Mental health can also benefit from a ketogenic diet, and appropriate nutritional interventions appear to be a promising complementary treatment option for severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
A US research team from Stanford Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, the University of California-San Francisco and the School of Nursing at the University of Michigan conducted a pilot study to examine the effects of the ketogenic diet on people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The results are published in the specialist magazine “Psychiatry Research”.
Antipsychotics are a double-edged sword
For people with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, standard treatment with antipsychotics can be a double-edged sword, the researchers explain.
While these drugs help regulate brain chemistry, they often cause metabolic side effects such as insulin resistance and obesity that are so distressing that many sufferers stop taking the drugs, experts said.
A ketogenic diet is known to have positive effects on metabolism and can also have positive neurological effects.
For example, the ketogenic diet has been shown to be effective for treatment-resistant epileptic seizures by reducing the excitability of neurons in the brain, reports study author Dr. Shebani Sethi.
“We therefore thought it would be worthwhile to investigate this treatment in psychiatric disorders,” Sethi continued.
Pilot study with 21 participants
In the four-month pilot study with 21 adult participants who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, were taking antipsychotics and had a metabolic disorder, the researchers tested the effects of the ketogenic diet.
Participants were instructed to follow a ketogenic diet in which approximately ten percent of calories came from carbohydrates, 30 percent from protein and 60 percent from fat. However, they were allowed to consume as many calories as they wanted.
The research team measured how well the participants followed their diet by measuring ketone levels in their blood weekly. In addition, various psychiatric and metabolic examinations were carried out throughout the study.
At the end of the trial, 14 participants were completely adherent to therapy, six were semi-adherent and only one was not adherent to therapy, the researchers report.
Clear positive effects
While 29 percent of the participants met the criteria for metabolic syndrome before the study, after four months of the ketogenic diet, none of the participants no longer had metabolic syndrome, the experts continued.
According to the researchers, on average, the participants lost ten percent of their body weight, reduced their waist circumference by eleven percent and recorded a significant reduction in body mass index, blood pressure, triglycerides, blood sugar levels and insulin resistance.
“Even if you take antipsychotics, we can reverse obesity, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. I think this is very encouraging for those affected,” emphasizes Dr. Sethi.
Improved psychological well-being
The psychiatric benefits were also striking. The assessment using the “Clinical Global Impressions Scale” showed an average improvement of 31 percent in the participants on the ketogenic diet, with three quarters of the group showing a clinically significant improvement, the researchers explain.
Last but not least, the participants also reported better sleep and a greater quality of life and they felt healthier and more hopeful, said Dr. Sethi.
In addition, a greater benefit was seen in the adherent group compared to the semi-adherent group, indicating a possible dose-response relationship.
Overall, the published results suggest that dietary intervention can be an effective aid in the treatment of mental illness, the research team concluded. (fp)
