Episode Details
Back to Episodes
Metabolic Psychiatry in Practice: Ketogenic Therapy for Mental Health Care
Description
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
Resources Mentioned:
Papers
Videos
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.