How the Ketogenic Diet Helps Schizophrenia

In this video I discuss the ketogenic diet, what is ketosis and how is it different from ketoacidosis. I also talk about how the ketogenic diet affects brain metabolism and how this improves schizophrenia.

In the previous video, I talk about the Mediterranean diet being shown to improve depression. The ketogenic diet and Mediterranean couldn't be more different. But they are addressing different problems. Which then leads to the question what is it about schizophrenia that makes this specific diet more helpful? We don't have a clear understanding of what causes schizophrenia. The fact that that this diet helps and how it helps gives us more information about what goes wrong in the brain that causes schizophrenia. I explained schizophrenia in this video that you can watch it after this one.

Here's what we understand so far about what happens in the brain with schizophrenia. We believe it's related to three things:
1. Abnormal energy metabolism in the neurons,
2. abnormal function of the mitochondria –
mitochondria is an organelle inside of the cell, that acts like the power station
and the third contributor is oxidative stress.
3. Oxidative stress is damage to the cells at the gene level from free radicals. Lots of things we do, eat and are exposed to create excess free radicals that cause oxidative stress. This is where consuming antioxidants are helpful.

Your brain relies very heavily on glucose to function, but with schizophrenia, the neurons don’t process glucose properly. Then you get abnormal communication between the neurons. We call this impaired synaptic activity. The synapse is the gap between the cells. Think of the cells as an engine that choking because it doesn’t have enough fuel.

Because the ketogenic diet provides another source of fuel for the brain, it restores the metabolic activity of the cells so that they function the way they’re supposed to. In our analogy, the engine stops choking and runs smoothly.

Video links
Schizophrenia Explained    • What is Schizophrenia? - It's More Th...  
Mediterranean Diet for Depression    • How The mediterranean Diet Improves Y...  

Want to know more about mental health and self-improvement? On this channel I discuss topics such as bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety disorders, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), relationships and personal development/self-improvement. I upload weekly. If you don’t want to miss a video, click here to subscribe. https://goo.gl/DFfT33

Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.