Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health—and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More

by Christopher M. Palmer

This is the book that will forever change the way we understand and treat mental health.

If you or someone you love is affected by mental illness, it might change your life.

We are in the midst of a global mental health crisis, and mental illnesses are on the rise. But what causes mental illness? And why are mental health problems so hard to treat? Drawing on decades of research, Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Chris Palmer outlines a revolutionary new understanding that for the first time unites our existing knowledge about mental illness within a single framework: Mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain.

Brain Energy explains this new understanding of mental illness in detail, from symptoms and risk factors to what is happening in brain cells. Palmer also sheds light on the new treatment pathways this theory opens up—which apply to all mental disorders, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, alcoholism, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, autism, and even schizophrenia. Brain Energy pairs cutting-edge science with practical advice and strategies to help people reclaim their mental health.

This groundbreaking book reveals:

• Why classifying mental disorders as “separate” conditions is misleading
• The clear connections between mental illness and disorders linked to metabolism, including diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, pain disorders, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy
• The link between metabolism and every factor known to play a role in mental health, including genetics, inflammation, hormones, neurotransmitters, sleep, stress, and trauma
• The evidence that current mental health treatments, including both medications and therapies, likely work by affecting metabolism
• New treatments available today that readers can use to promote long-term healing

Palmer puts together the pieces of the mental illness puzzle to provide answers and offer hope. Brain Energy will transform the field of mental health, and the lives of countless people around the world.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, Mental Health, Self Help, Neuroscience

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2022

About the author

Christopher M. Palmer, MD, received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine and completed his internship and psychiatry residency at McLean Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. He is currently the director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at McLean Hospital and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

For over 20 years, Dr. Palmer’s clinical work has focused on treatment resistant cases, and recently he has been pioneering the use of the ketogenic diet in psychiatry, especially treatment resistant cases of mood and psychotic disorders.

Reviews

[Lynn Wohlwend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books that when you tell people what it's about, they sort of think you've been suckered by some YouTube conspiracy theorist while watching too much late-night infomercial TV.

Why? A main takeaway is that a possible treatment for mental illness, including schizoaffective disorder (one of the worst mental illnesses you can get; it's basically schizophrenia WITH a mood disorder), is a ketogenic diet.

No, wait. Don't run away laughing.

I admit it sounds implausible ... and then you read the book. How can schizophrenia be treated with diet? And if that were true, why haven't we been doing this all along?

Like all complicated matters, there's a long story and this book helps explain why we are where we are with treatments and what might be done about it in the future. (Incidentally, the outlier ideas in this book and the simple treatments for a complex problem reminded me of Marshall's H. pylori hypothesis for ulcers ... and all of the tribulations Marshall and Warren had to go through to try and get doctors to listen. While I don't see a Nobel Prize in this author's future, I do think people should give these ideas consideration--and more testing in labs.)

Anyway, back to the book. Basically, if you had to sum up the main idea it is this: Mental illness is caused by a metabolic disorder in cells, specifically in the brain cells' mitochondria. Mitochondria are responsible for an INCREDIBLE array of metabolic functions in your cell, and especially in your brain. When you have anxiety? Your mitochondria are firing too hot. When you have depression? They're not doing enough (or not able to do enough).

I, like many other biology students of my day, were told that the mighty mitochondria were the batteries of our cells--chugging out ATP, but not really big in other ways. Cue the modern research and whoa: Instead of the nucleus as the "control center" or "brain" of the cell like I was taught, it really might be best to think of the mitochondrion as the little animalcule behind the curtain, pulling all our bells and whistles.

It's really quite fascinating to think. (Especially since they evolved from a bacterium most closely related to typhus today.)

But here's a caveat: The book isn't a great literary read by any means.

In the beginning, it reads like self-help and gets repetitive. I'm guessing the editors were worried about the science and were like MAKE IT SIMPLER. But it's too much. And then toward the middle we get A LOT more science, which was interesting, but not told in a super interesting way. So read this book for the science, the amazing mind-fuck ideas, but not so much for literary-ness. Make of that what you will.

Ketogenic diets aren't a cure-all for mental health. They are a start for some of our truly sickest people. But the ideas in this book about nutrition and mental health could benefit a huge spectrum of people. I've never liked how we talk about mental health--as if people weren't really sick. It's always been a "disease." People either thought themselves into that situation because they were weak-minded, or trauma did it, or they have a chemical imbalance (less blame-y here, but this one had a whiff of poor genetic stock). The reality is: all these notions revolved around blaming the patient for their disease.

People with mental health issues are actually sick. They have a metabolic disorder. Yes, trauma can cause stress. But the reason why some people have trauma and get along fine while other people don't comes down to what's happening already in the mitochondria of their cells.

And this is good news. Because that means mental health disorders are actually treatable.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

How do I even rate this one? I listened to a podcast featuring this author, Christopher M Palmer, MD, and for the 40 minutes or so I found his message fascinating, not to mention the plug for this book. So I was eager to read it.

TBH, after reading this one I didn't feel that same enthusiasm for the book as I did for his podcast interviews. The podcast felt more informative and wasn't bogged down like this book felt. And I didn't learn anything new that I didn't already hear in his podcast (I even listened to a second podcast while I waited for the book to arrive.)

The latter 1/4 was more like the podcasts. This was probably 2.5 stars for me. But I think his message needs to be heard even if it is just to give people information and options not to mention ideas for different treatments. Scientists are just starting to connect the dots of the damage caused by insulin resistance. So I'll round up to 3 stars.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having graduated from a Holistic Health Coaching program in 2012, I’m a bit of a nerd when it comes to nutrition, health, and the way the human body works! While I’ve slowed down a bit with the amount of these types of books that I read, I still love to dig in to new theories on the way the body works - especially the brain! While not a surprise that Dr. Palmer links Brain health/function to metabolic disorders (only surprising that more Docs aren’t making this link), I love that someone is finally writing about it and getting it out there! While there is always a time and place for pharma and various medical treatments, it made me so happy to see someone taking a different approach. This book is a great resource to help improve mental health, overall brain health and mental longevity. I loved that there were so many ways to implement the info as well! Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Brent Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the information included in this book is undoubtedly helpful, it takes a long time to get to the portion that will help out the average reader. Tons of the first 80% of the book dances around neuroscientific and psychiatric terminology, trying to make it seem like these are facets of our normal daily conversations, but the day I have a conversation with someone for 5 minutes, let alone 5 hours, about mitochondria, is the day that hell freezes over.

To get the gist of what is delivered over 300 pages, the average person struggling with mental health issues would benefit from the following: change the environment that your body exists in; find small ways over time to incorporate healthier dieting, exercise, find ways to prevent stress, try light-therapy or get more sunlight, get 7-9 hours of sleep, find ways to reduce inflammation, and build your relationships with others around you. The author doesn’t expect you to do all of these things at one time, but instead one at a time, over the course of a few months, and adding more as you see benefits come to fruition.

Best of luck to those of you struggling and hoping this book can provide all of the answers. It doesn’t, but it may provide some help to doctors and other clinicians.

I will recommend the book Spark by John Ratey for the average reader. I think it covers many of the same bases you’re likely looking for, and does so in a much friendlier way.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to write a poor review of someone else’s work, especially when my attempts at a book would be horrible. But honestly, I kept wondering why I was reading this. There is nothing new in this book, and there are many other books on the same topic that engage the reader in fresh perspectives and down to earth, practical suggestions while blending in the science. This book takes those ideas and adds “because of the mitochondria.” I’m a cell biologist and my take was… “and?”. The author also says that correlation isn’t causation but many of the examples of clinical and non-clinical studies are just that (with the exception of a few gene replacement studies in rodents). It harkens back to Carol Greider’s book where she says everything is due to shortened telomeres. I would think that since mental disorders are physical in nature (ie the causes aren’t made up…), it makes sense that cells are involved and further makes sense that one of the most important organelle inside the cell is involved (also makes sense that it could correlate with shortened telomeres). If you are looking for a similar read, I personally appreciated Sanjay Gupta’s Keep Sharp on brain health and Uma Naidoo’s literature, blogs and especially her book on nutrition and mental health disorders. There are also some wonderful books on glucose metabolism and “diabetes 3”.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the potential to change lives. In fact, I know several folks who've previously used the approaches Dr. Palmer presents in Brain Energy, and many have thrived as a result. Mental health is the leading cause of disability in the world. Dr. Palmer shares his hypothesis on potential root causes and ways to address them. If you worked daily from an office chair with poor ergonomics which lead to neck and shoulder pain, would you rather a doctor pointed this out to you or instead prescribed Tylenol to cover the symptoms? Cheesy analogy, I know, but the former is what I believe this book does for mental health.

The way information is presented is easy to understand and does not require an academic background. It was an entertaining read (yes, I am a nerd about this stuff, but I think others will agree it's well-written). Highly recommended!

[Johnathan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book came highly recommended from a friend, but it should have set off my bullshit detectors before I got too deep into it. Anything that promises to have solved all mental illnesses - and not just them, but common physical illnesses too?? Yeah, probably not. I mean maybe there’s something to the author’s theory that mental illness is a metabolic disorder, but the frustrating thing is that even if you take him at his word, the book is annoyingly short on solutions. Okay, so I have a metabolic disorder - now what? This is really more of a career-building book for a Harvard psychiatrist than it is any kind of useful guide for a person navigating the world of treatments for mental illness.

[Morgan Blackledge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of promise here.

Some very helpful ideas and interventions.

A little premature.

But definitely worth reading.

[Erin Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m now a Chris Palmer groupie. I want to be the president of his fan club! He likens all mental health problems I.e., anxiety, depression, ocd, bipolar—you name it, to a common problem: metabolism and mitochondria. This book is very science-based so if you don’t find that stuff compelling, you might not enjoy it. However, with a lack of answers and reason tied to mental health for so many years, I found it to be so interesting to be able to tie a real, biological reason to mental heath symptoms. Mental health is physical health and the brain energy theory proves it. So cool and it makes me so hopeful for the future when at times it has seemed quite dire as far as new, holistic approaches to mental health go.

If you’re interested in how the human body works, brain included, read this book! I found out about him through the Armchair Expert podcast and have since listened to him on Huberman Lab and Tim Ferriss because I’m obsessed.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brain Energy is Dr Palmer’s attempt for a grand unified theory of mental disorders where he points mitochondrial dysfunction as the root cause. He surveys many supporting metabolism studies, listing epigenetics, neurotransmitters, hormones, some other interrelated factors so his evidence isn’t always conclusive. What makes it more annoying is it falls pretty short in solutions as it doesn’t offer much at the end other than intermittent fasting, some diets or exercise.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC. This was a fascinating look at the author's theory around metabolic disorders and what that means for mental illness and their treatments. It was definitely a tricky and technical read at times but it was really interesting. I'd recommend it to those with an interest in psychiatry, but perhaps not one looking for practical advice.

[Devin Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's rare that I agree with a book so much and enjoy reading it so little. The basic premise, the idea that people, modern Americans in particular, are dealing with widespread metabolic dysfunction is clearly important. We associate many diseases, from heart disease to diabetes, and increasingly things like Alzheimer's, with lifestyle, diet, and their impacts on metabolism. Palmer extends this thinking to include mental health conditions from anxiety and depression to OCD, ADHD, and schizophrenia.

I, perhaps, didn't realize how revolutionary this is in psychiatry, but as a health/life coach for 15yrs I have long seen Metabolic Flexibility, the ability to switch fuel sources from sugar to fat, as one of the root causes of our current collective sickness.

Palmer throws evidence at the reader like spaghetti at the wall. The problem is that his prose reads more like an extended shopping list than a well-formed essay, never mind great literature. At first, more evidence is generally more convincing, but at some point it just becomes dilutive.

Clearly he has honed his chops submitting papers to scientific journals and acting as a reviewer to other scientists submitting technical papers. His work is well cited and his research aims to be exhaustive, but as a reader I found myself tired and bored more often than not.

He works so hard to prove that everything is connected to mitochondria that by the end of the book I was left thinking 'yeah, everything is connected to everything,' (only he's not trying to make a spiritual argument, but a functional one). He's trying to provide solutions to the mental health crisis. His arguments put benefit from more focus, tighter editing, and a lot more humanity. The few case studies he includes are highlights.

TLDR : If you can't fast for a day without getting hangry and tired then your metabolism is probably broken. He would have you obsess about your mitochondria, but I would argue you really just need to worry about being sugar addicted and to train your body to switch fuel sources.

Palmer's podcast appearances are excellent btw. I recommend those over the book unless you want to go deep on the science.

[Camelia Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Palmer is a Harvard trained psychiatrist. The book opens by describing how a ketogenic diet aimed to help a patient lose weight also vastly improved his decades long mental conditions. However, the book is not about diet, but an attempt to identify the common pathway of all mental health conditions.

The core theory of Brain Energy is that mental illness is either caused by metabolic system malfunction directly or through metabolic system pathways. All roads of mental illness lead to mitochondria, especially mitochondria in brain cells.

I am not an expert therefore unable to judge whether the core theory is correct. For what I know the theory is not well-established in the medical field. Nevertheless, I find the book an eye-opener because it presents a convincing mechanism of a mind-body whole health, instead of just neurotransmitters in the brain or nerve system.

Mental illnesses, from depression, anxiety, to OCD, bipolar, to psychosis and autism, are diagnosed based on symptoms, and a patient can have multiple diagnoses at the same time or in the course of their illness. It makes sense for scientists to look for a common denominator of all mental illness. I find myself nodding at the author’s critiques of the DSM-5 and current mental illness diagnosis in general, the surprising links between different DSM-5 diagnosis and metabolic diseases. The author has a chapter discussing the double sided causation between mind (mental) and body (metabolic). In the last chapter, he advocates for a holistic treatment of mental illness, with which I already agree.

The author thinks the core theory should provide direction for more medical research on drugs targeting mitochondria. I wonder why pharmaceutical companies haven’t done so. Perhaps research is still lacking, or it’s not so easy to develop such drugs, or, I just don’t know yet.

PS: I listened to the audiobook read by the author. It’s not great. Dr. Palmer, please let a professional read your book for you.

[Corvus]

DNF about halfway through. I am not sure what this book wants to be. An intro to psych for elementary school, a higher level bio or neuro book, a self help book, etc. It was recommended to me by someone who had not read it but heard from a colleague about the ideas. I went in skeptical because I actually used to be a person who thought lifestyle change via diet could fix me, mostly due to lack of healthcare trust and access, until I realized how insane I was and how incapable we all are of assessing ourselves alone. Also, I had a job where I did "health and wellness" education for intellectually and mentally disabled folks and often felt like a complete joke when there were so many systemic issues going on with folks listening to me.

This author does not deny that many issues are at play, he does embrace them. There are a couple red flags (author so into keto because he personally uses it so ignores the many issues, contradicting self on many points to lead into thesis, patient accounts that fit all too easily into his theory so as to sound unreal, very into the idea of obesity as a disease, etc.) However, he is also very compassionate and seems to really understand people with mental health struggles. He makes good criticisms of diagnostics systems and the faulty claims ("chemical imbalance" etc) that lack adequate proof. He acknowledges the wide range of responses to various treatments.

I am indeed curious about the idea that mental illness is metabolic, but he doesn't actually seem to be getting there more than he is just describing mental health and cell structure. Yes, lots of things affect cell behavior, but that doesn't make something entirely metabolic? I am not a biologist so do not quote me. There may be a an interesting theory here but I don't want to sit through all of the extra stuff anymore.

I think this book would likely work best as an article or two. Maybe one for scientists and one for the layman. The author's heart seems to be in the right place- trying to cover a complex topic for someone with no knowledge, but he needs another editor.

[Daniel Bouchoc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting. I don’t have enough knowledge in the field to critique the research and conclusions but I finished more compelled than skeptical.

In short: all mental illnesses stem from the common pathway of the metabolism and the health of mitochondria. The way to treat the root cause of all mental illness is to improve the health of mitochondria through diet, sleep, exercise, supplements, love and purpose, and improving the health of the environment you live in. This is not meant to knock treatments of a specific illness (like epilepsy). Those specific treatments are treatments of a symptom, but the root cause isn’t being addressed.

[AnnaScott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating concepts, but a lot of complex science that I haven’t thought about since my high school anatomy class. I definitely want to explore his theory more in depth, though.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book. It reframes mental health around a foundational biological process and explain the 'why' behind many observed coincidences relating to mental health, the gut, and the energy level required to live each day.

Your brain consumes fuel to function. At a high level of abstraction, mental illness occurs when parts of the brain are under-active, overactive, or active-at-the-wrong-time. Some brains may be more sensitive to fuel types, others brains learned to fuel to maximize survival in a particular environment (eg. alertness in an abusive childhood) but that optimization no longer serves them as adults. Instead, they have a brain wired for anxiety.

We know that repetition strengthens neural pathways, but what can we do to change how our brains operate? When we think of neuroplasticity, we can imagine that changing the brain requires energy, and new connections in a brain region shift the brain's overall energetic needs. Optimizing this fueling process supports the new energetic needs and reinforces the new homeostasis for how the brain metabolizes energy. Brain Energy helps explain why changes take time, why childhood environment is pivotal, and how interventions like SSRIs, psychotherapy or ECT impact the brain.

Once the mechanism of metabolism is clear, it's obvious why we should act to improve mitochondrial health. And amazingly, improving how our mitochondria function is straightforward: what we eat and when we eat it matters. Exercise is a cheat code to better mitochondrial health. Specific supplements can help, and common medications hinder.

If this sounds like old news, that's kind of the point. Brain Energy explains how so much of what we know is right, and why it works. The point of the book isn't novelty, it's to explain the relationship between seemingly unrelated medical ailments with science. Its a holistic system theory, not a singular intervention.

Perhaps the theory of Brain Energy is incorrect. I don't have the expertise to pick apart the reference material. I'm a mental health nerd with a psych degree and a few years of college level bio and chem - not a psychiatrist or researcher. At minimum, the theory is logical and free of the mystical philosophy that characterized mental health breakthroughs of the 20th century.

And yet, if the theory of Brain Energy is correct, we're teetering on the precipice of a new epoch. For individuals, it explains an aspect of who we are and how we can change. For society, it implies radical shifts to preventing and treating mental health with no and low-cost interventions. These ideas deserve to be shared widely and examined by all types of experts, Brain Energy might be momentous.

[N.E. Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why the author published this as a book and not as a paper in academic settings. It makes me assume that he couldn't pass muster with experts or that he did and then turned around and made his thesis into a book just so he could say he had published a book.

While it looks like a self help book thats either going to give you some new thing to try and get your life in order and/or give you inspiration to go out and do the things. And it starts out like its going to be that, but you know how self help throws out a few case studies and examples to show the author is knows their stuff; this book is 90% that. Reading this and you are in for a good 5-10 hours of citing examples and studies and then arguing that his theory could explain everything.

At the very end, the final culmination where he tells you how his theory can help you solve all your problems; the answer is eat right, avoid overly processed foods, exercise, meditate, and talk to your doctor about what treatments are right for you.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unified theory of metabolism and mental health

Take care of your mitochondria and your mitochondria will take care of you.
Its not news that mental health is affected by external factors such as stress, diet & exercise, relationships, alcohol and tobacco, etc., etc., but now all these factors can be traced back to changes in the mitochondria, and particularly the mitochondria of brain cells. Back in the dark ages, when I took high school biology, we learned that mitochondria make the ATP that fuels our cells. But they do so much more!
This book will change the way we diagnose and treat the whole range of mental illnesses, and remove the stigma that currently attaches.

[Sarah Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff!

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most generic platitudes of the decade plaster together, and doesn’t even do us the courtesy of giving actual solutions. I feel catfished.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

All about Mitochondria (plus exercise and gut microbiome)

[Gabby · Rating 1 out of 5]

All this book managed to do was mansplain how all mental and metabolic disorders are related over and over and over again. Can we talk about something else now?

[Namo · Rating 5 out of 5]

หนังสือเล่มนี้กล่าวถึงการทำงานของสมองและโรคทางจิตเวช (mental disorder) โดยได้กล่าวถึงลักษณะของโรคทางจิตเวช แนวโน้ม ความเสี่ยง และสาเหตุต่างๆ ต่อโรคนี้

แนวคิดที่สำคัญที่ถูกนำเสนอในหนังสือเล่มนี้คือ ความผิดปกติทางจิตเวชนั้นเป็นผลมาจากความผิดปกติของ energy metabolism ของเซลล์สมอง ดังนั้นแม้ว่าโรคจะต่างกันออกไป แต่ทั้งหมดก็จะเชื่อมโยงกับตัวของความผิดปกติของ energy metabolism ของเซลล์สมอง

ซึ่งก่อนหน้านี้ สาเหตุของโรคทางจิตเวชมักถูกโยงเข้ากับความผิดปกติของสารสื่อประสาทเท่านั้น

หนังสือเล่มนี้ได้นำเสนอแนวคิดการรักษาด้วย โดยเน้นการใช้อาหารจำพวกคีโต ซึ่งมุ่งเป้าหมายไปที่การแทรกแซง metabolism ของเซลล์สมอง ซึ่งคุณหมอคนเขียนหนังสือเค้าได้นำมาใช้จริงกับผู้ป่วยที่ไม่ตอบสนองต่อการรักษาแบบปกติ

ซึ่งเราค่อนข้างชอบและเห็นด้วยกับหนังสือเล่มนี้มาก
1. แม้ว่าเนื้อหาในหนังสือจะเป็นงานด้นวิยาศาสตร์ แต่ก็ถูกอธิบายให้เข้าใจได้ง่ายมาก
2. อธิบายเนื้อหาได้ลงลึกพอสมควร
3. ได้เน้นมาโรคทางจิตเวชไม่ใช่สิ่งที่น่ากลัว มันก็แค่เป็นเหมือนโรคอื่นๆนั่นแหละ
4. แนวความคิดที่ว่าอาหารเป็นยานั้นได้ถูกเน้นย้ำจากแนวคิดของหนังสือเล่มนี้ การรักษาแบบองค์รวมโดยเชื่อมโยงระหว่างจิตใจ สมอง และร่างกายเป็นเรื่องสำคัญ ซ฿งนับว่าเป็นแนวทางที่ยั่งยืนมากกว่า
5. ข้อแนะนำในหนังสือเล่มนี้ ผู้อ่านทุกคนสามารถนำไปปฏิบัติได้จริง

เนื้อหาในหนังสือคือเยอะมากเลย อยากให้ทุกคนได้อ่านจริงๆค่ะ

[Danielle Willmeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book and interesting

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply the best

A book like no other to give hope to those who suffer from schizophrenia and other mental health problems. The big impact for me was the incredible care that Dr Palmer has for people, wanting to see them well and integrating back into society. This has driven him to seek an underlying explanation for a variety mental disorders, in order to achieve a more unified approach to treatment. Let's face it, the pills might help a bit, but the side effects are a disaster. Our experience has been, in implementing Dr Palmer's ideas with the help of our Doctors - medication has been reduced 75% after only 4 months. Voices have gone. Blood tests are normal. Weight is being lost and staying off. It has provided a new freedom. Thankyou Dr Palmer!

[Siim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick note for my clinical psychology friends, if you want another powerful tool in your therapy toolbox: Laurent, N., Bellamy, E. L., Hristova, D., & Houston, A. (2024). Ketogenic diets in clinical psychology: examining the evidence and implications for practice. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1468894.

----------------BOOK REVIEW--------------------
For those who are familiar with the biopsychosocial model of health this book will not really tell you a lot that is mind-blowingly new.

However, where it differs from all I've read and thought before is perhaps the unifying theory of "brain energy". Which posits that most mental health problems stem from issues with the healthy functioning of mitochondria, and how various aspects of life like sleep, our relationships, meaning in our work, dietary habits (the huge big thing that people don't really appreciate enough nor know all the nuances of), therapy, exercise, and your metabolism all interact with each other in various and somewhat complex feedback loops to give rise to psychopathology or well-being.

I've been reading up on ketogenic therapies for the past 6 months and I hope more people in the mental health space take time to get familiar with fasting and ketogenic therapies (such as a the classical ketogenic diet). Because these are really highly effective tools that some clinical psychologists and psychiatrists are already using to help their patients (see psychiatrist Georgia Ede, or clinical psychologist Nicole Laurent) who are practitioners but also academics who (with Christopher) are at the forefront of this burgeoning scientific field.

[Melissa Belfer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a parent of a child with ASD and PANS, I found this book to be validating in the choices made to help our son. For those of us that chose that route, knowing about mitochondrial dysfunction isn’t something new. However Dr Palmer gives an in-depth explanation of it while giving recommendations on improving cellular function. A great read for anyone who is struggling with mental illness or knows someone who is.

[Monica Kronstain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely changed the way I see mental health. I have always been someone who emphasized influence for nurture over nature in mental disorders, but Dr. Palmer takes the bold approach of showing his readers that mental disorders should instead be seen as metabolic disorders of the brain. He does such a great job of explaining the interconnectedness between inflammation, hormones, mitochondria, and metabolic, neurological, and mental disorders. The first couple of chapters I found to be a bit more fluff pages, but the majority of the key scientific lessons can be densely found in the middle along with his comprehensible explanations. It would be easy to brush off this theory as something easily feeding into “fad diet trends,” if it were not for the intricate research conducted by Dr. Palmer to bring all of these various aspects to light. This is a book that everyone should read and be knowledgeable about. I genuinely believe this is something that will change the future of how we view and treat mental health disorders.

[Bailey Marko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not nearly knowledgeable enough on biology, but thoroughly enjoyed the anecdotes and high level insight