging the idea that people with mental health conditions cannot adhere to dietary interventions.

Looking ahead, Dr. Bellamy is launching a new study through the Metabolic Psychiatry Scholar Award to further explore and scale this approach.

Learn more about the impact of metabolic therapies on depression and mood disorders on our Depression Topic Page: https://www.metabolicmind.org/resources/topics/keto-for-depression/

🔎 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 #Depression

Expert Featured:

Dr. Erin Bellamy

• IKRT.org
• https://x.com/ikrt_org
• https://www.instagram.com/ikrt_org/

Resources Mentioned:

Papers

• https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2026.1751564/full

Videos

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXvKhdRqXiw

Additional resources

• https://www.metabolicmind.org/resources/awards/(Metabolic Psychiatry Scholar Award)
• IKRT.org/trial

Free CME Clinician Trainings:

Are you a clinician who would like to learn more about the science behind these therapies and how to implement them in practice? Earn CME with our growing library of courses from some of the top experts in the field including Dr. Chris Palmer, Dr. Georgia Ede, Dr. Matthew Bernstein, Dr. Mariela Glandt, Dr. Deanna Kelly, Dr. Julie Milder, Dr. Zoltan Sarnyai, and Dr. Bret Scher with more coming soon.

Our courses have been made FREE by grants from Baszucki Group, so we can spread these powerful therapies as widely as possible. Earn CME/CNE credits: https://www.metabolicmind.org/for-clinicians/trainings-courses/?utm_medium=organic-social&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=cme-yt

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.