Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced criticism after he said he recently saw a study showing that a ketogenic diet could treat schizophrenia. Mental health experts say there is no strong evidence to support diet as a treatment.While promoting his new food pyramid, which encourages people to eat more red meat and dairy products, Kennedy Jr. said he saw research claiming that a Harvard doctor “cured schizophrenia with the keto diet.”Researchers disagree, saying that science does not support this claim.
Kennedy Jr. appeared to be referring to Dr. Christopher Palmer, a Harvard psychiatrist who studies the ketogenic diet and mental illness, The Guardian reported.
Palmer responded by saying that he “never used the word ‘treatment’ in my work. I have never claimed to have treated any mental illness, including schizophrenia,” and added: “I have spoken of the ketogenic diet as a very powerful treatment, even to the point of inducing remission of schizophrenic symptoms.
“Palmer’s comments are based on two case reports published in the journal Schizophrenia Research in 2019. The reports described two women, aged 39 and 82, with long-term schizophrenia.
They started the ketogenic diet for other health reasons. Over time, both said their psychological symptoms improved, and they later stopped taking the medication.But Palmer said evidence that two people test positive means nothing. “Case reports don’t prove anything. They’re uncontrolled. They come with a tremendous amount of bias,” he said. He explained that recovery from schizophrenia is rare, and such cases can help guide future research.He also warned patients not to stop taking the medication without medical supervision. In one case, the patient worked with her doctor to safely reduce her medications. The other stopped suddenly.“Let me be clear, this was an absolute disaster for her. She became severely psychotic. She was hospitalized for over two months,” Palmer said. She later returned to the medication and safely reduced it.
What is the keto diet?
The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, very low-carb diet designed to put the body into ketosis, a metabolic state where it burns fat instead of glucose for energy.
It was developed in the 1920s to treat epilepsy and is now also being studied for weight loss and some neurological conditions.Common foods on the keto diet include eggs, meat, fish, cheese, butter, nuts, seeds, and low-carb vegetables like spinach and broccoli. A typical meal could be grilled salmon cooked in olive oil, served with spinach and avocado on the side.
