Research shows promising results for health care professionals using ketogenic diet therapy to treat mental illness

by Ryan Fox, University of Maryland School of Medicine

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Specialized high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets, known as ketogenic metabolic therapy, are showing promise as treatments for certain mental illnesses in emerging research.

Now, a new study from researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC) shows that an immersive training program can improve health care providers' confidence in using ketogenic dietary treatment plans for their patients.

The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Ketogenic metabolic therapy incorporates about 75% of calories from dietary fats, about 20% from protein and usually less than 10% from carbohydrates. It shifts the body's metabolism from relying on glucose to relying on ketones, which psychiatric researchers think may help alleviate certain neurological and psychiatric symptoms that don't respond well to prescription medications.

For example, the ketogenic diet is currently recommended as the standard of care for children with epilepsy whose seizures have not responded to traditional seizure medications, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Several new studies suggest it has a potential role as a complementary treatment for psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression, in patients who are not responding to traditional therapies.

"We launched this study because the science around ketogenic metabolic therapy in mental health is advancing rapidly, and we wanted health care professionals to be prepared to add it to their treatment options," said lead investigator Deanna L. Kelly, PharmD, BCPP, the Dr. William and Carol Carpenter Professor in Psychiatry for Mental Illness Research at the School of Medicine and director of the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. "Clinicians considering this approach with their patients should understand both the potential benefits and the practical challenges as new data continue to emerge."

The study evaluated "Live It ~ Launch It," a two-part training program developed by the University of Maryland School of Medicine team and funded by Baszucki Group, a private advocacy organization advancing metabolic therapies.

The pilot study enrolled 40 health care professionals from across the United States, including psychiatrists, psychiatric pharmacists, psychologists, therapists and other health professionals. Participants first completed a four-hour online educational course covering the foundations of ketogenic metabolic therapy, different approaches to ketogenic diets, nutrition, monitoring and potential adverse effects when implementing the diets in clinical care.

They were then offered the opportunity to try the ketogenic diet themselves during a four-week "lived experience" phase; 25 participants opted in, receiving guidance from registered dietitians and physician nutrition specialists as part of a group cohort.

Kelly and her colleagues found that guided education combined with firsthand experience using the ketogenic diet substantially increased clinicians' confidence in explaining the benefits and risks of the therapy to patients with difficult-to-treat mental health disorders.

The experience helped clinicians understand potential challenges to adhering to the diet and gave them substantially greater confidence in their ability to engage patients in shared decision-making about the therapy, including greater comfort in partnering with nutritionists when needed.

"Many people living with schizophrenia also struggle with weight gain, insulin resistance and other metabolic problems that may be worsened by antipsychotic medications and contribute to cardiovascular risk," Kelly said. "An approach that could improve metabolic health while also helping psychiatric symptoms would represent a very meaningful advance for patients and families."

The researchers emphasize that the findings should be considered preliminary. Future research will need to examine whether training translates into changes in clinical practice.

The School of Medicine researchers also noted that while data are emerging quickly, additional randomized controlled trials and longer-term studies are needed to establish the efficacy and appropriate clinical use of ketogenic diets in mental health care overall.

"What stood out in this study was how much clinicians gained from going beyond traditional education and actually experiencing ketogenic metabolic therapy themselves," said Sidney Murray, Ph.D., MS, a postdoctoral fellow at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center and lead author of the study. "Learning the science is important, but following the diet firsthand gave participants a much deeper understanding of the practical challenges their patients may face."

The research team is preparing to publish a companion paper that assesses the health care professionals' physical health, mental health, nutrition and metabolic measures during the four-week ketogenic diet phase.

The researchers say the findings will help inform the development of future ketogenic metabolic training programs and larger studies designed to determine whether the approach can be implemented safely and effectively in routine mental health care.

Publication details

Sidney L. Murray et al, Pilot evaluation of an educational and lived experience training program on ketogenic metabolic therapy in mental health care for health care professionals, Frontiers in Psychiatry (2026). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1913325

Journal information: Frontiers in Psychiatry

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PsychiatryPsychology & Mental healthNutrition & Healthy eating Provided by University of Maryland School of Medicine Who's behind this story?

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