Dr. Chris Palmer: Diet & Nutrition for Mental Health | Huberman Lab Podcast #99

My guest this episode is Chris Palmer, M.D., a board-certified psychiatrist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He explains the important connection between nutrition, metabolism and mental health and his pioneering work using the ketogenic diet to successfully treat patients with various mental illnesses, including depression and schizophrenia. Dr. Palmer explains how the ketogenic diet is an evidenced-based treatment for epilepsy, mimics the fasted state and can offset the cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s. He describes the key roles of mitochondria in mental health, how certain conditions likely arise from mitochondrial dysfunction, and how low-carbohydrate diets increase mitochondrial turnover to improve mental health. He also explains how low-carbohydrate diets positively impact the gut microbiome and weight loss, important risk factors for mitochondrial health such as marijuana and alcohol, and the best way to increase circulating ketones depending on individual needs. We also cover how a ketogenic diet impacts mood, sleep, and fertility. Dr. Palmer’s work stands as a revolutionary approach to mental health and disease that, given the prevalence of mental health challenges, should be of interest to people of all backgrounds and ages.

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Dr. Chris Palmer
Dr. Palmer’s website: https://www.chrispalmermd.com
Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health–and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More: https://amzn.to/3XheFIV
Medical profile: https://www.mcleanhospital.org/profile/christopher-palmer
Academic profile & publications: https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/70255
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisPalmerMD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrispalmermd

Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Chris Palmer, Mental Health & Metabolic Disorders
00:03:25 Thesis, Eight Sleep, ROKA
00:07:18 Nutrition & Mental Health
00:20:43 Low-Carb Diets & Anti-Depression, Fasting, Ketosis
00:27:52 Schizophrenia, Depression & Ketogenic Diet
00:34:32 AG1 (Athletic Greens)
00:35:38 Psychiatric Mediations, Diet Adherence
00:42:35 Highly Processed Foods, Ketones & Mental Health Benefits
00:46:51 Ketogenic Diet & Epilepsy Treatment
00:56:10 Ketogenic Diet & Mitochondria Health
00:57:05 Nutrition & Benefits for Neurologic/Psychiatric Disorders
01:05:44 Mitochondrial Function & Mental Health
01:15:12 InsideTracker
01:16:23 Mitophagy, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Aging & Diet
01:25:09 Neurons, Mitochondria & Blood Glucose
01:31:54 Obesity, Ketogenic Diet & Mitochondria
01:40:00 Mitochondrial Function: Inheritance, Risk Factors, Marijuana
01:46:34 Alcohol & Ketogenic Diet
01:55:21 Brain Imaging, Alzheimer’s Disease & Ketones
02:01:05 Exogenous (Liquid) Ketones vs. Ketogenic Diet
02:06:27 Neuronal Damage, Ketones & Glucose
02:10:16 Alzheimer’s Disease, Age-Related Cognitive Decline & Ketogenic Diet
02:23:45 Ketogenic Diet & Weight Loss
02:35:47 Ketogenic Diet & Fasting, Hypomania, Sleep
02:46:37 Low Carbohydrate Diets, Menstrual Cycles, Fertility
02:52:23 Obesity Epidemic, Semaglutide & GLP-1 Medications
03:01:01 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Neural Network Newsletter, Social Media

Huberman Lab is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac – https://www.blabacphoto.com