Metabolic Mind Podcast
Can nutritional ketosis offer hope for treatment-resistant depression? In this Metabolic Mind episode, Dr. Bret Scher interviews Dr. Megan Kirk Chang, a Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care. With a PhD in Kinesiology and Health Sciences and advanced training in Health Psychology, Dr. Kirk Chang has spent her career studying non-pharmacologic mental health interventions—from mindfulness and compassion training to exercise therapy. Now, she’s turning her scientific lens to ketogenic diets as potential adjunctive treatments for depression, cognitive decline, and psychosis.
In this conversation, she explains why she’s entering the metabolic psychiatry field despite not coming from a nutrition background, noting that “there’s too much of a signal to ignore.” She details her upcoming Oxford trials comparing ketogenic and Mediterranean diets in treatment-resistant depression and dementia-risk populations, exploring mechanisms involving neurotransmitter regulation, insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and the gut-brain axis. Dr. Kirk Chang also discusses the challenges of conducting dietary trials—ethical considerations, public misconceptions about keto, and the rigorous safety standards required for research approval.
With curiosity, empathy, and scientific rigor, she argues that precision nutrition may become an essential part of mental healthcare—helping people “return to their sense of aliveness.” This episode bridges cutting-edge research, lived compassion, and the future of nutritional psychiatry.