Close Menu
Mental Healthcare

Reset Your Mental Health: The Diet & Nutrition Protocol From a Renowned Harvard MD



Reset Your Mental Health: The Diet & Nutrition Protocol From a Renowned Harvard MD

Order your copy of The Let Them Theory 👉 https://melrob.co/let-them-theory 👈 The #1 Best Selling Book of 2025 🔥 Discover how much power you truly have. It all begins with two simple words. Let Them.
—

Do you want more energy?

Are you done with the constant anxiety? Can’t seem to climb out of your funk?

In today’s episode, you’ll learn the exact steps to optimize both your mental and physical health.

Joining Mel today is Harvard’s Chris Palmer, MD, (@chrispalmermd4244) whose work lies at the intersection of nutrition, metabolism, and mental health. He will explain how he believes your diet is causing your brain to misfire, which is why simple changes to your diet and lifestyle can help you improve your mental health.

Dr. Palmer is a psychiatrist who has practiced at Harvard’s McLean Hospital, the #1 psychiatric hospital in the nation, for almost 30 years. He is also the Founder and Director of the recently launched Metabolic & Mental Health Program at McLean Hospital.

His innovative approaches to treatment-resistant mental health challenges have brought his patients relief and hope, which is why his waitlist is years long. Today, you’ll learn Dr. Palmer’s exact protocol he shares with his patients in Boston.

In this episode, you will learn:
– What your metabolism is and what it has to do with your mental and physical health.
– The shocking patient results and personal story that fueled Dr. Palmer’s passion.
– The 7 signs that you probably have a metabolic disorder.
– How the Brain Energy protocol could help your mind and body heal
– The exact tools and action steps that Dr. Palmer shares with his patients for better mental health
– What mitochondria are and how they are the key to your mental health.
– How the ketogenic diet was discovered as a medical protocol by doctors
– How to know if you’re getting enough sleep.
– What exercise has to do with your mental health.
– How to help someone in your life who’s struggling with their mental health
– What you need to hear if you’re the one who needs support.

Dr. Palmer goes deep into the science and his protocols. All additional resources to learn about Dr. Palmer and his science are linked on this page of Mel’s website: https://www.melrobbins.com/podcast.

Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelrobbinspodcast/

In this episode:
00:00: Intro
06:00: What you’ve been told about your mental illness that’s wrong.
09:00: Dr. Palmer’s powerful, personal history with mental illness.
19:18 Dr. Palmer wants you to know this about medications.
20:10 Why Dr. Palmer was almost talked out of being a psychiatrist.
21:30: The breakthrough that changed how Dr. Palmer treated patients.
31:09: The shocking patient results that fueled Dr. Palmer’s passion.
42:00: Dr. Palmer explains his profound Brain Energy Theory.
43:40: How the heck is metabolism related to mental health?
45:10: What traffic has to do with your health.
48:00: Turns out the factories in your cells control your hormones.
55:55: Your lifestyle choices don’t just affect your body from the neck down.
56:50: The 7 signs that you probably have a metabolic disorder.
1:00:00: If you have a mental illness, you’re most likely to experience this.
1:08:30: Dr. Palmer tells you what to do to restore your health.
1:09:55: The ketogenic diet was not designed for long-term weight loss.
1:12:26: An example of what to eat on a ketogenic diet and how you’ll feel.
1:18:30: What will exercise look like on this mental health protocol?
1:19:40: How to know if you’re getting enough sleep.
1:22:00: How to help someone you love struggling with depression.
1:27:20: If you are struggling, hear Dr. Palmer’s message for you.

#anxiety #brainhealth #mentalhealth #healingjourney #physicalhealth

—
Follow Mel:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/
TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@UCk2U-Oqn7RXf-ydPqfSxG5g
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins
Website: http://melrobbins.com
—
Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter
A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want.
—
Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins?sub_confirmation=1
—
Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday!
https://melrob.co/spotify
https://melrob.co/applepodcasts
https://melrob.co/amazonmusic
—
Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here:

The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe
The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp
The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ
The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah

View 47 Comments

47 Comments

  1. @womanhikerone4582 on

    I like that he didn't just jump on this. He looked into it and tested it. There's no way to deny what he's saying. And keto and carnivore people have been reporting mood improvements. It's amazing/powerful that it has to do with the mitochondria, because keto is a tool available at all income levels. We can all get significant healing from natural ketone help.

  5. @buzzhoven1 on

    At the beginning Mel says ‘Only change your diet after consulting with your doctor ‘. Hmmm that’s gonna throw up a road block to the whole point of the video right there. Doctors are obliged to promote the food pyramid

  7. @Naonicat on

    Seriously I wish all psychiatrists have this kind of approach when they are dealing with their patients.. so many docs just giving people pills making them relying on them forever and most people with chronic mental illnesses are not aware of the root cause of these
    Ps. I’m also not a fan of Stimulants when it comes to brain health yes it’s effective short term but it messes up with sleep cycles and hormones and that will cause problems in brain overtime so def better to avoid if possible
    I tried normal keto for a year but it kinda messed up with my gut health and and sleeping so I had to quit but I remember it def helped with my anxiety.. when I tried semi-keto (include extra complex carbs) vegetarian i felt amazing 😁

  9. @terrybullock6716 on

    Saying to go to your Medical doctor i understand you have to say that for insurance But and thats a Big But. Doctors dont know anything about Nutrition and what these doctors like Dr. Palmer know and research and go out of their way to inform themselves so they can actually help their patients

  12. @debbieriella3587 on

    Could it be that everyone is on statins, which block cholesterol to brain. Vitamin D needs cholesterol to synthesize, we’ve become so vitamix D deficient, and we need cholesterol to make it all work, plus cutting out all carbs on carnivore diet, plus all sugars ar dangerous for your brain. Get in the SUN, quit using sunscreens and quit all junk carbs and sugar, basically!

  13. @cecilecaple5037 on

    At 69 years old with scoliosis, chronic pain, been diagnosed with every mental illness except ADHD and that appears to be the one I really exhibit, I finally have real hope – I can make a real PLAN! THANK YOU MEL, and Dr. Palmer! WOW! SHARING MAJOR!!! THANK YOU – THIS MIGHT HELP ME FIX MY LIFE!!!

  14. @annsteffes10 on

    I had been saying since covid when I first started the keto diet how ithat diet changed my life and anxiety. (I battled sever anxiety and panic attacks since I was 4) I would say to people that I feel this way of eating helped my anxiety and I don't know why. I just know that it did. I followed keto for a few years and will do very low carb even now. I do this cause I feel THE BEST when I follow this way of eating. I hit menopause and let me tell you if you need to control hot flashes eating keto worked for me. So are menopause symptoms also metabolic? Anyway LOVED THIS video! Thanks for the science to back what I had been saying for a few years! I knew the science would be there I jjust had to wait for it!

  15. @colleenhaithcock216 on

    Please note that not every product that is labeled keto is actually safe on a keto diet. You might want to attach a proper keto diet plan to this video. Thank you so much. I have gone from 60 units of insulin 180 pounds to no insulin and 120 pounds.

  23. @cecileperez7573 on

    This is dangerous advice. Don’t get me wrong, I think nutrition is a key component of overall wellness. Holistic well-being is important. There are many factors at play that contribute to mental illness. One of those is systemic oppression – the world we live in demands so much, and we are all scraping by, only surviving. We need community. Anyways, medication saved my life many times, and I will never stop taking it. Temporarily giving me stronger doses that this guy would say I looked "drugged" or like a "zombie" kept me safe multiple times until I could stabilize.

  25. @Renee-p1c on

    I went through hell with a hernia & plantar filallacitis & stage 4 liver disease. No salt so much I was hospitalized because I was trying to save my Life.

  26. @Renee-p1c on

    Acupuncture CURES PLANTAR FILALLACITIS. NOT $400 shoes. Blood flow. Tiny needles open blood flow. Please, PLEASE SHARE MEL. & Dedicated hard working staff. I start at the bottom to learn.

  32. @ElenaTt1439 on

    This should be in different languages. All my relatives don't speak english, but I still shared it on my social account…maybe someone will watch with auto translation..maybe someone who speaks english will see. I have struggled a decade with a mental illness, not long ago found information that keto/carnivore helps mental health and I'm trying to carefully change my diet. I don't have a doctor who knows me well, or a psychotherapist. So I don't really see a point in taking a day off work to consult someone before I start a diet…I have tried different diets before, for various reasons…it usually ended badly…but I think I have learned my lessons, I will take it slow this time, so my body has time to adjust to the changes.

  34. @ramstechcopier9465 on

    I am not happy to force to value you high amount other to make fack speches. Soon i am stop from trinity their not given freedom of speech.he not agree other needs not Full fill.they only focus pocket technique only practice.

  41. @carolpenalta7186 on

    I follow Dr Palmer and several others similar. Mel after listening to drs similar message all credible and hours and hours of evidence this may be the best podcast I have heard. Thank you Mel God bless❤❤❤❤❤

  42. @ethanmarcus98 on

    Classic 'MD has a thought and must be heard'. Don't we have enough appeal to authority in this world?

    He was prediabetic and his doctor (which by the sounds of it, he was in meat grinder that is med school at the time) prescribed him a low fat diet, nothing about sugar or fibre or the complexity of the carbohydrates your eating. It's hard to convey just unfounded that treatment is for trying to treat someones severe insulin sensitivity, so naturally it failed and he felt like shit during that whole time. His gut and microbiome would have been on fire from only subsisting off sugar and the simple carbs break down immediately into sugar, probably amplified by the lack of fruits and vegetables being eaten. Potentially his hormones were out of whack too depending on if he avoided all the good fats too (these diets usually do).

    Then he decided to cut sugar mostly out of his diet in what he describes as 'diving head first his health', also coincidently about the time his brain would have just been finishing up development (~24-27). And low and behold his OCD (an anxiety disorder) shows remarkable improvements.

    HE THEN MAKES THE LEAP THAT THIS WILL HELP DISORDERS OF THE NEURODEVELOPMENTAL AND SCHIZOPHRENIC TYPE.

    Red flag alert, this American [derogatory] has no introspection on his own life, nor on the complex lives of others.

    You were trained to treat people based on the literature and your experience, not to teach people the science and the mechanisms of said treatments. Stay in your lane 🖕

    To his credit, sugar likely has a large impact on brain health and potentially neurodegenerative disorders, that, connected with gut health, likely has large and compounding factors on your mental and emotional well being. But stress would be a compounding factor for all of that too (including sugar consumption) which itself is compounded by trauma.

    To his discredit, he attributed all of this to the Atkins diet 🤦

    👊

    🎤

Leave A Reply