RFK Jr. Spouts Unproven Idea That Keto Diet Can ‘Cure’ Schizophrenia

In Nashville, Tennessee, on the first stop of his “Take Back Your Health” tour, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made big claims about the impact of diet on mental health.

In a speech meant to promote the country’s new dietary guidelines, the health and human services secretary insinuated that the food we consume could cause ― and cure ― certain conditions.

“We now know that the things that you eat are driving mental illness in this country. And Dr. Pollan, up at Harvard, has cured schizophrenia using keto diets,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy appeared to misspeak, potentially meaning to credit Dr. Chris Palmer, who has published research about the effects of the ketogenic diet (a high-fat, low-carb eating plan) on mental illness.

Kennedy continued, “There are studies right now that I saw two days ago where people lose their bipolar diagnosis by changing their diet. It’s not only affecting our physical health; it’s affecting our mental health as well, and we’re asking people now, eat real food — eat protein. Eat fruit, eat vegetables, eat high-fiber grains.”

Doctors told HuffPost that Kennedy isn’t necessarily all wrong in his claims, but there is way more to the story. Here’s what to know:

Kennedy’s comments align with the ideology his “Make America Health Again” campaign promotes, “which is ‘natural’ is better for your health,” said Nicole Lippman-Barile, a clinical psychologist.

Kennedy has a history of demonizing medications like antidepressants, making statements claiming that they are more addictive than heroin and that they contribute to violent behavior, which is not proven.

“Diet fits into what is considered ‘natural’ because it’s not part of the pharmaceutical company … and we can use these things and they can make us better than things that are not ‘natural,’” said Lippman-Barile.

Dr. Brooke Resch, a psychiatrist in Minnesota, said in an Instagram video that there is some evidence that suggests a keto diet may be beneficial in a mental health treatment plan, but there is not “a ton at this point” to support that.

Palmer, whom Kennedy likely referenced in his speech, has explored the potential impact of the keto diet on mental illnesses like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but Lippman-Barile said his research is often made up of very small sample sizes or only covers short periods of time, like a few weeks or months.

“We also have no long-term studies looking at the keto diet and what that does for mental illness,” she said.

“Even the most recent research that [Kennedy’s] citing in this speech here says these exact same things ― that it’s too soon to have this as a clinical recommendation,” Resch said in her Instagram reel.

“Most of the trials in nutritional psychiatry are in depression using a Mediterranean diet,” Dr. Drew Ramsey, a psychiatrist and leader in nutritional psychiatry, told HuffPost. Ramsey said depression symptoms got better when a Mediterranean diet was prescribed on top of another intervention, such as an antidepressant or therapy or exercise.

Ramsey does have faith in the keto diet for use in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but would not call it a “cure.”

“We’ve known that a ketogenic diet and dietary interventions are really important and can be helpful in augmenting care and mental health,” Ramsey said. “Augmentation means you’re taking an antidepressant or getting therapy or in an exercise program — you’re doing some stuff for your depression, [but] you’re not getting all the way better.”

Keto diets and other diet changes also don’t always work, Ramsey added. So any idea that following the protein-based eating plan ― or even just a more nutritious diet ― can treat bipolar disorder or schizophrenia is wrong.

The keto diet also doesn’t come without risk. It’s a meat-heavy meal plan, which is a cardiovascular disease risk factor, said Lippman-Barile. “An increase in cardiovascular risk is a risk factor for serious mental illness like depression,” she added.

“Individuals with digestive disorders, there’s a very real correlation with them having increased risk and chance of having depression and anxiety,” Lippman-Barile noted. “So, there is this connection where stress management and diet is important in that kind of context ― not necessarily keto, but diet and stress management for those conditions is very real.”

There’s also some correlation between eating a diet that’s high in ultra-processed foods and being at higher risk of depression and anxiety, she said. The diet alone isn’t the reason for depression, but could be a factor.

“Another thing to consider here is that just about any dietary change is going to improve outcomes over the standard American diet, because the standard American diet is really quite nutritionally poor,” Resch said on Instagram.

Kennedy used the word “cure” when talking about a keto diet’s impact on schizophrenia and, similarly, used the phrase “lose their bipolar diagnosis” when talking about diet changes and mental illness.

“The challenging thing right now for evidence-based health professionals is that there is, at times, an enthusiasm that leads to poor word choice,” Ramsey, who noted that the use of the word “cure” is overly enthusiastic.

“The word cured means not having a symptom,” Ramsey said. “Very few people want a mental health diagnosis, but mental health diagnoses, when they’re done properly by trained professionals, are really helpful because that then guides treatment ― and treatments can be very effective.” But treatment doesn’t lead to a cure. Instead, it leads to recovery, he said.

“When we say, ‘cure,’ that’s a language that isn’t helpful because these illnesses are in our genes, and so until we have gene therapy, we’re not going to ‘cure mental illness,’” Ramsey said.

Recovery is possible with proper treatment, and while a specific diet, such as a keto diet or even the Mediterranean diet (which Ramsey said has the most scientific evidence behind it), may be useful, it isn’t a single-pronged approach. Someone with a mental illness may be told to follow a certain diet in conjunction with other things like medication, therapy and exercise.

“We are using dietary interventions alongside our evidence-based treatments, not to replace them,” Ramsey said. “If you eat real food ― more protein, more vegetables and fewer processed foods ― you will have better mental health outcomes with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression, according to the most recent data. It does not mean that this is the exclusive treatment for these conditions, nor does it mean that the treatments we have are not effective. Our treatments are very effective.”

These mental illnesses are complicated and are lifelong disorders for people, Lippman-Barile explained. “There’s no one solution,” she said. “‘Holistic,’ evidence-based care is a variety of interventions. It’s not just one intervention.”

Care can include things like medication, exercise and stress management — in addition to diet — but Kennedy’s claim that diet changes can “cure” schizophrenia or bipolar disorder is grossly overstated.

“I’m going to pick lithium over ketogenic diets every day until the evidence says otherwise,” Ramsey said. (Lithium is a treatment for bipolar disorder.)

“I would just say at this point, the keto diet is not there yet, and even the folks who are studying this and research this say pretty much the same thing,” Resch said in her Instagram post.

“We should probably be looking into it more. We should probably understand it better … it makes sense as a potential future treatment recommendation, because we know that the keto diet is very evidence-based for certain seizure conditions, and there are also seizure medications that we use with good effect in psychiatry. So, it is quite possible, and I’m not really writing this off, but I wouldn’t make sensationalist claims, big statements to folks who may be saying, ‘Oh gosh, I’m going to start the keto diet now to help take care of my psychosis or my mood disorder,’ and then they end up causing themselves more harm than good,” Resch continued in the video.

As research unfolds on many aspects of psychiatry, get your information from well-established organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association, Lippman-Barile noted. These groups are dedicated to sharing evidence-based treatments of disorders like bipolar and schizophrenia, and are constantly looking at new, evidence-based treatments in the field that can help people feel better.