Severe psychiatric illness and metabolic disorders are closely linked

How to kill two birds with one stone: the ketogenic diet.

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May) and this year the theme is movement and how it can improve mood. I find that disappointing, if I’m honest.

Not that I disagree with the premise behind the movement theme; exercise is good for everyone and positively impacts the mind. Indeed, I’ve written elsewhere about how exercise can protect against dementia and depression.

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It’s just that however well intentioned, suggestions such as “dancing around the living room”, as proposed by the charity the Mental Health Foundation, are not likely to spark many lightbulbs.

My disappointment lies in the scant awareness of genuinely exciting developments such as the results of a pilot study published the same month as Mental Health Awareness Week, offering real hope for sufferers.

This study examined the effects of the ketogenic diet on people with either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, alongside metabolic abnormalities. The ketogenic diet is essentially a very low carbohydrate, high fat and/or protein diet. Metabolic and psychiatric health are closely linked, suggesting that some causes of mental illness may be rooted in metabolic disturbances.

This was a four-month trial involving 23 participants. By the end of the study period, all 23 had eliminated every symptom of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms — insulin resistance, high blood pressure, high blood fats and an expanded waistline — that increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. All the participants lost weight, with reduced waist circumference and abdominal fat. Blood fats (triglyceride levels) dropped by 25%.

The changes to their mental health were equally as impressive.