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When our founders, the Baszucki family, first learned about ketogenic diets for treating mental illness, information was hard to find. We created Metabolic Mind to fill the gap.
Our team at Metabolic Mind has witnessed how metabolic therapies can be life-changing. We seek to bring together credible scientific research, clinical wisdom, real-life stories, and practical tools to help you on your metabolic mental wellness journey.
A clear, step-by-step introduction to ketogenic therapy as a metabolic approach to mental health, designed to help you understand your options and move forward with the right support.
What you’ll learn:
· What metabolic psychiatry is—and why it’s gaining attention
· How ketogenic therapy may support brain and mental health
· What to consider before getting started, including safety and clinical support
How to begin thinking about a personalized approach
This guide is educational and designed to support informed conversations with your care team.

“Psychiatrists need to start thinking like whole-person doctors, because the brain is part of the body.”
Dr. Georgia Ede
Harvard-trained psychiatrist and author of Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind

If clinicians on your care team are interested in supporting your ketogenic therapy journey but have not yet been trained in metabolic psychiatry, free Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses are available. These courses offer certification and can help meet annual education requirements. We encourage you to share this opportunity with your care team if they are interested in learning more and enrolling.
Free Trainings
This paper, authored and reviewed by experienced mental health practitioners, provides consensus on 33 evidence-based statements defining what ketogenic metabolic therapy is, who it is and isn’t appropriate for, how it should be monitored, and best practices for its clinical use. Download it and share it with your clinicians so they can learn more.
Download Consensus Paper
Before starting ketogenic therapy, many people find it helpful to request labs that will establish your metabolic health baseline and identify any pre-existing conditions. You could ask your psychiatrist or your primary care provider to order a blood draw, or order them yourself from Own Your Labs. This PDF includes a consensus from our clinical advisors as to the most helpful labs to draw before starting keto.
Download Lab Request PDFDownload Harvard-trained psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede’s evidence-informed guide to managing ketogenic therapy and medications—covering food/med interactions, monitoring, how to find support, and safe tapering principles.
Emily Anne Herrick
in remission from
Depression
Matthew Baszucki
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Bipolar 1
Lauren Kennedy West
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Schizoaffective Disorder
Caroline Beckwith
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Wesley Braden
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Bipolar 2
Neseret Bemient
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Antidepressant Induced Bipolar 2
Eric Rodgers
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Depression
Mia Mendez
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Bipolar Disorder
Robyn Dobbins
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Bipolar, Depression, OCD
Harmony Bright
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Schizophrenia
Steven T.
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Bipolar 2 Mixed, Substance Abuse
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Bipolar Type 2, Binge Eating Disorder
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Major Depression & Generalized Anxiety
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Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
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Depression
Lori
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Depression, OCD, Trichotillomania, & PTSD
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Bipolar 2
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Schizoaffective Disorder
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Bipolar 1
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Schizophrenia
Jenny Mitich
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Kristina Cook
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Caitlin Hoey
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Schizophrenia
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Cynthia Pena
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Taylor Bell
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Heather Flood
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Lisa Blackstone
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Terese Blåklokke
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Schizoaffective disorder
Mary Piper
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Courtney Voss
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Azi Jankovic, EdD
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Stephanie Lincoln
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Ruby Urlocker
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Kiara L’Herpiniere
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Major depression, treatment resistant depression, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, cPTSD, auADHD, bulimia, POTS, hEDS, MCAS
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Joomee Kyler
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Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, TIC disorder, and Type 2 diabetes
EPISODES
Nutritional ketosis, or ketogenic therapy, can help improve symptoms of mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and more. A ketogenic diet alters physiology, so it’s important to understand challenges, risks, potential benefits and mechanisms before you begin. THINK+SMART provides a helpful framework, and Metabolic Mind’s YouTube channel has playlists to get you started.
“You do not actually know what your brain is capable of if you do not treat underlying factors, including metabolic disorder. There is a treatment option here that could be life-changing for you.
Nicole Laurent, LMHC
What is the connection between metabolic health and mental health?
Many people are surprised to learn that numerous studies indicate that those with poor metabolic health, including impairments like insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, or type 2 diabetes, have a significantly increased risk of serious mental illness such as bipolar disorder, major depression, or schizophrenia.
The correlation holds in the opposite direction as well; those with serious mental illness have a higher likelihood of having metabolic dysfunction. Clinical experience and emerging evidence suggest that improving metabolism through ketogenic diets–as well as smart approaches to nutrient deficiencies, sleep, exercise, and stress reduction–can create mental health. This is the connection we explore at Metabolic Mind.
What are metabolic therapies for mental health?
Metabolic therapies for mental health are interventions or treatments that improve systemic metabolic and mitochondrial function to prevent, reduce, or eliminate symptoms of psychiatric illness. Typical therapies include nutritional ketosis, sleep management, movement/exercise, substance use management, meditation, and mindfulness. In addition, medications that improve insulin resistance are sometimes used to address psychiatric symptoms.
What mental illnesses can be helped by metabolic therapies?
At Metabolic Mind, we are primarily focused on the most serious mental illnesses like major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and anorexia nervosa. But in his book Brain Energy, Dr. Chris Palmer posits that if mental illness results from metabolic and mitochondrial dysfunction of the brain, then any disorder caused by disordered energy metabolism could benefit from these therapies. According to Dr. Palmer, the scientific literature has identified mitochondrial dysfunction in the following psychiatric conditions:
What is ketogenic therapy for mental illness?
Ketogenic therapy for mental illness is a sustained dietary strategy that improves metabolic function by inducing therapeutic nutritional ketosis to prevent, reduce, or eliminate symptoms of psychiatric illness.
There can be many different components of ketogenic therapy, but it often includes selecting a low-carb dietary strategy (what and what not to eat), establishing a target macronutrient ratio (typically 60% calories or more from fat), measuring ketones daily, and restricting timing of eating (when and when not to eat). Ketogenic therapy can also include tracking metabolic and mental health measures (see our sample lab order here), and supplementing with electrolytes, MCT oil, exogenous ketones, carnitine, Vitamin D, B12, and other nutrients.
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