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The role of brain health in mental illness is commonly discounted, but so consistently found in studies. I got roasted here for recommending psychiatrist Mary E

The role of brain health in mental illness is commonly discounted, but so consistently found in studies. I got roasted here for recommending psychiatrist Mary Edes' book on improving mental health with dietary changes, but the benefits of the approach are clear. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/27/1227062470/keto-ketogenic-diet-mental-illness-bipolar-depression https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2024/01/27/1227062... I've resolved most of my diabetes type 2 with diet, and nobody should be surprised that this came with improved mental clarity and emotional stability.

hanniabu 3y ago
Your gut microbiome plays a huge part in brain health and mental illness. That's likely why improving your diet improved your mental clarity and emotional stability.
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tomcar288 3y ago
This! Absolutely. It's as if people think the brain isn't even an organ in the body and that it's completely disconnected from the rest of the body. After doing a ton of research and listening to many talks on metabolic syndrome and all the diseases caused by our modern diets, I've realized just how impactful diet can be on the body, the brain and the many modern diseases caused by our modern diets and lifestyle.
- lambdaba 3y ago
  Yes. For those wanting to research this further look up keywords like "metabolic psychiatry" and "brain energy".
- AlexandrB 3y ago
  > It's as if people think the brain isn't even an organ in the body and that it's completely disconnected from the rest of the body. This happens a lot in a different context when people talk about AI and try to reduce human intelligence and creativity to just brain function.
Attummm 3y ago
The individual parts of diabetes, blood glucose, nutrition, cell energy systems are really well documented. But yet putting those facts together leads significant resistance.
lambdaba 3y ago
I'm convinced brain health *is* mental health. With more nuance, mental health is brain health accreted through time. Healing the brain is possible, mainstream medicine and psychiatry is entirely ignorant of this, and once the brain is healed, the learned behavior oftentimes also needs some unlearning. For this, psychedelics are the most powerful tools. I think they can also be healing to the brain, particularly psilocybin, but the ideal order in my opinion is getting the brain to homeostasis first. The main intervention there is ketogenic dieting. Ketosis is required for brain healing, as a sick brain is an overexcited brain, to the point of toxicity. Of course, optimal nutrient intake, particularly brain related nutrients (which is most of them, really, but omega-3 fatty acids, and, yes, cholesterol are particularly important).
delichon 3y ago
Oops, that's nutritional psychiatrist Georgia Ede. I confused her with another low carb physician and author, Mary Eades.
thefz 3y ago
> I got roasted here for recommending psychiatrist Mary Edes' book on improving mental health with dietary changes, This is because sadly diet, fitness and weight loss are some of the topics this otherwise very lucid website literally loses its mind over. Another is natality.
diob 3y ago
Only want to chime in here for folks to not feel bad about also getting help beyond physical fitness and diet. I've been a health junky my whole life, very in shape, and I eat well. Of course that helps my mental health a lot. However, I still get depressed. I suffer from chronic sleep apnea (it's related to my anatomy, so I can't exercise out of it, it's around 79 AHI). I take zoloft for anxiety and it has helped me to calm down and enjoy my life more. And finally, I recently got diagnosed with ADHD. I'm fairly high functioning without meds, but with meds I can finally do all the things I've wanted to. My todo list, those things I used to forget or put off, I just do them now. So yes, take care of yourself, but don't feel bad if it doesn't solve everything. Some of us need extra help, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. I understand you weren't shaming folks, but I really want to share this in case folks think they're broken for needing medication. And sometimes you need the help from medication to kick-start being more healthy physically, don't be ashamed! We are all different.
sn9 3y ago
I think most people are on board with diet plausibly being a significant lever for improving mental health, and keto can be a way to do that, but the meat-heavy way most people implement keto massively increases risk of cardiovascular disease. We have an overwhelming mountain of evidence that saturated fat intake from animal sources above a certain threshold percent of one's caloric intake causally increases risk of heart disease through well-characterized mechanisms and that reducing one's intake below that threshold causally improves health. https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/a-basic-guide-to-cholesterol-part-2-myths-misconceptions/#_Toc92630813 https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/a-basic-guide-to-choles... Likewise the benefits of a high fiber diet are also overwhelmingly documented, and it's a rare person for whom it isn't beneficial. Your doctor can tell you if you're one of these unlucky people. You can eat a keto diet that's low in saturated fats from animals and high in fiber, but that's rarely done and most of the health benefits from keto is from the increased rate of adherence to a diet that makes it easier to stay in a caloric deficit.

hanniabu 3y ago

Your gut microbiome plays a huge part in brain health and mental illness. That's likely why improving your diet improved your mental clarity and emotional stability.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

tomcar288 3y ago

This! Absolutely. It's as if people think the brain isn't even an organ in the body and that it's completely disconnected from the rest of the body. After doing a ton of research and listening to many talks on metabolic syndrome and all the diseases caused by our modern diets, I've realized just how impactful diet can be on the body, the brain and the many modern diseases caused by our modern diets and lifestyle.

lambdaba 3y ago
Yes. For those wanting to research this further look up keywords like "metabolic psychiatry" and "brain energy".
AlexandrB 3y ago
> It's as if people think the brain isn't even an organ in the body and that it's completely disconnected from the rest of the body. This happens a lot in a different context when people talk about AI and try to reduce human intelligence and creativity to just brain function.

Attummm 3y ago

The individual parts of diabetes, blood glucose, nutrition, cell energy systems are really well documented. But yet putting those facts together leads significant resistance.

lambdaba 3y ago

I'm convinced brain health *is* mental health. With more nuance, mental health is brain health accreted through time. Healing the brain is possible, mainstream medicine and psychiatry is entirely ignorant of this, and once the brain is healed, the learned behavior oftentimes also needs some unlearning. For this, psychedelics are the most powerful tools. I think they can also be healing to the brain, particularly psilocybin, but the ideal order in my opinion is getting the brain to homeostasis first. The main intervention there is ketogenic dieting. Ketosis is required for brain healing, as a sick brain is an overexcited brain, to the point of toxicity. Of course, optimal nutrient intake, particularly brain related nutrients (which is most of them, really, but omega-3 fatty acids, and, yes, cholesterol are particularly important).

delichon 3y ago

Oops, that's nutritional psychiatrist Georgia Ede. I confused her with another low carb physician and author, Mary Eades.

thefz 3y ago

> I got roasted here for recommending psychiatrist Mary Edes' book on improving mental health with dietary changes, This is because sadly diet, fitness and weight loss are some of the topics this otherwise very lucid website literally loses its mind over. Another is natality.

diob 3y ago

Only want to chime in here for folks to not feel bad about also getting help beyond physical fitness and diet. I've been a health junky my whole life, very in shape, and I eat well. Of course that helps my mental health a lot. However, I still get depressed. I suffer from chronic sleep apnea (it's related to my anatomy, so I can't exercise out of it, it's around 79 AHI). I take zoloft for anxiety and it has helped me to calm down and enjoy my life more. And finally, I recently got diagnosed with ADHD. I'm fairly high functioning without meds, but with meds I can finally do all the things I've wanted to. My todo list, those things I used to forget or put off, I just do them now. So yes, take care of yourself, but don't feel bad if it doesn't solve everything. Some of us need extra help, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. I understand you weren't shaming folks, but I really want to share this in case folks think they're broken for needing medication. And sometimes you need the help from medication to kick-start being more healthy physically, don't be ashamed! We are all different.

sn9 3y ago

I think most people are on board with diet plausibly being a significant lever for improving mental health, and keto can be a way to do that, but the meat-heavy way most people implement keto massively increases risk of cardiovascular disease. We have an overwhelming mountain of evidence that saturated fat intake from animal sources above a certain threshold percent of one's caloric intake causally increases risk of heart disease through well-characterized mechanisms and that reducing one's intake below that threshold causally improves health. https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/a-basic-guide-to-cholesterol-part-2-myths-misconceptions/#_Toc92630813 https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/a-basic-guide-to-choles... Likewise the benefits of a high fiber diet are also overwhelmingly documented, and it's a rare person for whom it isn't beneficial. Your doctor can tell you if you're one of these unlucky people. You can eat a keto diet that's low in saturated fats from animals and high in fiber, but that's rarely done and most of the health benefits from keto is from the increased rate of adherence to a diet that makes it easier to stay in a caloric deficit.