About this episode

The episode discusses the first randomized controlled trial showing the benefits of ketogenic therapy for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

New evidence from the first-ever RCT shows ketogenic therapy can rapidly improve metabolic health in schizophrenia-spectrum and bipolar I disorders, and shows early signals of psychiatric improvement. In this video, Dr. Bret Scher breaks down this newly published study led by Dr. Judith Ford at UCSF: the first randomized controlled trial with peer-reviewed results investigating ketogenic therapy in people with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and bipolar-1 disorder with psychotic features. You’ll learn: How the study was designed (a 1-month randomized phase plus an optional 3-4 month single-arm extension) What happened in the first 30 days (clear improvements in metabolic markers; psychiatric outcomes showed trends that did not reach statistical significance in the randomized portion) What improved over longer follow-up in the extension phase (encouraging changes in metabolic health, cognition, and psychiatric measures) Why this matters for patients and families today, and what future, longer controlled trials need to confirm Published in Schizophrenia Bulletin and funded by the NIMH and Baszucki Group, this study adds to the growing literature on the potential benefit of…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Bret Scher

Topics covered

• ketogenic therapy
• schizophrenia
• bipolar disorder
• mental health
• randomized controlled trial
• metabolic health

Keywords

• ketogenic therapy
• schizophrenia
• bipolar disorder
• mental health
• RCT
• metabolic health
• psychiatric improvement

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UCSF, NIMH, Baszucki Group

Books & works: Schizophrenia Bulletin

More episodes of Metabolic Mind

• Meet Dr. Bret Scher: The Host Behind Metabolic Mind · July 21, 2026 · 48 min
• Psychiatry Research Priorities: Keto, GLP-1s, Exercise & Mental Illness · July 19, 2026 · 30 min
• BITESIZE: Lipidologist Questions the New Keto and Liver Disease Study · July 16, 2026 · 8 min
• How One CGM Changed This Cardiologist’s Life · July 14, 2026 · 43 min
• Dr. Dom D'Agostino on Why Metabolic Health Matters for the Brain · July 12, 2026 · 14 min
• First RCT of Keto for Schizophrenia & Bipolar Disorder: Results & Future Directions · July 10, 2026 · 21 min

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