How following the keto diet improved this man’s mental health
>>> BACK NOW AT 8:37 WITH YOUR HEALTH. WHEN MOST PEOPLE HEAR THE WORD KETO, THEY THINK OF THAT FAD DIET USED FOR WEIGHT LOSS. >> I THINK WE HAVE ALL DONE IT HERE, RIGHT? THERE IS ALSO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE THAT SHOWS IT CAN TREAT TYPE TWO DIABETES AND EPILEPSY. >> SOME DOCTORS SUGGEST IT CAN EVEN BE USED AS A MENTAL HEALTH TOOL. >> IT'S BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME. THE MEDICAL VERSION OF KETO HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 100 YEARS, GUYS. IT INVOLVES HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS WORKING WITH PATIENTS TO CREATE A FOOD REGIMEN TO TREAT SERIOUS CONDITIONS. WELL, NOW, THIS DIET IS BEING EXPLORED AS PART OF A POTENTIAL TREATMENT PLAN FOR MENTAL ILLNESS FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVEN'T RESPONDED TO MEDICATION. FOR ONE YOUNG MAN I MET, IT IS A GAME CHANGER. >> GOING, GOING, GOING, SPENDING, TALKING FAST, NOT SLEEPING, DOING ALL THIS WILD, IMPULSIVE BEHAVIOR. >> Reporter: THAT WILD BEHAVIOR LANDED HIM IN THE HOSPITAL FRESHMAN YEAR IN COLLEGE. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER. FROM EXTREME HIGHS CALLED MANIA TO EXTREME LOWS CALLED DEPRESSION. IN MATT'S CASE, HE HAD PSYCHOTIC BREAKS AS WELL.
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING DURING THIS PERIOD OF YOUR LIFE? >> I WAS NOT THINKING BECAUSE I WAS SO MANIC. >> Reporter: HER SON BECAME UNRECOGNIZABLE. >> IT WAS ALMOST AS IF HE WAS KIDNAPPED FROM US FROM HIMSELF BY HIS OWN BRAIN MALFUNCTIONING. >> Reporter: MATT'S ILLNESS WAS A CHALLENGE FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY, INCLUDING HIS THREE YOUNGER SISTERS AND HIS DAD, FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE POPULAR ONLINE GAMING PLATFORM ROBLOX.
MATT CUTOFF CONTACT WITH HIS FAMILY AND WANDERED THE STREETS OF CALIFORNIA, EVEN SPENDING THE NIGHT BEHIND A DUMPSTER. >> REALLY DIDN'T KNOW IF HE WAS STILL ALIVE. >> Reporter: YOU SAID YOU WERE SITTING ON THE FLOOR CRYING. >> IT WAS LIKE 3:00 IN THE MORNING. I WAS CURLED IN A BALL ON THE FLOOR, JUST IN DESPAIR. >> Reporter: THEY HAVE RESOURCES. MATT SAW MORE THAN 40 CLINICIANS, TRIED 29 DIFFERENT MEDICATIONS, BUT WAS EVENTUALLY TOLD HIS BIPOLAR WAS TREATMENT-RESISTANT. >> I WAS TAKING ALL THE MEDICATIONS PRESCRIBED AND I WAS STILL STICK. >> WHAT DID THE DOCTOR SAY? >> IT'S TREATMENT RESISTANT SO HE'S JUST GOING TO SUFFER THE REST OF HIS LIFE. I JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. >> Reporter: JAN REACHED OUT TO ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL. HIS SUGGESTION FOR MATT, A KETOGENIC DIET. >> SO PEOPLE ARE EATING VERY LOW CARBO HIGH DRATS, A MODERATE AMOUNT OF PROTEIN AND THEY EAT A LOT OF FAT. >> Reporter: THOUGH THE EXACT CAUSE OF BIPOLAR DISORDER IS UNCLEAR, IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE IN THE BRAIN.
STANDARD TREATMENT INCLUDES MEDICATION LIKE MOOD STABILIZERS AND ANTIPSYCHOTICS. >> I BELIEVE THAT MENTAL DISORDERS ARE ACTUALLY METABOLIC DISORDERS AFFECTING THE BRAIN. >> Reporter: SO THE THINGS WE EAT? >> THINGS WE EAT PLAY A ROLE. BUT METABOLISM AND METABOLIC HEALTH ARE MORE THAN THAT. THEY INCLUDE EXERCISE AND SLEEP AND TOXIC SUBSTANCE USE. >> Reporter: IN JANUARY 2021, MATT STARTED A MEDICAL KETO DIET WITH THE GUIDANCE OF DR. PALMER AND A DIETITIAN. BY THEN, HE STOPPED USING ALCOHOL AND DRUGS RECREATIONALLY. >> Reporter: WHAT HAPPENED? >> IT WAS LIFE CHANGING. I HAD TO TAKE 20 MILLIGRAMS OF THIS MEDICATION OR MORE JUST TO KEEP MYSELF STABLE. I WENT ON THE DIET. MARCH OF 2021, I SAILED THROUGH 5 MILLIGRAMS OF THIS MEDICATION. DIDN'T INCREASE IT. NO SUM TOMS OF HYPOMANIA, ZERO. >> I KEPT SAYING TO MY HUSBAND, COULD THIS REALLY BE KETO? >> Reporter: AT 27, MATT HAS BEEN ON THE DIET FOR THREE YEARS AND SAYS HE HAS NOT EXPERIENCED ANY MANIA.
>> THIS IS A STAPLE. >> Reporter: THE FAMILY IS FUNDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF RESEARCH AND CREATING A NONPROFIT CALLED METABOLIC MIND. MATT IS DETERMINED TO SHARE HIS STORY TO HELP OTHERS, RECENTLY SPEAKING AT A METABOLIC HEALTH SUMMIT IN FLORIDA. STILL, THERE ARE MANY THAT SAY IT IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. CRITICS POINT TO A LACK OF RESEARCH, THE CHALLENGES OF FOLLOWING A RESTRICTIVE DIET AND VARIOUS HEALTH RISKS, INCLUDING A POSSIBLE LINK TO HEART DISEASE. >> THERE ARE A LOT OF SKEPTICS. >> FOR GOOD REASON. SNAKE OIL SALESMEN HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A MILLENNIA. >> Reporter: ARE YOU A SNAKE OIL SPOKESMAN? >> I'M NOT. BUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT THIS DIET AS A TREATMENT FOR A SERIOUS CRIPPING MENTAL DISORDER, PEOPLE THINK I AM.
>> Reporter: IS IT A FIX FOR BIPOLAR DISORDER? >> ABSOLUTELY NOT. BUT THE POWERFUL NEWS TODAY IS THAT DIETARY INTERVENTIONS CAN, IN FACT, BE A POWERFUL TREATMENT. >> Reporter: TODAY MATT IS THRIVING. HE'S STILL ON LOW DOSES OF MEDICATION, BUT TRYING TO SLOWLY TAPER OFF OF IT. HE LIVES ON HIS OWN AND WORKS FULL-TIME AT ROBLOX. >> WHAT I SEE IN MATT NOW IS A FULL-BLOWN ADULT MANAGING HIS OWN LIFE. IT'S REALLY BEEN A BEAUTIFUL HEALING FOR OUR FAMILY. >> WOW! >> YEAH. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS FIELD IS IN ITS INFANCY. THERE ARE SOME EARLY CLINICAL TRIALS THAT ARE UNDERWAY NOW, INCLUDING ONE THEY ARE FUNDING AT McLEAN HOSPITAL WHERE DR. PALMER WORKS. BOTTOM LINE, PEOPLE SHOULD NOT STOP THEIR MEDICATION AND CHANGE THEIR DIET IF THEY ARE RESPONDING WELL TO THOSE DRUGS AND PATIENTS SHOULD ALWAYS WORK WITH A MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIAN TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS BEST FOR THEM.
IT IS NOT NECESSARILY A ONE SIZE FITS ALL. >> IT IS A POWERFUL EXAMPLE. IT WILL BE INTERESTING TO SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER EXAMPLES. >> IF IT WAS TREATMENT RESISTANT, THERE MIGHT BE A CORRELATION BETWEEN THAT GROUP OF PEOPLE AND THIS. >> I FEEL LIKE NUTRITION, EXERCISE, ALL THOSE THINGS IS SORT OF LEFT OUT OF MED SCHOOL. THERE ARE SO MANY OF THESE ILLNESSES THAT COULD BE HELPED IF YOU HAD THE RIGHT — >> RIGHT.
>> WOW, .
