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Ketogenic diet as a therapeutic intervention for obsessive-compulsive disorder: a case series of three patients
The ketogenic diet is gaining attention as a potential therapy for neuropsychiatric conditions, as it appears to address shared underlying biological mechanisms.
Ketogenic diet as a therapy : Case study
This case study by Macdonald & Palmer (2025) examines three individuals who experienced a significant reduction in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms after starting a ketogenic diet. Participants were chosen from the authors’ networks and asked about their past experiences with mental health. The Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) was used to assess their OCD symptoms retrospectively before and after they started the diet. All three individuals entered remission and discontinued psychiatric medications. Their Y-BOCS scores dropped by an average of 21 points—a 90.5% improvement. Notably, their symptoms returned whenever they deviated from the ketogenic eating plan. These findings suggest that the ketogenic diet may be a promising intervention for OCD, potentially by correcting metabolic disturbances linked to the disorder. Further controlled trials are needed to explore this treatment approach more rigorously. [NPID: Obsessive-compulsive disorder, ketogenic diet, metabolism, mitochondria, neuropsychiatric disorders, carnivore diet]
Year: 2025
