What If Depression Is Actually a Brain Energy Problem? | Drew Decker

About this episode

The episode explores the connection between depression and metabolic health through the lens of ketogenic diets with researcher Drew Decker.

What if depression is partly a metabolic problem? In this episode, Ben sits down with researcher Drew Decker from Dr. Jeff Volek’s lab to explore groundbreaking new research on the ketogenic diet and mental health. Drew shares the results of a pilot study investigating the effects of nutritional ketosis on individuals suffering from major depressive disorder — with participants seeing an average 70% improvement in depression scores. The conversation dives into: * The connection between metabolism and mental health * Why ketones may act as an alternative fuel source for the brain * Brain energy, mitochondrial health & BDNF * Why ketogenic diets may improve mood, cognition & resilience * The feasibility of keto in real-world college students * The role of ketosis in anxiety, depression & PTSD research * Exogenous ketones vs nutritional ketosis * Why metabolic psychiatry could transform mental health treatment Drew also shares his personal story of overcoming migraines and mental health struggles following a traumatic brain injury — and how ketogenic nutrition changed the trajectory of his life and career. This is a fascinating conversation at the intersection of…

People in this episode

Host: Benjamin Hopkins

Guest: Drew Decker

Topics covered

• depression
• ketogenic diet
• mental health
• metabolism
• nutrition
• brain energy
• PTSD

Keywords

• depression
• ketogenic diet
• nutritional ketosis
• mental health
• brain energy
• migraines
• PTSD
• cognition
• BDNF

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dr. Jeff Volek’s lab, Volek Lab, lowcarb.osu.edu

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