Metabolic Mind

Anorexia nervosa is a devastating eating disorder with the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness. Restricted diets are considered contraindicated in anorexia. However, emerging evidence suggests that therapeutic nutritional ketosis from a ketogenic diet could be a safe and effective treatment for those battling anorexia. In this podcast, we share the stories of participants of the first case studies of monotherapy with a ketogenic diet to treat active anorexia. In June 2023, Dr. Nick Norwitz published a case report of three dramatic stories of individuals living with anorexia who had failed to find a successful treatment. After all three tried an animal-based ketogenic diet, their thoughts and anxiety around food restriction disappeared. We are fortunate to have interviews with all three individuals, plus two more, including a registered dietician, all brave enough to share their stories and help educate everyone about their experience. It’s important to note that while this doesn’t mean nutritional ketosis is a cure for anorexia, these case reports provide important evidence that we need to consider. They challenge the common medical belief that a ketogenic diet is contraindicated in anorexia. Case reports like these are helping encourage more research into whether therapeutic nutritional ketosis can and should be used as a treatment for anorexia. Watch this channel for news of the first larger-scale clinical trial conducted by University of California, San Diego which will begin August 1 (via funding from Baszucki Group). Author of the Case Report: Nick Norwitz, PhD, Medical student at Harvard Medical School Twitter: @nicknorwitz Publications relevant to this video: Animal-based ketogenic diet puts severe anorexia nervosa into multi-year remission: A case series https://doi.org/10.4102/jir.v6i1.84 Remission from Chronic Anorexia Nervosa With Ketogenic Diet and Ketamine: Case Report https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00763/full Ketogenic diet and ketamine infusion treatment to target chronic persistent eating disorder psychopathology in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9803738/ Metabolic Mind’s playlist for Keto for Anorexia: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzWI83-NWCL4t_57bTvro3_Umzvr19KBF Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/ About us: Metabolic Mind™ is a nonprofit initiative incubated by Baszucki Group. Our mission is to provide education and resources in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, including ketogenic interventions for mental disorders. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. #MetabolicMind #KetoForMentalHealth #MetabolicPsychiatry #Anorexia #AnorexiaNervosa #KetoForEatingDisorders #NewAnorexiaResearch #EatingDisorder #KetoForAnorexia #MetabolicNeuroscience #KetogenicMetabolicTherapy #NutritionalKetosis #MentalIllnessTreatment #MentalHealthIsMetabolicHealth

Caroline lived with anorexia for 15 years and got to the point where she gave up hope of ever recovering and living a “normal” life. That is until her aunt, Dr. Barbara Scolnick, helped Caroline start a ketogenic diet and ketamine infusions. The result was dramatic. Caroline says she is now cured of her anorexia and lives the “normal” life she never thought she would. But it took courage, support, and faith in an unproven treatment to get her to where she is now. Here’s her dramatic and inspiring story. Featured in this video: Caroline Beckwith https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrKK8_znRxl4uO47AuMqglA Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/  About us: Metabolic Mind™ is a nonprofit initiative incubated by Baszucki Group. Our mission is to provide education and resources in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, including ketogenic interventions for mental disorders. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. #MetabolicMind  #KetoForMentalHealth  #MetabolicPsychiatry  #BipolarTreatment   #MetabolicNeuroscience  #KetogenicMetabolicTherapy  #NutritionalKetosis #MentalIllnessTreatment #MentalHealthIsMetabolicHealth #BipolarDiet #Anorexia #EatingDisorder #KetoForAnorexia

A new study of Ketogenic Diet for treating Anorexia Nervosa will launch at UC San Diego in late summer 2023. Leading psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Guido Frank joins The Metabolic Mind Podcast to discuss the goals and design of the upcoming trial. Patients will be enrolled for a study duration of 16 weeks. Dr. Frank also discusses the lack of new treatment paradigms for Anorexia, as well as potential mechanisms of action of ketogenic therapy, including changes in brain metabolism. Dr. Frank and his team will explore, in the study, whether nutritional ketosis could be an effective therapy, bringing hope to many living with Anorexia Nervosa. Metabolic Mind will share details of the study when it begins enrolling patients after IRB approval. One in person visit to UCSD is required, but the rest of the study will be conducted remotely. Guido Frank, MD Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD Eating Disorder Expert https://profiles.ucsd.edu/guido.frank Twitter @GuidoFrank Papers referenced in this video: Ketogenic diet and ketamine infusion treatment to target chronic persistent eating disorder psychopathology in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9803738/ Synergy between ketamine and ketogenic diet in anorexia nervosa, and other neurobehavioral disorders https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36788151/ Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/  About us: Metabolic Mind™ is a nonprofit initiative incubated by Baszucki Group. Our mission is to provide education and resources in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, including ketogenic interventions for mental disorders. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. #MetabolicMind  #KetoForMentalHealth  #MetabolicPsychiatry  #MetabolicNeuroscience  #KetogenicMetabolicTherapy  #NutritionalKetosis #MentalIllnessTreatment #MentalHealthIsMetabolicHealth #BipolarDiet #KetamineTherapy  #Anorexia  #EatingDisorder

Dr. Matthew Bernstein, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist with over 20 years of experience, shares his transformative journey into integrating metabolic treatments into psychiatric care. He discusses how nutritional ketosis dramatically improved his patients' outcomes and reignited his passion for medicine. Dr. Bernstein details the complex relationship between metabolic health and mental well-being, and emphasizes the importance of dietary changes, especially for individuals with mood disorders. He also advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration among clinicians to enhance treatment strategies.

Michelle Hurn put her anorexia into remission using nutritional ketosis through a ketogenic diet. That meant going against everything she was taught as a patient and as a dietitian. Now she wants to share her journey and help others achieve similar breakthrough results. But the path wasn’t easy. In this interview, you’ll hear how Michelle struggled for years to treat her anorexia and how she had to overcome her fear to finally try nutritional ketosis. As a registered dietitian, she now understands the faults in everything she learned and hopes to be a voice of reason for others looking for nutritional solutions to their health challenges. Table of Contents: 0:00 - Introduction 4:30 - Interview with Michelle Hurn 30:42 - Conclusion Featured in this video: Michelle Hurn, RD, author of Dietitian’s Dilemma Instagram @runeatmeatrepeat https://thedietitiansdilemma.net/ Relevant papers: Synergy between ketamine and ketogenic diet in anorexia nervosa, and other neurobehavioral disorders https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36788151/ Ketogenic diet and ketamine infusion treatment to target chronic persistent eating disorder psychopathology in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35997954/ Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/ About us: Metabolic Mind™ is a nonprofit initiative incubated by Baszucki Group. Our mission is to provide education and resources in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, including ketogenic interventions for mental disorders. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. #MetabolicMind #KetoForMentalHealth #MetabolicPsychiatry #Anorexia #EatingDisorder #KetoForAnorexia #KetogenicMetabolicTherapy #NutritionalKetosis #MentalIllnessTreatment #MentalHealthIsMetabolicHealth

Dr. Bret Scher, a board-certified cardiologist and lipidologist, challenges the myth that ketogenic diets increase heart disease risk. He emphasizes that narratives linking nutritional ketosis and heart issues stem from misleading data. The conversation highlights the importance of a comprehensive view of heart health, looking beyond just LDL cholesterol. Scher argues for individualized interpretations regarding the ketogenic diet and its effects on cardiovascular health, unveiling a nuanced perspective on metabolism and heart disease.

Dr. Shebani Sethi, a psychiatrist at Stanford specializing in metabolic mental health, and Dr. Cynthia Calkin from Dalhousie, an expert in psychiatric therapies, dive into the fascinating link between metabolic health and mental illness. They discuss how therapies like nutritional ketosis and metformin might alleviate severe psychiatric symptoms. The conversation highlights the significance of robust clinical trials and shares insights on how these findings can impact real-world patient care, especially for those seeking alternative treatment options.

Can a keto diet help with tapering psychiatric medications in conditions like bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, or other psychiatric illness? Can you decrease or even stop taking some or all of your medications? There is no universal answer to this question; it depends on the individual.  Psychotropic medications are typically first-line therapy for treating serious mental illness and can be life-saving. But over time, medications alone may not be completely effective in treating symptoms. And especially at high doses, they can come with problematic side effects. Metabolic nutritional therapy, specifically with nutritional ketosis, can add another treatment layer and may help promote cognitive function, mood stability and energy and overall functioning. Anecdotal evidence and growing numbers of case reports show that nutritional ketosis can help people be well enough to consider lowering the doses and number of their medications. That said, we cannot stress enough that it is essential that anyone considering reducing their medications work with their prescribing clinician, whether or not they are using nutritional ketosis as a treatment strategy.    Experts featured in this video: Georgia Ede, MD - www.diagnosisdiet.com Twitter @GeorgiaEdeMD  Ketogenic Diets and Psychiatric Medications https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/diagnosis-diet/201803/ketogenic-diets-and-psychiatric-medications Matt Baszucki, co-host of Bipolarcast on YouTube BipolarCast - YouTube Study Referenced: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35873236/ Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/  About us: Metabolic Mind™ is a nonprofit initiative incubated by Baszucki Group. Our mission is to provide education and resources in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, including ketogenic interventions for mental disorders. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. #MetabolicMind  #KetoForMentalHealth  #MetabolicPsychiatry  #MedicationReduction #BipolarTreatment   #MetabolicNeuroscience  #KetogenicMetabolicTherapy  #DepressionTreatment #NutritionalKetosis #MentalIllnessTreatment #MentalHealthIsMetabolicHealth #BipolarDiet #TaperingPsychiatricMedications #TaperMeds #KetoTaperingMeds #KetoPsychMeds #TaperMedsBipolar #TaperDepressionMeds

A newly published pilot study indicates a keto diet combined with ketamine infusions can dramatically improve anorexia nervosa eating disorder. But it may not be right for everyone. Hear from the study’s authors about why they conducted the study and who they think this approach could help. Experts featured in this video: Barbara Scolnick, MD Internist and Eating Disorder Specialist Guido Frank, MD Professor of Psychiatry at UCSD Eating Disorder Expert https://profiles.ucsd.edu/guido.frank Twitter @GuidoFrank Lori Calabrese, MD Founder and Medical Director of Innovative Psychiatry https://www.loricalabresemd.com/meet-lori-calabrese/ Twitter @loricalabresemd Papers referenced in this video: Ketogenic diet and ketamine infusion treatment to target chronic persistent eating disorder psychopathology in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9803738/ Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/ About us: Metabolic Mind™ is a nonprofit initiative incubated by Baszucki Group. Our mission is to provide education and resources in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, including ketogenic interventions for mental disorders. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. #MetabolicMind #KetoForMentalHealth #MetabolicPsychiatry #MetabolicNeuroscience #KetogenicMetabolicTherapy #NutritionalKetosis#MentalIllnessTreatment#MentalHealthIsMetabolicHealth#BipolarDiet#ketaminetherapy #anorexia #eatingdisorder

Metabolic dysfunction, such as insulin resistance and pre-diabetes, is closely associated with symptoms of depression. But how do we know if metabolic dysfunction causes depression? Or if metabolic therapies could treat depression? Those are more difficult questions to answer, but there is accumulating biological evidence that links insulin resistance and depressive disorders. Dr. Natalie Rasgon, a psychiatrist and clinician-researcher at Stanford University, published an important paper suggesting a possible causative role. Her research showed that measures of insulin resistance predicted the incidence of major depressive disorder. We discuss the background and findings of the study, as well as the take-home message–screening for and treating metabolic dysfunction can improve symptoms of depression. Experts featured in this video: Natalie Rasgon, MD PhD Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University https://profiles.stanford.edu/natalie-rasgon Articles referenced in this video: Incident major depressive disorder predicted by three measures of insulin resistance: A Dutch cohort study https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2021.20101479 Follow our channel for more information and education from Bret Scher, MD, FACC, including interviews with leading experts in Metabolic Psychiatry. Learn more about metabolic psychiatry and find helpful resources at https://metabolicmind.org/ About us: Metabolic Mind™ is a nonprofit initiative incubated by Baszucki Group. Our mission is to provide education and resources in the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry, including ketogenic interventions for mental disorders. Our channel is for informational purposes only. We are not providing individual or group medical or healthcare advice nor establishing a provider-patient relationship. Many of the interventions we discuss can have dramatic or potentially dangerous effects if done without proper supervision. Consult your healthcare provider before changing your lifestyle or medications. #MetabolicMind #KetoForMentalHealth #MetabolicPsychiatry #BipolarTreatment #MetabolicNeuroscience #KetogenicMetabolicTherapy #DepressionTreatment#NutritionalKetosis#MentalIllnessTreatment#MentalHealthIsMetabolicHealth#BipolarDiet#insulinresistance #InsulinResistanceDepression#TreatmentResistantDepression