Why Stanford Psychiatrist Thinks Diet Affects Mental Health

O. Rose Broderick reports on health policy and technology governing the lives of people with disabilities. Before coming to STAT, she worked at WNYC’s Radiolab and Scientific American. Her article debunking false theories about transgender children was nominated for a 2024 GLAAD Media Award. You can access Rose On Signal at rosebroderick.11.

Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made headlines in February when he suggested that schizophrenia could be “cured” by changing one’s diet. His comments sparked a wave of backlash from researchers, who called his comments “baseless.”

Although current scientific consensus suggests that schizophrenia cannot be cured with diet, Kennedy’s interest in nutrition and diet as tools to treat mental illness is shared by some researchers and clinicians who are working diligently to find alternatives for conditions without adequate treatment options, such as schizophrenia. They say that a person’s mental health is determined not only by neurotransmitters flying around in the brain, but also by other bodily pathways.

Stanford University researcher Shebani Sethi is a pioneer in this field, which she calls “metabolic psychiatry.” Her research attracted the attention of leaders of the Make America Healthy Again movement, including Kennedy’s longtime friend, physician Mark Hyman.

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