My brand-new card game with Exploding Kittens is now a national bestseller! Learn more.

by

Tim Ferriss

Chris Palmer, MD, of Harvard Medical School — Optimizing Brain Energy for Mental Health, The Incredible Potential of Metabolic Psychiatry, Extraordinary Case Studies, and Harnessing Mitochondria for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More (#633)

Leave a comment

Topics:

“Mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain, so that means metabolic impairment in the body and/or brain can result in mental symptoms.”

— Dr. Christopher Palmer

Dr. Christopher M. Palmer (@chrispalmermd) is a Harvard psychiatrist and researcher working at the interface of metabolism and mental health. Dr. Palmer is 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 25 years, he has held administrative, educational, research, and clinical roles in psychiatry at Harvard. He has been pioneering the use of the medical ketogenic diet in the treatment of psychiatric disorders—conducting research in this area, treating patients, writing, and speaking around the world on this topic.

He has developed the first comprehensive theory of what causes mental illness, integrating existing theories and research into one unifying theory—the brain energy theory of mental illness. You can learn more in his new book Brain Energy: A Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Mental Health—and Improving Treatment for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More.

Please enjoy!

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, YouTube, or on your favorite podcast platform. The transcript of this episode can be found here. Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Listen onApple Podcasts
Listen onSpotify
Listen onOvercast
#633: Chris Palmer, MD, of Harvard Medical School — Optimizing Brain Energy for Mental Health, The Incredible Potential of Metabolic Psychiatry, Extraordinary Case Studies, and Harnessing Mitochondria for Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD, and More

This episode is brought to you by AG1! I get asked all the time, “If you could use only one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is usually AG1, my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body in 2010 and did not get paid to do so. Right now, get a FREE Welcome Kit, including Vitamin D3+K2 and AG1 Flavor Sampler, when you first subscribe. Visit DrinkAG1.com/Tim to claim this special offer today and receive your 1-year supply of Vitamin D—a vital nutrient for a strong immune system and strong bones!

This episode is brought to you by Levels! I wrote about the health benefits of using continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) more than ten years ago in The 4-Hour Body. At the time, CGMs were primitive and hard to use. Levels has now made this technology, and the unique insights that come from it, easy and available to everyone. Levels is making glucose monitoring simple, helping you see how food affects your health through real-time feedback. I started tracking my glucose years ago to learn more about what I should and shouldn’t be eating (including quantities, time of day, etc.), based on objective data from my own, unique physiology. Keeping my blood sugar stable is critical to my daily and long-term health and performance goals. Furthermore, poor glucose control is associated with a number of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and obesity. It’s important.

If you’re interested in learning more about Levels and trying a CGM yourself, go to Levels.link/Tim.

This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Ads, the go-to tool for B2B marketers and advertisers who want to drive brand awareness, generate leads, or build long-term relationships that result in real business impact. To redeem your free $100 LinkedIn ad credit and launch your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com/TFS!

Want to hear an episode that explores the ketogenic diet in greater depth? Have a listen to my conversation with Dr. Dominic D’Agostino here, in which we discuss muscle and strength gain in ketosis, the diet’s impact on type 1 diabetes, tricks for adhering to the diet in polite company outings, vegetarian and vegan options, exogenous ketone efficacy, and much more.

#172: Dom D'Agostino — The Power of the Ketogenic Diet

What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.

SCROLL BELOW FOR LINKS AND SHOW NOTES…

SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE

  • Connect with Dr. Christopher Palmer:

Website | Twitter | Instagram

SHOW NOTES

  • [07:14] How a woman overcame her 53-year streak of chronic paranoid schizophrenia.
  • [11:16] The backstory of Brain Energy‘s dedication.
  • [16:31] Chris’ thoughts on DSM-5 diagnostic categories.
  • [21:51] Chris’ first exposure to the ketogenic diet.
  • [28:35] Metabolic psychiatry.
  • [30:33] How ketosis affects the human body (e.g., sleep, mood, weight).
  • [39:35] Examining the mood elevation of ketosis on a bio-cellular level.
  • [44:24] When ketosis can be dangerous.
  • [46:44] How mitochondrial dysfunction can trigger a host of ailments.
  • [58:07] Dietary methods for sustaining ketosis over the long term.
  • [1:04:54] Common ketosis mistakes.
  • [1:07:53] Psychiatric medications, metabolism, and controversy.
  • [1:15:29] Indications that a medication impairs more than improves a patient’s condition.
  • [1:18:06] Resources to share with doctors open to conversation about these issues.
  • [1:20:41] Why quitting psychiatric medication cold turkey is a bad idea.
  • [1:23:20] Thoughts on the efficacy of exogenous ketones.
  • [1:30:32] Ketogenic diet as treatment for schizophrenia.
  • [1:38:34] Why you need to take radical ownership of your own health advocacy.
  • [1:40:33] Physical exercise for optimizing mitochondrial health.
  • [1:44:59] A cautionary note for people using medication for off-label results.
  • [1:48:49] Parting thoughts.

MORE CHRIS PALMER, MD QUOTES FROM THE INTERVIEW

“Mental disorders are metabolic disorders of the brain, so that means metabolic impairment in the body and/or brain can result in mental symptoms.”
— Dr. Christopher Palmer

“Mental disorders are now the leading cause of disability on our planet. And it’s not because people aren’t getting treatment. A lot of those people are getting treatment, and it’s because our current treatments fail to work for them. That is a fact, and that is why I am so passionate about this work. Because I want to help those people who are being told, ‘There’s nothing more we have to offer you. There’s nothing more we can do. Just take your pills and stop complaining.’ I want to help them.”
— Dr. Christopher Palmer

“Right now, the mental health field says, ‘This child has block-throwing disorder.’ ‘This child has grumpy disorder.’ ‘This child has handwriting disorder,’ and ‘This child has defiant disorder. He spoke back to me in a really poor manner.’ We label those different things, and then we assume they are different disorders. They’re certainly different behaviors, and they might require different interventions. One child might need discipline and another maybe not, but you can solve all of it by feeding them.”
— Dr. Christopher Palmer

“What I want to say is, for all of you who know somebody with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, there is a better way.”
— Dr. Christopher Palmer

PEOPLE MENTIONED

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That's how we're gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you're rude, we'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)

10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted

New!

Coyote

A card game by Tim Ferriss and Exploding Kittens

COYOTE is an addictive card game of hilarity, high-fives, and havoc! Learn it in minutes, and each game lasts around 10 minutes.

For ages 10 and up (though I’ve seen six-year olds play) and three or more players, think of it as group rock, paper, scissors with many surprise twists, including the ability to sabotage other players. Viral videos of COYOTE have been watched more than 250 million times, and it’s just getting started.

Unleash your trickster spirit with a game that’s simple to learn, hard to master, and delightfully different every time you play. May the wit and wiles be with you!

Learn More

Keep exploring.