Metabolic Mind

Ever wonder why your ketone levels dip after a few months on a ketogenic diet? Or how exogenous ketones compare to ketones produced naturally? In this Metabolic Mailbag episode, Dr. Bret Scher and Dr. Georgia Ede unpack the latest round of keto questions asked by the community. 💡 You’ll learn: What lower ketone levels actually mean How to know if you need to raise your ketones How exogenous keton...

What does it really look like to heal a serious mental illness with ketogenic therapy? At Metabolic Mind, we often highlight powerful stories of individuals putting serious psychiatric conditions into remission with ketogenic and metabolic therapies. But healing isn't always linear, and it's rarely easy. In this honest and deeply human episode, Dr. Bret Scher and Dr. Georgia Ede sit down with Matt...

Is the diet being promoted to “save the planet” actually based on environmental data? In this eye-opening interview, Dr. Frank Mitloehner, air quality specialist and director of the CLEAR Center at UC Davis, unpacks the claims behind the EAT-Lancet 2.0 report, particularly the idea that cutting animal-sourced foods will drastically reduce environmental harm. Despite widespread media framing it as...

People living with serious mental health conditions face a dramatically higher risk of premature death, not only from psychiatric symptoms, but from the cardiometabolic complications that often accompany their treatment. Despite decades of awareness, this critical issue remains under recognized and under treated. In this episode of the Metabolic Mind podcast, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with two leading...

In this episode of the Metabolic Mind podcast, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with L.J. Amaral, a registered dietitian, certified in nutrition oncology, and PhD student researcher at Cedars-Sinai, about where ketogenic therapy may fit into cancer care. Together they emphasize a crucial point: in oncology, we’re not just treating the tumor, we’re treating the whole person. The quality of life, physical stre...

Thinking about reducing or stopping psychiatric medication? It may not be the right approach for everyone, but for someone considering it, there's much to keep in mind. For instance, many individuals who adopt ketogenic therapy and other metabolic strategies often find themselves in need of reducing medication. But how can they do it safely and with minimal risk? In part 2 of our 2-part series on...

The EAT-Lancet Commission recently released their updated "Planetary Health Diet" and preemptively labeled a number of health experts who pushed back as “mis-influencers.” Dr. Georgia Ede was one of those health experts labeled and in this episode of the Metabolic Mind podcast, she joins Dr. Bret Scher to unpack the many flaws of the EAT-Lancet 2.0 report. In this episode, you’ll learn about: The...

Psychiatric medications have become a standard of care for many mental illnesses. For some, these medications can be life-changing. For others, they may offer little relief, cause intolerable side effects, lose effectiveness over time, or even worsen symptoms. Regardless, many individuals eventually seek to reduce or discontinue psychiatric medication use—often without adequate support. Unfortunat...

Ketogenic therapy is a powerful tool for weight loss. But not everyone who cuts carbs is able to achieve their goal weight and metabolic health goals. Could GLP-1s offer the missing piece when low-carb and clean eating aren’t quite enough? In this episode of the Metabolic Mind Podcast, Dr. Bret Scher sits down with Dr. Shannon Robinson, a board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine special...

Depression that doesn’t improve, or gets labeled as treatment resistant, can leave people feeling without options and hopeless. But what if there was another way forward? In this interview, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with Silvia J. Covelli, founder and CEO of the Healing Depression Project, and Dr. Achina Stein, a board-certified psychiatrist and functional medicine physician. Together, they share how...

Ketogenic therapy for mental illness is gaining attention, with more and more patients looking to incorporate this strategy into their care plan. The problem is that sometimes patients struggle to find providers to help them and providers often lack the expertise and confidence to prescribe this strategy. These issues led to a light bulb moment for Dr. Kelly, “We’ve got to capacity build, we have...

Dr. Ryan Patel, senior staff psychiatrist at The Ohio State University, shares a practical, evidence-based roadmap for helping young adults thrive during the most turbulent years of brain and behavior development. Across this deep dive, Dr. Patel explains why 18–24-year-olds are a distinct clinical population and how day-to-day habits can make or break academic performance, quality of life, and lo...

Are there new treatment options for college students living with depression? Mental health challenges are rising at an alarming rate among young people—and college campuses are feeling the impact. Nearly half of students report depressive symptoms, and conventional treatments aren’t enough for many of them. But what if just changing what you eat could offer new hope? A recent pilot study out of Th...

A groundbreaking study from The Ohio State University shows that ketogenic therapy may dramatically reduce symptoms of major depression in college students. In this interview, study research leads Dr. Jeff Volek and Drew Decker break down the results: 100% of participants responded 69-71% improvements in depression scores Improvements in cognitive performance, body composition, and metabolic healt...

Are ultra-processed foods really the villain, or is the story more complicated? In this lively, no-nonsense conversation, endocrinologist Dr. David Ludwig (of Harvard and Boston Children’s Hospital) and journalist Gary Taubes unpack why “UPF” is an enticing label but a blunt tool for science, policy, and everyday guidance. They cover: Why defining “ultra-processed” is messy, and how lumping divers...

What happens when someone living in and out of homelessness, battling schizophrenia, and cycling through hospitals and medications discovers ketogenic therapy? In this powerful interview, Dr. Bret Scher speaks with registered nutritional therapist Moira Newiss about one of the most remarkable published case reports to date. Despite overwhelming socioeconomic challenges, including periods of living...

Could tackling visceral fat be the key to finally reversing the chronic disease crisis? Unlike the fat you see on your waistline, visceral fat hides deep inside your body, wrapping around organs like your liver, pancreas, and even your heart. And far from being inert, this fat acts like an inflammatory organ, fueling disease, undermining your immune system, and raising the risk of diabetes, cancer...

Despite decades of therapy and pharmaceutical use, most patients with major depressive disorder fail to achieve full relief. In part three of our series, Harvard-trained psychiatrist and nutrition specialist Dr. Georgia Ede shares why lifestyle interventions are actually some of the most powerful tools we have for fighting treatment resistant depression. Drawing on years of clinical practice and p...

Treatment-resistant depression can feel like the end of the road, but there are more options than most people realize. Beyond traditional antidepressants, a range of innovative treatments exist, including: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) Repetitive Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) Vagus nerve stimulation Rapid-acting compounds like ketamine, esketamine, and psilocybin These treatments are...

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro have become household names, celebrated as breakthrough treatments for weight loss and obesity. But while headlines showcase dramatic before-and-after photos and promises of rapid transformation, when we step beyond the marketing, a more nuanced reality comes to light. In this candid conversation, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, a family medicine physician...

What is treatment resistant depression and perhaps more importantly, what does it say about the ineffective care many receive? Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is defined as major depressive disorder (MDD) that fails to respond to at least 2 anti-depressant medications. Nearly 10% of the adult population in the U.S. experience a major depressive episode each year. The numbers in our youth are...

Is food addiction a mental illness? Should ultra-processed foods rich in sugar and refined carbohydrates be classified alongside alcohol, nicotine, and other addictive substances linked to substance use disorders? Food addiction (especially to processed, packaged, carb-heavy foods) is real, widespread, and often misunderstood by both the public and healthcare professionals. Dr. Bret Scher and Dr....

Ketogenic therapy for mental health is gaining traction, but what happens when it doesn’t seem to work or even makes things worse? In this episode, Dr. Georgia Ede and Dr. Bret Scher answer some of the most common questions about ketogenic diets, including what to do when your mental health doesn’t improve, how to properly enter ketosis, and why sweeteners, snacks, and dairy might be holding you b...

Is high protein intake responsible for chronic kidney disease? Have you ever heard that ketogenic diets are harmful to your kidneys? These are just a few of the common kidney health myths debunked in this interview with Dr. Thomas Weimbs, who says that traditional views on what causes chronic kidney disease are “definitely not founded in science.” Dr. Thomas Weimbs, professor and vice chair at UC...

What’s the difference between a low-carb diet and a ketogenic diet, especially when it comes to mental health? In this premiere Mailbag episode, Dr. Bret Scher (Medical Director at Metabolic Mind) and Harvard trained psychiatrist Dr. Georgia Ede answer some of the most common questions they receive about ketogenic diets specifically for mental illness. Whether you're new to ketogenic therapy or ha...