Researchers find how ketogenic diet improves severe mental illness

The ketogenic diet has been proven to be effective for treatment-resistant epileptic seizures by reducing the excitability of neurons in the brain, Sethi said..

Although these medications aid in the regulation of brain chemistry, they frequently result in metabolic adverse effects, such as obesity and insulin resistance, which are so upsetting that many patients cease taking them...

According to a recent pilot study conducted by doctors at Stanford Medicine, a ketogenic diet helps these individuals mental health in addition to restoring their metabolic health while they continue their drug regimen..

In the four-month pilot trial, Sethis team followed 21 adult participants who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, taking antipsychotic medications, and had a metabolic abnormalitysuch as weight gain, insulin resistance, hypertriglyceridemia, dyslipidaemia or impaired glucose tolerance..

We saw more benefit with the adherent group compared with the semi-adherent group, indicating a potential dose-response relationship, Sethi said.. There is increasing evidence that psychiatric diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder stem from metabolic deficits in the brain, which affect the excitability of neurons, Sethi said...

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