Healthcare Professionals Are Sharing Their Brutally Honest Thoughts About RFK Jr.'s Claim That A Keto Diet Could "Cure" Schizophrenia

Earlier this month, RFK Jr. gave an incredibly controversial speech at the Tennessee State Capitol.

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He claimed a Harvard doctor “cured schizophrenia using keto diet” and that “people lose their bipolar diagnosis by changing their diet.” Tennessee State Capitol / @allenanalysis / x.comYou can watch the clip here:

Tennessee State Capitol / Via Twitter: @allenanalysis

Medical experts immediately spoke out against the health secretary’s statements — including the Harvard doctor RFK Jr. misnamed, Christopher M. Palmer. He told the Harvard Crimson, “‘Cure’ implies that you can do the treatment for a short time, stop the treatment, and your illness never comes back. That’s not at all what I’ve seen in patients with severe mental illness.”So, we asked self-identified healthcare professionals in the BuzzFeed Community to share their thoughts on the matter:1. “While there is some evidence that ketogenic diets may improve symptoms of schizophrenia, ‘cure’ is far-fetched and not evidence-based. I always encourage my patients to address psychiatric concerns in many ways: behavioral, nutritional, etc., along with medications. But to outright say that it is the cure can be dangerous and may encourage patients currently taking medications for schizophrenia to stop treatment.”

—Psychiatrist

2. “I mean, this is looney tunes. If it wasn’t so harmful to people with real mental health challenges searching for real solutions, it would be hilarious.”

—OB-GYN

3. “I’ve never seen someone with so much incompetence lead a federal program. Nothing he says holds any actual value and is so twisted and manipulated that it could never be considered scientific or factual. The incredibly harmful mistrust of anything related to science and healthcare by this man will have a lasting, detrimental impact on public health in this country and reverse so much of what has been slowly gained over the last few decades.”

—Registered nurse

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4. “I specialize in nutrition and weight. There’s a massive connection between the GI system and the brain that has not been fully understood. We have some studies to support relationships to both psychiatric and neurological disease and different GI disorders and pathologies. That being said, there is nothing at this point that I’m aware of on my specialities’ end to support that diet can cure mental illness. We know diet and exercise improve depression and anxiety, but that is not all there is to the story. Psychiatric diseases are real diseases. The same way the heart or lungs can get sick, so can the brain. Diet improves heart disease, too, but it doesn’t cure it, and I think his perspective is lacking any education or nuance on the topic. Overall, I’m concerned that these statements essentially undermine the reality of mental health and go back to ‘It’s your choice to be sick; it’s all in your head.’”

—Physician

5. “He’s a clown. His misinformation is embarrassing at best, dangerous at worst. I don’t know a single educated healthcare professional who thinks otherwise.”

—Registered nurse

6. “Absurd. Even the scientist who did this research was like, ‘Pump the brakes, pal. Nobody said anything about a cure.’ A ketogenic diet can alleviate a lot of symptoms of various diseases, but we should be smart enough to know that reducing symptoms and curing a condition are not the same thing. Leave it to this moron to jump on the first thing that shows promise and claim it’s a total cure. These things take time and tons of research, which the GOP is openly opposed to funding.”

—Registered nurse

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7. “As a clinical social worker in a community-based program serving veterans with serious mental illness (SMI), I feel strongly about this. Many of the clients I work with live with persistent symptoms that impact cognition, mood regulation, daily functioning, housing stability, employment, and relationships. Stabilization is often hard-won and requires coordinated, interdisciplinary care. There is currently NO large, high-quality body of evidence demonstrating that diet ‘cures’ schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Presenting keto as a standalone treatment is not evidence-based and risks misleading individuals who are already navigating complex, vulnerable circumstances.”

“Regarding RFK Jr., my concern is less about political ideology (though I don’t agree with that either) and more about the impact of sweeping health claims that are not grounded in strong scientific consensus. When influential figures make definitive statements about complex medical and mental health conditions without evidence, it can create confusion and erode trust in actual evidence-based care. In mental health (especially SMI), the stakes and potential consequences are massive. We absolutely need continued research that highlights multifaceted approaches to mental healthcare, and we need to address valid critiques of our healthcare system. But until rigorous evidence demonstrates otherwise, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are serious brain-based illnesses that require comprehensive, multidisciplinary treatment. Presenting diet as a cure is not only inaccurate; it is harmful.”

—Social worker

8. “He’s dangerous and has no clue what he’s talking about!”

—Registered nurse

9. “If it was that simple, I would be happily out of a job. Severe mental illness, especially schizophrenia, can be debilitating. Shame on him for implying that a diet change could ‘cure’ this disease. He should stop spreading unverified information in general (see prior example: Tylenol = autism).”

—Psychiatric nurse of 23 years

10. “While diet, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle are important for good mental health, they alone do not stabilize symptoms of mental illness. Notice I did not say cure. We have not yet found all the solutions, but study after study shows that the combination of counseling along with medications helps an individual manage their condition. I have often wondered why it is believed to be okay to take medicine for a condition that affects the body, such as diabetes or heart disease, while assuming we can cure a brain condition solely through will and healthy living. Obviously, that thinking is off-kilter and delusional.”

—Psychiatric nurse practitioner

11. “Remember when RFK Jr. said the public shouldn’t take medical advice from him? Yeah, that!”

—Occupational therapist

12. “RFK Jr. is a crackpot.”

—Primary care physician

13. And finally, “Would you listen to a landscape architect about how to fix your car’s engine? Stay in your lane! Nursing (and many healthcare professions) rely on evidence-based research. RFK Jr. clearly does not understand what that is or what it means.”

—Acute care nurse