In February, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,said that the ketogenic (“keto”) diet, a high-fat moderate-protein diet designed to put the body into a metabolic state called ketosis, could “cure” schizophrenia. A flood of experts immediately countered that his statement vastly overstated the available evidence on the efficacy of the keto diet as a therapeutic approach to mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
In his comments, RFK Jr. cited Dr. Christopher Palmer, a psychiatrist and researcher at Harvard Medical School, as a key proponent of the keto diet as a “cure” for schizophrenia. Dr. Palmer, whose research focuses on the interface of metabolism and mental health, has called the keto diet a “promising therapeutic approach” to treating schizophrenia but maintains that the evidence so far is mostly based on case studies and pilot studies and is still preliminary.
The evidence surrounding the keto diet and mental illness
The idea that the keto diet may play a role in reducing symptoms of mental illness has been around since at least 1965, when researchers noted significant improvements in 10 women , all hospitalized with schizophrenia, after two weeks on the diet. Of course, this is an extremely small case study focusing on a particular setting in which patients are much more closely monitored than they are outside the hospital. Nonetheless, recent research has revived the idea that there might be something there.
In 2024, a small study from Stanford showed promising results in reducing symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. But the study included only 21 participants, only 14 of whom were adherent to the diet, and was limited to people with existing metabolic disorders.
There are also a few studies examining the effects of the diet on depression, with some positive results. In February 2026, there was a randomized controlled trial in which a group of participants with treatment-resistant depression followed a keto diet and a control group followed a diet heavy on fruits and vegetables. The improvement in the keto diet group was greater than in the control group, but the difference was small and potentially not clinically significant. Similarly, a 2025 study of 16 college students with major depressive disorder found improvement of symptoms of about 70% after subjects followed the keto diet for 10-12 weeks. This was a small trial with no control group.
Caveats and considerations
Treatment of schizophrenia with the keto diet could carry major advantages, especially the possibility of reducing the metabolic effects associated with traditional antipsychotics, which can be a reason many patients discontinue the medications. There is some early evidence that a keto diet can be a successful approach, but the science is far from settled. It is, however, very worth studying further, and there are currently at least 20 randomized controlled trials underway this year.
It is important to note that the diet is not being studied as a replacement for medication. Studies of the keto diet as a treatment for mental health conditions look at patients on medication plus the keto diet versus control groups on meds, so they do not test the diet as a treatment on its own.
Keto diets are very strict and can be difficult to maintain. Many people stop over time. This is why the approach should generally not be attempted without medication and should be undertaken only under the close supervision of a physician.
The keto diet as a potential treatment for schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions is an intriguing line of research. However, calling it a “cure” is clearly premature and may encourage people to stop their medication. As is often the case in science and medicine, the situation is nuanced and should be represented in a way that is appropriate and true to the state of the evidence.