Healing the Brain: A Metabolic Approach to Mental Illness | Erin Bellamy, PhD | The Metabolic Link Ep.73

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Aug 4, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Erin Bellamy, a Chartered Psychologist and Metabolic Psychiatry Practitioner, shares insights into ketogenic metabolic therapy for mental illness. She explains how KMT addresses brain hypometabolism and neuroinflammation, offering hope for conditions like PTSD and ADHD. Dr. Bellamy discusses a transformative case study showcasing the impact of tailored nutritional protocols. With a focus on personalized health approaches, she emphasizes the importance of individualized treatment and community support in enhancing mental well-being.

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ANECDOTE

Erin's Psychiatric Ward Experience

Erin Bellamy worked several years on psychiatric inpatient wards with patients who repeatedly relapsed after discharge.
Their struggle with medication adherence and difficult environments highlighted the need for alternative therapies.

ADVICE

Slow, Supported Ketogenic Implementation

Start ketogenic therapy slowly with education, low carb, then move to therapeutic ketogenic ratios.
Provide ongoing community support and teach testing ketones to empower effective implementation.

INSIGHT

Symptom Improvement Order in Ketosis

Anxiety symptoms reduce first due to the anxiolytic effects of ketones, followed by a slower lifting of depression.
Positive symptoms in schizophrenia remit before negative symptoms as brain metabolism improves with ketosis.

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👉 Register for a LIVE Q&A with Dr. Bellamy on August 19th at 8am PT / 11am ET at https://membership.metabolicinitiative.com/bellamy

Can metabolic therapy play a transformative role in the treatment of serious mental illness?

In this episode of The Metabolic Link, host Victoria Field speaks with Dr. Erin Bellamy - a Chartered Psychologist, Metabolic Psychiatry Practitioner, and CEO of IKRT - about the clinical application of ketogenic metabolic therapy (KMT) for psychiatric disorders. With over a decade of experience and a PhD focused on ketogenic diets for depression, Dr. Bellamy offers deep insight into the mechanisms driving psychiatric disease - including brain hypometabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and insulin resistance - and how KMT targets these shared biological pathways.

This conversation explores real-world implementation of ketogenic therapy in patients with diagnoses such as PTSD, ADHD, binge eating disorder, and schizoaffective disorder. Dr. Bellamy also shares her recently published case study demonstrating transdiagnostic remission using KMT, along with the clinical protocols, macronutrient ratios, and outcomes she’s seeing in her group and one-on-one programs.

Whether you’re a psychiatrist, psychologist, or healthcare professional interested in emerging metabolic therapies for mental health, this episode offers valuable clinical and translational insights into a rapidly evolving field.

👉 Register for the LIVE Q&A with Dr. Bellamy on August 19th at 8am PT / 11am ET at https://membership.metabolicinitiative.com/bellamy

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