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Psychology & Behavioral Science Active Updated Jul 9, 2026

Metabolic interventions for mental illness

A randomized controlled trial from UCSF found a ketogenic diet reduced clinical symptoms of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and improved daily cognitive performance, with effects that held after controlling for weight loss. The working hypothesis is that antipsychotic medications often disrupt the brain's ability to use glucose, and ketones produced when the body runs on fat may restore fuel to neural circuits standard drugs cannot reach. The arc spans nutrition science, metabolic biology, and psychiatry, and will run as larger trials test whether the mechanism holds and whether dietary int

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  1. Jul 9, 2026 Latest

    A UCSF randomized controlled trial published in Schizophrenia Bulletin found 83 percent of patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder maintained ketosis through a one-month primary phase, rising to 94 percent in a voluntary four-month extension, with no severe side effects reported [92]. Psychiatric improvements held after researchers controlled for weight loss, and higher blood ketone levels correlated directly with sharper drops in both blood glucose and clinical depression scores, suggesting the effect is metabolic rather than a byproduct of slimming [92].

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