Dr Bellamy discusses her PhD Findings with Dr Bret Scher
- Dr Erin Louise Bellamy
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Dr Bellamy's meeting with Dr Bret Scher in 2024
In 2024, I first met with Dr Scher to discuss the findings of my PhD research.
We discussed:
The development of ketogenic therapy in mental health
Unexpected aspects and obstacles of using a keto diet for mental health
Changing views on a ketogenic diet
My application of ketogenic metabolic therapy
Using ketogenic therapy to address depression
Customising ketogenic therapy
Ketogenic therapy as a supplementary treatment for mental health issues
Considerations before beginning ketogenic therapy
In my PhD, I ran a randomised controlled trial to explore how diet affects mental health. I compared:
A ketogenic diet
A low carbohydrate diet
A control group (diet as usual)
Participants followed the diets for 12 weeks with online education, then continued on their own. I measured changes in depression, anxiety, mood, and overall well-being, and also interviewed participants to understand their real-life experience.
What I found:
The low carbohydrate diet led to measurable improvements in stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms over time.
The ketogenic diet did not show improvements on standard questionnaires.
But that’s not the full story.
When I spoke to participants on the ketogenic diet, many reported:
Better energy and confidence
Improved self-esteem
Weight loss
A renewed sense of purpose
The key insight
The biggest limitation wasn’t the diet it was the way it was delivered. The program was education-only:
No accountability
No check-ins
No ongoing support
People were given knowledge, but not supported to implement it in daily life. And that matters because ketogenic therapy isn’t just information. It requires guidance, troubleshooting, and consistency.
What I learned
It’s inaccurate to conclude that “the ketogenic diet didn’t work.” A more accurate conclusion is:
The structure of the intervention was not strong enough to support people to do it properly.
When I later introduced a model combining education, guidance and ongoing support over six months (the IKRT Foundations Program), the results were completely different with far better adherence and far more consistent improvements. You can read the published results of the IKRT Foundations Program here. And that matters because ketogenic therapy isn’t just information. It requires guidance, troubleshooting, and consistency.
The bottom line
Diet can play a meaningful role in mental health
But information alone is not enough
Outcomes depend heavily on how the intervention is delivered
When done properly, with the right support, ketogenic metabolic therapy can be both effective and sustainable long term.
Useful Links
You can click here to read some published work from my PhD.
If you want to make sure you are eating the right foods for ketogenic metabolic therapy, you can start here:
At IKRT, we offer a range of programs designed to educate and support you in ketogenic metabolic therapy. If you are interested in learning more, please visit:
