Episode Details

In this episode of The Feldman Protocol, can what we eat meaningfully influence the course of serious mental illness? Dave sits down with Lauren Kennedy West (mental health advocate and YouTuber living with schizoaffective disorder) to explore her personal journey from multiple hospitalizations and misdiagnoses to adopting therapeutic ketosis. Lauren makes the case for metabolic psychiatry as a complement to traditional care, discusses the identity challenges of sharing her N-of-1 experiment publicly, reflects on navigating medication tapering, community polarization, the role of AI in personalized care, and the social complexity of restrictive eating.🔥 This episode is sponsored by us --Own Your Labs 👉 `https://ownyourlabs.com/sp/53` Private blood testing services🩸Over 300 blood tests💰Extremely affordable❤️ We love our customers(Yes, we are literally funding the entire podcast from our own company -- so if you want to show your support, keep getting your private blood testing through our service. Thank you! 🙏)🔗 CONNECT WITH DAVE FELDMAN:Main Channel: `https://youtube.com/@realDaveFeldman`X/Twitter: `https://x.com/realDaveFeldman`Instagram: `https://instagram.com/realDaveFeldman`Website: `https://thefeldmanprotocol.com`⏱ Chapters0:00 – Cold open & sucralose reaction1:14 – Lauren introduces herself2:46 – Early symptoms & the teenage years6:00 – First diagnosis journey8:20 – Hospitalizations & ECT11:46 – Dave's reflections on illness identity15:27 – YouTube channel origins19:32 – First attempt at ketogenic diet23:46 – Accessing metabolic psychiatry32:16 – Community reaction to going keto37:54 – Eating disorder concerns & food identity42:14 – The sushi experiment in San Francisco50:38 – Defined by wellness, not illness54:32 – Medication tapering & potentiation1:00:04 – Running, soccer & the ACL injury1:07:53 – Kids, diet, and parenting challenges1:17:00 – Metabolic Mind partnership & the course1:19:18 – Desk questions: dirty keto & sucralose1:23:08 – Meds vs. metabolic therapy: how it feels1:28:52 – Traveling keto & snack strategies1:39:31 – Community building & echo chambers1:47:42 – Social media, nuance & polarization1:58:11 – Platform challenges & demonetization2:05:53 – Patient autonomy & medical humility2:14:05 – Living well: nuance over narrative2:21:26 – AI in diagnostics & mental health care2:31:00 – AI sycophancy & trust concerns2:39:23 – The future of AI-assisted therapy2:46:09 – Parallels: AI guardrails & patient autonomy2:51:55 – Where to find Lauren#FeldmanProtocol #DaveFeldman #LaurenKennedyWest #MetabolicPsychiatry #KetogenicDiet #MentalHealth #Schizoaffective #SchizophreniaAwareness #BrainEnergy #TherapeuticKetosis #MentalWellness #NutritionAndMindHealth #AIInHealthcare #PatientAutonomy #LowCarbLife #ChristopherPalmer #MetabolicMind #MentalHealthAdvocacy