"At an event in Tennessee on Wednesday touting new nutrition guidelines that emphasize eating a diet rich in red meat, whole milk and animal fats, Kennedy said that a doctor at Harvard had cured schizophrenia using keto diets and that there were studies showing people lose their bipolar diagnosis by changing their diet. A person eating a ketogenic diet typically gets at least 70 percent of their calories from fat, about 20 percent from protein and as little from carbohydrates as possible."
"In his speech, Kennedy mentioned a Dr. Pollan at Harvard, but there appears to be no such person there or elsewhere who has studied the keto diet and its effect on schizophrenia; he may have meant to cite Christopher Palmer, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
"While I appreciate the secretary's [apparent] enthusiasm for my research, I have never claimed to cure schizophrenia, and I have never used the word cure in any of my talks or my research, Palmer says. The way that I think about the ketogenic diet is not about a good diet versus a bad diet or a healthy diet versus an unhealthy diet. I think about it as a metabolic intervention, he adds."
A ketogenic, high-fat and very low-carbohydrate diet has not been demonstrated to cure schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and lacks robust clinical evidence. A nutrition policy promotion linked ketogenic diets to psychiatric cures and referenced a Harvard researcher, but the named researcher could not be identified and the likely cited scientist clarified he never claimed cures. A 2025 review co-authored by that researcher found only small pilot studies suggesting possible symptom improvement for some individuals. New guidance emphasized red meat, whole milk and animal fats. Health officials did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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