Dr. Berg’s Healthy Keto and Intermittent Fasting Podcast

The Most Dangerous “Therapy” in the World Still Used in America

Nov 24, 2025

A shocking discussion reveals the continued use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for mental illness in the US. This controversial treatment, labeled as barbaric, is linked to severe side effects including brain damage and traumatic memory loss. Despite its multibillion-dollar market, it lacks scientific validation and has never been FDA-approved. Listeners learn about ECT's troubling history, its high costs, and the alarming populations it affects, and they are prompted to consider safer alternatives like nutrition and intermittent fasting.

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INSIGHT

ECT Still Widely Used And Contested

Dr. Eric Berg asserts electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains widely used despite being controversial and expensive.
He claims it was never properly double-blinded or scientifically proven and was grandfathered past FDA approval.

INSIGHT

Safety Risks Include Brain Injury And Cardiac Harm

Dr. Eric Berg claims ECT causes structural brain damage, inflammation, and neuronal death leading to long-term harm.
He warns that the electrical energy used can also cause cardiac complications like arrest.

ANECDOTE

Clinical Encounters With Post-ECT Patients

Dr. Eric Berg recounts treating patients post-ECT who showed loss of personality, humor, and creativity.
He says he could not fully restore them because he viewed their condition as traumatic brain injury, not a nutritional issue.

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Stop this barbaric treatment! Sign the petition here: https://stopect.com/email-congress

This barbaric medical treatment is still being used to treat depression and mental illness in the US. Find out about the dangerous side effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), one of the most controversial mental health treatments that exists. You won’t believe they’re still doing this!

0:00 Introduction: ECT for depression

0:41 Electroshock treatment background

2:11 Is ECT dangerous?

2:23 What is electroconvulsive therapy?

4:22 More side effects of electroconvulsive therapy

4:38 Trauma from electroshock therapy

This barbaric mental health therapy costs around $2000 to $2500 per treatment, and is covered by Medicaid, Medicare, and the VA system. It’s a multibillion-dollar market! The average treatment plan includes 12 sessions in the first month, followed by maintenance sessions every 3 weeks.

This treatment has never been scientifically proven to work! There have been no official trials, and it has even been performed on children and pregnant women. The UN calls this treatment a human rights abuse and compares this forced treatment on minors to torture. In China, it’s actually used as a form of torture.

In addition, this treatment has never been FDA-approved and was merely grandfathered in. In 2018, the FDA downgraded it from a high-risk classification to a moderate-risk classification. This dangerous treatment causes structural brain damage, creates swelling and inflammation in the brain, and even kills brain cells.

Electroconvulsive therapy involves putting 150 volts through a person's brain to induce a grand mal seizure. ECT treatment comes with many side effects, has 60 documented adverse events, and can cause permanent brain damage, memory loss, and heart attacks.

This treatment uses enough energy to stop the heart, and there is nothing stopping the voltage from traveling to the rest of the body. This can lead to cardiac arrest! People who use this treatment are also at an increased risk of suicide.

I’ve seen firsthand in practice that people who’ve had this treatment lose their personality, humor, creativity, and more. ECT treatment can lead to death, destruction of cells and mitochondria, and shrinking of the hippocampus. Neurologist Dr. John Feinberg noted in 1977 that ECT caused structural brain damage, indistinguishable from head trauma.

If you have depression, diet and lifestyle changes may help. Increasing vitamin D levels, B-vitamin levels, and omega-3 levels, along with a low-carb diet and intermittent fasting, can significantly improve your symptoms.

Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio:

Dr. Berg, age 60, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals and author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media.

Disclaimer:

Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients, so he can focus on educating people as a full-time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose, and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, prescription, or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.