Should You Try Ketogenic Therapy? Inspiration for the Keto Curious

[@reinerschafer1708]

Hannah seems to keep looking healthier and healthier every time I see a new video. It's like she's aging backwards now and seems to be thriving more and more. Keep going Hannah!

[@Terrierized]

Right on Hannah

[@caitlinhoey841]

Great video, Hannah! I appreciate how you share your opinions and knowledge of medical keto as a form of self-expression, rather than guarding them as if under threat or reacting with a fight-or-flight instinct. (I made an appointment with a cardiologist. I eat a lot of animal fats and meat. Thanks to whoever the “Oz behind the curtain” was at Metabolic Mind who shared on the internet what a coronary angiogram is. I don’t know if I’ll need one, but I’m looking forward to meeting with an expert. )

[@catherinej2020]

I'm using Keto to help with my schizoaffective disorder. I found it to be effective and easy to follow. Thanks for sharing your story!

[@metabolicmind]

Amazing! How long have you been using keto for?

[@jenniferwalden8245]

You are right. The main reason and what caused me to do it and stay with it was due to me having seizures still even after brain surgeries. Especially since this was created for seizures. What helped control it even more was keto. Besides seizures they are finding it helps with many medical conditions today like what you faced.

[@metabolicmind]

Amazing! How long have you been using keto for?

[@dadbosworth6838]

Very good message, thanks for sharing

[@janp7943]

Is there a difference between ketogenic therapy for mental illness and keto for weight loss? Thanks for sharing your story.

[@MrAlFuture]

For what it's worth, here's my understanding. Ketogenic therapy for mental illness is more focused on ketone production to provide an effective energy source to the brain in addition to glucose, which may have become ineffective as an energy source. Keto for weight loss is the same but there is less need to focus on very high ketone production. The main weight loss mechanism from keto appears to be lowering insulin which allows fat cells to release their fat contents to be burned as fuel and/or converted into ketones. The ketones can then be used as fuel or excreted.

[@9879SigmundS]

​@@MrAlFuturebest explanation I've heard. However, carnivore, one meal a day, will get u those high ketones regardless of ur reasons.

[@MrAlFuture]

@@9879SigmundS true. It is possible to fine tune the level of ketone production by tweaking the macro nutrient balances. I've found personally that since I've lost 40kg of body fat my ketones tend to be lower that when I had plenty to burn. I can also turn up ketones by dialing down protein and dialing up fat intake. For me now, blood ketone (BHB) levels of between 0.4 and 1.2 are fairly typical. I believe that to see improvements for some psychiatric disorders blood ketone levels need to be up towards 2 or 3 or even higher.

[@MrAlFuture]

@9879SigmundS and you highlight an excellent point. Humans love labels and definitions. They're very useful bit can get us stuck. There are formal definitions of what a ketogenic diet is. There are probably multiple definitions, with slightly different details. Just because someone doesn't follow the same macro ratios as a specific definition dictates, doesn't mean they aren't using a ketogenic diet. If they're regularly producing using ketones, whether they call it carnivore, keto, low carb high fat, they all have the same common thread: fat as the primary energy source, leading to low insulin, leading to potential for ketone production from abundant fat as an extra fuel.

[@jimmcintyre4390]

Agreed. Not something you want to twist someone's arm for.

[@joeCYsiu]

Hannah, thank you for your powerful testimony. In future videos, can you and the MM Team address adherence to Ketogenic Therapy? I think there is a perception, rightly or wrongly, that it's hard to keep up with the diet (it's so different from the standard Western diet). For patients with less serious medical cases (especially if they respond to standard SSRI or Stimulant treatments), it's tempting to just keep taking a pill as opposed to doing a major lifestyle change. Perhaps that is why many anecdotal cases of success with Keto are from patients with more serious or refractory cases, especially with bipolar, schizophrenia, or eating disorders - where desperate symptoms create a higher willingness to change. Perhaps a serious of coaching videos on how to get started with Keto 'easily' could help the MM audience overcome this perception of difficult adhere?

[@thrivingwithbipolar]

Brilliant! Thank you Hannah for such an inspiring video. Keto works wonders for my mental health.

[@wraymcclamma4707]

Hannah do you stay in ketosis full time?