Overview
- Speaking in Tennessee, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said a ketogenic diet can cure schizophrenia and claimed some people lose a bipolar diagnosis by changing what they eat.
- Columbia University psychiatrists Paul S. Appelbaum and Mark Olfson said there is no credible evidence for a cure, calling the assertion misleading.
- Kennedy appeared to reference a 2019 report of two schizophrenia patients in remission on keto, while small short-term studies, including at Stanford, have suggested only possible benefit and typically alongside antipsychotic medication.
- An advocacy group promoting Kennedy’s agenda, MAHA Action, amplified his remarks on social media before deleting the post after The New York Times requested supporting evidence.
- The ketogenic diet is very high in fat and low in carbohydrates, and although popular for weight loss it carries heart-health risks.