Joshua Parker76 said:Look, I get that food can impact your mental state, but the idea that it’ll just delete schizophrenia symptoms? No way. When I asked my psychiatrist how much longer I'd be stuck on antipsychotics, he basically told me: "Just be glad we actually have decent meds available."
It’s probably hard to draw any solid conclusions right now, maybe because there aren't enough clinical studies yet, but I guess these examples are worth noting:
New study: Severe mental illness improves on a ketogenic diet
A psychiatrist in France is seeing incredible results in hospitalized patients. :
Depression and psychosis symptoms improved in all 28 patients who followed the diet for more than two weeks, with changes appearing within three weeks or less. About 43% of patients reached clinical remission, and 64% were discharged from the hospital needing fewer psychiatric medications. Dr. Danan has never seen this level of improvement before—even with patients he's treated for years or decades, most of whom had been hospitalized under his care multiple times.
An article by Harvard professor Chris Palmer
Chronic schizophrenia put into remission without meds
"The focus shifted toward bioenergetics—essentially how brain cells produce energy. It's well-documented that people with schizophrenia are three times more likely to develop diabetes. There's a common debate about whether antipsychotics cause this, since they are known to lead to weight gain and diabetes. However, recent research suggests that isn't the whole story. It seems even those newly diagnosed with schizophrenia may already show insulin resistance, even if they haven't developed diabetes yet. This implies their brains might not be getting enough energy from glucose. Other brain studies have uncovered metabolic issues, such as increased inflammation and oxidative stress.
The medical version of the ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb, moderate-protein regimen that has
proven effective for epilepsy. In my article, I explain how the ketogenic diet can help stop seizures by looking at its history and the research showing it as a powerful intervention for epilepsy.
Don't let the word 'diet' fool you; this is a potent medical intervention. Studies indicate that over 50 percent of children with drug-resistant epilepsy see a significant drop in seizure frequency and severity, with some becoming seizure-free.
Using epilepsy medications in psychiatry isn't anything new. Anticonvulsants are frequently used to manage psychiatric disorders. Examples include Depakote, Lamictal, Tegretol, Neurontin, Topamax, and all benzodiazepines (like Valium and Ativan, which are typically prescribed for anxiety). These anticonvulsants are routinely used in treating various psychiatric conditions..."
