Excerpt
Depression among college students has reached crisis levels. Nearly half of U.S. college students report symptoms of depression, and about 15% say they’ve considered suicide — a fifteen-year high. One-fifth take prescription antidepressants, and more than one-third receive mental-health counseling.
As a professor at The Ohio State University, I’ve seen firsthand the toll this crisis takes on my students. But as a scientist studying low-carbohydrate diets for over two decades, I’ve also seen something else: individuals following these diets often experience unexpected improvements in mental health.
That apparent connection and the understanding that some of the documented benefits of a ketogenic diet overlap with the pathophysiology of depression sparked my scientific curiosity — and a first-of-its-kind pilot study.
What we learned about fat and mental health
My colleagues and I recently set out to examine whether a whole-food, well-formulated ketogenic diet — high in healthy fats, moderate in protein and very low in carbohydrates — could support students being treated for major depressive disorder.
The results were striking.
Over 10 to 12 weeks, participants followed a supervised ketogenic diet while continuing their usual counseling or medication. Of the 24 students who enrolled, 16 completed the program and maintained a state of nutritional ketosis — meaning their bodies had shifted away from relying on carbohydrates for fuel to utilizing primarily fat.
By the end of the study, symptoms of depression had fallen by about 70% on two widely used clinical scales, while self-reported well-being nearly tripled.