For many, the ketogenic diet conjures up images of “keto bros” flexing their muscles and obsessively avoiding carbs. But keto is a serious therapeutic approach for brain disorders dating back more than a century. As we learn more about the connection between metabolic health and mental health, researchers are increasingly studying this nutritional approach as a treatment for severe mental illness.

August 26, 2026—In 2009, medical student Shebani Sethi watched a patient in a weight loss program make a remarkable recovery. The dietary intervention she underwent alleviated her schizophrenia symptoms, something the woman had tried – and failed – to treat with medication for years. That experience sent Shebani down a medical path that would lead her to treating mental health in a radically different way.