Food therapy
Clinical trial finds that metabolic effects of a high-fat, low-carb diet may improve psychiatric conditions
Antipsychotic drugs can trigger insulin resistance and obesity, but a dietary intervention may help reverse these side effects. A pilot study led by Stanford Medicine researchers found that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet not only restored metabolic health in patients on antipsychotic medications but also improved their psychiatric conditions.
The study was published in March in Psychiatry Research. The first author is Shebani Sethi, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, who coined the term metabolic psychiatry.
In a four-month pilot trial, the researchers followed 21 adults who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, took antipsychotic medications and had a metabolic abnormality, such as weight gain or insulin resistance. The participants were instructed to follow a ketogenic diet, with approximately 10% of their calories coming from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 60% from fat.
Before the trial, 29% of the participants met the criteria for metabolic syndrome. After four months on a ketogenic diet, none of the participants had metabolic syndrome. On average, the participants improved 31% on a psychiatric rating of mental illness known as the clinical global impressions scale, with three-quarters of the group showing clinically meaningful improvement.
Overall, the participants also reported better sleep and greater life satisfaction.
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