Are Mental Illnesses Really Metabolic Disorders? | with Dr. Chris Palmer 

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Post partum psychosis clearly demonstrates that psychosis has connections to hormones and metabolism. I pray the research continues!

I recently changed from keto to carnivore, after two weeks my lifelong anxiety and depression seemed to vanish and my mood, energy, etc continue to improve, brain fog gone, memory and focus better than i can remember. I'm 70 years old..

omg omg omg. Can't believe this interview happened! We applied these lifestyle interventions with my mom who has schizoaffective symptoms and it healed so much of her. I really appreciate Dr. Palmer sharing his story with his mom because it validated so much of our experience. Watching now 💛

12:15 Just wanted to add that insulin resistance may also be a bodily response to childhood trauma (as per the findings of other studies) or a factor related to poverty and its associated stressors, both of which may contribute to psychosis in adulthood. I’m all for considering broader research into the origins of mental illness that stretches beyond the limited thinking of, “it’s a chemical imbalance, and the only answer is drugs! drugs! drugs!” That said, I think it would be a good idea for us to use our discernment and consider diet as one amongst many things that may support our mental wellbeing, not a cure-all. Thanks Lauren and Dr. Palmer for sharing this thought-provoking discussion.

I have schizophrenia but also study Biochemistry this is so interesting to connect the dots. Need to read more into this.

I suffer from depression and anxiety and eating disorders off and on since my teen years. For me sunlight daily is vital, exercise is life saving for me but in moderate amounts unlike when I was in my eating disorders, regular bedtime and wake time and vitamin supplements that are needed.

Mind-blowing interview. Lauren, you're a great interviewer, letting him have his time to express his ideas without cutting him off. There was this deep moment when he was speaking about his experience with a patient, and his voice, the pauses, the complete silence when he was pausing, him not being interrupted, etc., everything was perfect to create that sense of closeness and openness. Thank you both for this interview.

The big pharma companies won't like people getting better by changing their diet. They need us all to stay on our meds so they can rake in the big bucks. Very interesting interview, thank you for arranging this.

“You need to change your expectations for life.” 🥺 That is such a profound statement and so many people suffering from mental illness unfortunately relate to that. We just want to be “normal.” ❤

I've been hearing a lot about how schizophrenia could be considered an autoimmune disorder, because there is proteins attacking the brain. There are lots of studies indicating such along with brain autopsies that show certain neuroreceptors that are being attacked. Most of the research I've done into mitochondria related illnesses generally have more to do with bipolar disorder.

Thank you beautiful lady! I’m so so happy I’ve found you , I have two adult children with this, it’s been so hard, on my knees in prayer for years, this doctor is onto something here 🥰👍💗💞💗

Absolutely LOVE this man❤. Thank you so much for having him on your channel. I think he is starting a revolution that will turn the treatment of mental illness on it's head. Listen to him everyone.

Before I continue watching this video, I just wanna say that I love you. I've watched some of your videos back before you even started doing keto and I loved having a friendly face on RU-vid who also had Schizoaffective Disorder like me. But when I found out last night that you've been doing keto AND tapering off your meds, I was so excited. You are so brave for doing this and you are helping people like me who already wanted to explore medical keto as an option for improving mental health holistically. I am so excited about catching up on your content. I'm using it as a self-care action because my favorite way to relax is watching RU-vid. Keep doing what you're doing! F*** the haters!

As someone with insulin resistance who tried all the diets he talks about which were also recommended by my endocrinologist and diabetologist I can tell you it's not that simple - no change in my insulin resistance / glucose tolerance even after months of dieting. The only thing it did is cause me to have an ED relapse and poorer quality of life.

YES! Finally! This was amazing. And yes. A ketogenic diet has been 100% better for my depression and anxiety. I still take a 75mg Effexor daily, but that is a far cry from the nearly hospitalized me (kept out only under the knowledge of the total lack of autonomy I would have had if I were admitted). 😣

You are a great dynamic duo! Thank you for the research shared in a easy to understand way

Thank you. This is so helpful. Blessings to you both. 🙏🏽♥️🙏🏽

Mine was trama an great veido right on time I can't wait to do this. Finally a cure for my disorder schizophrenia:) 😌 God is good 🥰

This was another amazing video! Thank you - we will definitely be looking into this research more for our son!

I love this so much! I have seen Dr Palmer interviewed before, and I think his work is so fascinating. I have some physical health issues that prevent me from going full ketogenic, but I do find that when I'm eating in a balanced way that makes me feel good in my body, my own mental health symptoms improve significantly.

I am thrilled to hear this intellectually satisfying explanation, eons beyond the ancient approach of symptom-reducing-psychiatry. THANK YOU Living Well with Schizophrenia ⭐

Super interesting interview! I was diagnosed at birth with phenylketonuria, a metabolic disorder of a specific amino acid and then with schizoaffective recently. I’d be interested to see more research covering this!! Thank you Lauren!

I have paranoid schizophrenia but I rarely ever experience hallucinations. I heard that keto diet is supposed to help with schizophrenia symptoms and I tried it few times but every time I go on that diet I started having hallucinations (which I never experienced on ‘classic’ diet), fears(especially at night) and just feeling strange. Idk if I’m like a specific case or what but ketogenic diet makes my schizophrenia symptoms worse. I do take CBD oil and that really helps me a lot just to add that here.

Thank you for this fascinating discussion!

thanks Dr Chris Palmer and Lauren that was fascinating and interesting discussion on some innovative approaches to sufferers and carers alike with advice.

This was a GREAT interview! I remain optimistic about this approach and what additional studies may reveal about it as a treatment option. Thank you so much for all you do for the mental health community with your channel. ❤

This was awesome. Thanks for introducing me.

Thanks to both of you!

This is awesome! Extremely interesting.

This was so good. Can't wait to share it with my mom who benefited so much from these interventions. Dr. Palmer has a great interview on Dax Shepard's podcast where he shares his experience with his mom's schizophrenia symptoms. His vulnerabilty and authenticity is very touching and made me feel seen. Thank you so much for bringing him on your channel!!

Thanks for the amazing video once again! More of this please!

Thanks!

Best interview I have ever watched on mental illness!

Thank you Dr Chris Palmer for sharing. Your book. It must be good .

My Brain Energy book just came in the mail... now... so excited for this video! 🤗

Lauren, you are a wonderful interview host. There are several very popular psychology hosts who interrupt so horribly l cannot bear to listen as the speaker never gets a cogent full thought out. You excel at what you do. You are a very graceful and articulate human being.

I just purchased his book. I’m so excited to read it:-) thank you!

Thank you for bringing up ED s. I want to see more of these conversations in the heath field and in depth discussions too.

Great interview.

brilliant video lauren!

Wow, amazing HOPE ....would be wonderful to follow your journey doing KETO under DR Palmer's supervision ....blessings xo

Interesting discussion! May pick up the book for more information.

Awesome video! This is really gonna help a lot of people (myself included)

I have a genetic metabolic disease and bi polar, so this is incredibly interesting and valuable to me. Thank you ❤

Phenomenal interview

Yes now you've come to the right place

Very interesting ❤

I do know my son was doing better when his diet was healthy. The gut is very important to mental health . For everything.

Thank you so much for sharing. I have gone through depression for two whole years but now I don’t have it anymore and I love when you post about mental health for everyone.

Like Dr Chris Palmer says, my hallucinations went away first and then delusions

Best video on mental illness that I have ever seen!

My mental health nurse told me to change my thoughts which in turn would change the chemicals in my body and how I feel. This has been a helpful tool alongside medication, little stress and lots of sleep. I probably need to look at my diet better and see if any changes can help there too.

AWESOME ❤

Gonna have to wait to watch this when I have more time to give it the time it deserves. Though as I'm on my first anti psychotic, and am having interesting effects from that

Thank you for this. I hoped you would've brought up antipsychotic medication and their effects on metabolism and if things like a keto diet can help in reducing the changes from the meds.

Oh my gut! This interview gave me a lot of hope for a better future. Will the book be translateted in Dutch?

I hope all this turns out to be more simple than we thought so everyone can get better

Interesting video...

My son has been diagnosed as bi polar, schizophrenia, etc. He has horrible time eating and sleeping. He's always been so sensitive. And constipated. It makes him so angry.

This is truly amazing. Stop the focus on phy mds only. Let’s try exercise and Keto type diet first thing instead of assuming everyone needs phy mds. Some people need and do well on mds. Some people are negatively affected by phy mds and are not helped by them. Some people manage there mental health with diet, exercise, vitamins, sunlight exposure and dare I say when I have anxiety attacks which is less common I use CBD and THC edibles to calm attacks without the side affects of anxiety mds. Iam not saying my method would work for anyone else but for me it is very effective when used with the other things I talked about

I’d like to know if you’ll take his advice Lauren and IF YES … I’d love to know how this affects YOU & how long it takes?! 1-2 years???

About 45 years ago, I had a friend living in the apartment above me and she developed Schizophrenia.Her and her boyfriend followed a vegetarian/vegan diet/macrobiotic diet. They had several books on their bookshelf regarding the subject and they shopped at the one of the few then called “health food stores” that sold things like nutritional yeast and miso. She was starting to see things and hear things. Her boyfriend who she lived with called me one day to tell me she had to be admitted to the psychiatric hospital. When I went to see her- she was so frantic and at the same time drugged. I remember that what popped into my mind at that time seeing her, that this Schizophrenic problem was because of her diet! I made that connection then. However, because of all the processed foods available and push towards plant based with whole grains I went down that path and deteriorated my own mental health with ADHD and anxiety and there was also a predisposition for this - my mom had bipolar and depression/anxiety and was medicated for years. Then about 5 years ago, I started seeing on RU-vid feeds while watching WFPB and fasting, the keto and carnivore diets. I was somewhat familiar with Atkins having done that and remember feeling good. I have gone in and out of fasting and keto since then- currently back on track mostly Carnivore. Inflammation disappearing and mental clarity return. Thank you for this important interview. I lost touch with my friend and her boyfriend- I hope she is well.

The medical ketogenic diet is not easy. I wish the best to all who try it. But it is worth the effort. We all need a healthy mitochondria revolution.

Interesting

I really appreciate the way both of you articulate. I am not a native English, so it is a real pleasure for me not to make any effort to grasp your discussion lol

GOD BLESS THIS DR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! & all of you ❤💯💯💯💯💯💯

Lauren, have you tried the keto diet again? Can you please make a follow up video?

Interesting. I'm in a fourth year university course about sociology of the body. So there is a mix of sociology, study of social conditions and human behaviour, and a study of science - biology, genetics, statistics. My question is, from a critical standpoint, how the ketogenic diet or fasting diet improves mitochondrial function and why role those mitochondrial functions have in schizophrenic symptoms? More specifically, how do schizophrenic mitochondria function more generally, and what is the causal relationship between their current function and the neurological and behavioural outcomes? It's important to really dig into the fine details because psychological disorders are not just biology but also triggered, exacerbated, or managed in terms of social conditions. He did mention sleep, sunshine and routines. He also mentioned wealth - his patient who had access to vast ranges of other treatments was notably receptive to ketogenic treatment. Okay, remarkable, but not a convincing example from a scientific standpoint as there was a presence of other treatments occurring such as psychotherapy, which may or may not be credible for some changes. His argument regarding epilepsy, while interesting, is not convincing either, in my opinion. While the fact that ketogenic diets are effective interventions for epilepsy, indicating the diet has a potential to produce biological changes to a persons health, that does not mean it is effective for schizophrenia. If we are going to look at diet and epilepsy, we likely need to investigate the function of the diet on the body in scientific terms and cross reference it between epilepsy and schizophrenia. Lastly, he talks about epigenetics. Awesome. Genetic research is not infallible research either, although it is VERY cutting edge. When it comes to gene editing, through behaviour, that would be more of a coevolutiinary adaptation than a genetic modification. We need to understand how the behaviour of the patient is related to their environment and how those two components produce an adaptation that promotes recovery. Now I will note I am NOT a scientist nor sociologist. But my experience in school has taught me to tease out these finer details to excavate fallacy from fact. I would love to see our interviewee explain the research question, method, research findings. Not just anecdotal from his practice or musings about another seperate illness. Overall this is a fantastic video and I'm curious to know more. I struggle with mental illnesses myself but nothing in the D class, however, I do have a personal interest in understanding neurology to treat me own mental illness and disability, so anything about mental illness and neurology is appealing to me.

Look into spirit release therapy, either with a trained hypnotist, or a spirit release team. Some people do not have to live with schizophrenia. The medical profession doesn’t acknowledge this approach, but I’ve seen it work

I have schizophrenia and I want to say the Lord has helped me more than meds and therapy

My daughter has had an elevated WBC count for years. She’s seen 2 hematologists, blood sent to Mayo. No cancer cells. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia about 10 years ago, managed on meds alll that time. 4weeks ago psychosis hit and she is currently hospitalized. Of course I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on. The more recent studies are showing a correlation between the immune system and schizophrenia. I’m wondering if that’s been the problem all along???? I’m just so worried about her and am not sure what to do at all! Your videos are informative, so thank you.

I always thought it was too much blood to the pre frontal cortex of the brain which sometimes push the neurotransmitters out of their proper position affecting the release of dopamine which can cause auditory hallucinations at certain times. An old friend of mine who had schizophrenia told me that methamphetamine would actually make the voices go away for a time.But would come back in full force once the effects of the drug wore off.Obviously a correlation between the rush of dopamine and the way the molecule attached to the neurotransmitters.

Quicksilver Scientific, Researched Nutritionals, and Microbiome Labs are 3 supplement companies that have had a profound impact on my health

I kind of believe this after my experience. People look at my journey as a mental health one but it turned out to be adrenal, thyroid and metabolic. I…can’t believe how many psych meds I was put on and what they were willing to diagnose me with in Texas. None of them worked and that’s because we weren’t treating the root cause. BUT it’s not JUST diet, you could have a tumor or andenoma making your organs misfire.

Can keto diet help with Oculogyric Crisis due to side effects of meds?

stress reduction as a fixable thing filling your time from a to b reducing stress then exerceing what will warm your body eliminate STRESS = ()()---- tia chi giving yourself a definition makes a world diference.

I'm curious to know what happens in our bodies if we skip meds on weekends. Obviously depends on what medication but what if the half-life is 72 hours or so? Would there be an impact there?

Brilliant. Right of the rip ❤ 😂 💪🏻🤙🏻🕺🏄😎

Does anyone know of anything helpful with memory and concentration? This is my first time working as a medical assistant and I'm having trouble with these things in my externship. Thanks

With the combination of meds,self care,support system,therapy,diet, mental health illness can be managed

Our Grand Daughter has lived with anxiety since puberty. She is married and has two kids and works full time for a very understanding corporation/union. ANYTHING especially if it has NOTHING to do with being a new medication would be a "Godsend". She needs STABILITY. A steady ROUTINE that doesn't change.

29:30 - why isn't nutrition taken more seriously = profitability considerations? Relating disorders to metabolism and holistic care gives me hope for (everyone's) loved ones who are coping. I would love to see support clinics/retreats open in Ontario/Canada.

❤

What about an Ayurvedic diet?

They need some good controlled studies on the ketogenic diet. I’d like to know how a ketogenic works for normal weight people since it causes people to lose weight.

The medical keto diet has been proven to help schizophrenia, but that's different than the keto diet people do for weight loss. That was an important distinction he didn't make. if you want to try the keto diet for schizophrenia, you can't just google keto recipes or anything. You have to do the specific medical keto diet- and be warned it's really gross. Lots and lots of fat but it's just plain fat like mayonnaise or oil.

GUT BRAIN 🧠 CONNECTION 💡💡💡 #fasting intermittent FASTING (((& hes sooo right - get off the weed & cigarettes …..)) I could comment here all day

I have had schizophrenia since I was 14. Although I don't have paranoid type. But I am prone to chronic anxiety. I also have a body type that is a true Mesomorph. Because of the natural high presence of muscles that are still present at 53 yesrs old, my natural diet was high protein and iron but I require a slightly higher level of carbs than the average person. This was fine until I went on Seroquel, went from weighing 124 lbs at 5 feet with a 22 inch waist that I naturally had. Now I have a 42 inch waist and weigh 189lbs. I quickly developed fatty liver disease and was placed on a fatty liver disease diet. It is high protein, low carb, no breads or grains and only some fruits. I was able to stop gaining weight but couldn't lose weight either. And I had a daily calorie intake of 800 to 1100 calories per day. I was active as I always had been, but couldn't lose weight. My liver did improve somewhat but I still had fatty liver disease because I was taking 300 to 400 mg of Seroquel XR. Here's the thing, my anxiety got worse and worse. I have many tools in my toolbox but I found my anxiety really had gotten worse on this fatty liver diet. After doing a tonne of research I realized that serotonin is produced in the stomach. Not only does Seroquel effects your stomachs ability to function properly, you require carbs for your stomach to create, maintain and regulate healthy serotonin levels. So I increased my carb intake with healthy carbs (not these high ruffage based cards that have very little available carbohydrate value). Within a matter of weeks my moods stabilized mostly because I didn't feel like a massive stress ball. And my anxiety levels dropped dramatically. I still have some low level anxiety but it is more manageable and I am in general happier. And I slept better with less bouts of insomnia. More importantly I was able to go off my Lamogrigine and Trazodon (spelling?) Both of these medications have many side effects and Trazodone interactions with a huge list of medications. I was also able to lower my Seroquel done to 200 mg XR. But I had to cut back in other areas of my diet to keep it right at 800 calories. I couldn't go up to 1100 calories or the pounds just started packing back on. The way I compensated was by eating rare beef steaks. You really don't need the same quantity of other meat or protein (lentils etc.) To get a high does of protein, B12 and fatty acids thus lower calories with beef. This kept me in my calorie range of 800 calories and my weight went back down to 185-189lbs. I do and always eaten a lot of eggs, minus the bacon and oatmeal (or barley unrolled) are one of the few grains I eat. I am not so sure of thinking a keto diet or carnivore diet is the magic bullet to treat schizophrenia. First, there is your body type and then there's other factors like if you also have chronic anxiety. The original fatty liver diet I was on totally agitated my anxiety as the carb intake was too low for my mental state and the amount of energy I needed to supply the muscle on my body. I don't think there's a one size fits all solution. My understanding is schizophrenia is a wiring issue. Neurologist have stated our brains are much more like someone who has epilepsy than a chemical imbalance of bipolar disorder and mood disorders. Meaning, I don't think people wuth schizophrenia all have the same set of biological factors, we may have similar structures to our brains. But body type, hormones, and other factors seem to not be a crucial factor. Anyway, I wouldn't discourage someone from talking with their doctor or psychiatrist about trying various diets to see if it helps. But honestly, I think it may or may not work or may only help with secondary or other symptoms that are not necessarily a marker only foubd in schizophrenia.

🙏🙏🙏

Such a controversial topic. I think I would have liked more nuance on his part, more humility, and also … research references. It is not an argument to say that because we use anticonvulsants for treatment, and treatment resistant epilepsy patients use the keto diet, thus it should also work on mental health patients. It is an interesting connection yes, but it cannot be sufficient as an argument. And as someone else pointed out, medical keto diet is not the same as “popular” keto diet.

♥

QUESTION: It seems like high cholesterol would be a byproduct of the diet; how does the doctor feel about fish oil to raise good cholesterol and reduce bad cholesterol? Unfortunately, it seems like it takes an enormous amount of fish oil to have a measurable effect -- is that accurate?

I have his Book… now just getting my sister to go on this diet …. Almost impossible….😢

Finally. I have watched 100s of people suffer, and maybe I've seen meds work w/o neg life altering consequences in 5% of the people i worked with. I have no use for drug companies running the narrative in medicine. It's not just epigenetic, but specific food, sleep, etc in family cultures

Have metabolic disorders ❤❤

Have you heard of Nutritional Psychology? It's something I've been looking into lately, also sounds like what he is talking about!

Please, if this can help anyone. Celiac disease can cause mental illness in some people. If you take 2 moths off from all wheat products and your mental illness get so much better… Please come back here and let me know!

I had schizophrenia for several years and my recovery is so complete that it would be easy to think that I never had it in the first place. There are reasons to see that is not the case but I find that people are just uninterested since I did not become a problem even though I had the to potential to be a serious problem. No one seems to care as long as it doesn't affect them. I didn't even know what it was that I had until I had recovered significantly because the doctor and the people there in Chicago never told me what my problem was. They just gave me the ultimatum to take the medication or go home to New Jersey. Since I chose to go back home to New Jersey I never took the medication and yet I still didn't know what my problem was. I was still schizophrenic in New Jersey when I was working at Six Flags Great Adventure. I was hallucinating as I was guiding passengers into the roller coaster. I was hallucinating when I was on break. I was not taking drugs. I was hallucinating 24/7. I could go on talking about my symptoms but they were all typical symptoms. When I was in psychosis my pupils were dilating wildly which is typical of people who lie or believe lies and tell lies. It's just that my pupils were visibly dilating wildly. To make a long story short, I had to stop believing in my hallucinations and delusions for the sake of my sanity and it worked. I ignored all of my symptoms and it worked and I have never had a relapse, not even after 35 or more years. I retired after working 30 years at a high security airport and I would like to help others but people are just not interested. I don't expect anyone to care. You would think that in order to learn how to cure, completely cure schizophrenia, the doctors would want to talk to someone who has had a complete recovery. I knew what it was to be normal and then I knew what it was to be tormented and totally powerless to make it go away. Then I learned how to become normal again without medication or counseling. My counseling was totally internal. I had to trust my own delusional mind more than the mind of the doctors. They simply don't like that.

We are spirits having a human experience. We are not our body or mind.