Essentials: Diet & Nutrition for Mental Health | Dr. Chris Palmer

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Chris Palmer, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. We explain how nutrition and metabolism directly affect mental health, including the biological mechanisms underlying these effects. We also discuss how carbohydrate restriction, ketogenic diets and fasting can improve mood, energy, and, in some cases, treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions. Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/it2boBG Watch more Huberman Lab Essentials: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4OGNy1yE-W9IX-tPu-tJa7S&si=a1_sA7rUT-fE0OM5 Huberman Lab Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab X: https://x.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Dr. Chris Palmer Website: https://www.chrispalmermd.com X: https://x.com/chrispalmermd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrispalmermd YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisPalmerMD Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisPalmerMD Timestamps 00:00:00 Chris Palmer 00:00:20 Personal Story, Nutrition & Mental Health 00:05:28 Treatment-Resistant Mental Disorders & Low-Carbohydrate Diet 00:07:32 Ketogenic Diet & Schizophrenia Success Story 00:11:01 Nutrition for Mental Disorders, Ketosis, Highly Processed Foods 00:13:55 Epilepsy & Ketogenic Diet, Fasting; Mitochondrial Benefits 00:19:54 Mitochondria Functions, Mental Disorders 00:25:44 Mitophagy, Autophagy, Longevity & Calorie Restriction 00:30:51 Carbohydrate Restriction, Depression Treatment 00:33:49 Acknowledgements #hubermanlab Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

Andrew HubermanhostDr. Chris Palmerguest

Aug 27, 202634mWatch on YouTube ↗

EPISODE INFO

Released: August 27, 2026
Duration: 34m
Channel: Huberman Lab
Watch on YouTube: ▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Chris Palmer, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. We explain how nutrition and metabolism directly affect mental health, including the biological mechanisms underlying these effects. We also discuss how carbohydrate restriction, ketogenic diets and fasting can improve mood, energy, and, in some cases, treatment-resistant psychiatric conditions. Show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/it2boBG Watch more Huberman Lab Essentials: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4OGNy1yE-W9IX-tPu-tJa7S&si=a1_sA7rUT-fE0OM5 Huberman Lab Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab X: https://x.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Dr. Chris Palmer Website: https://www.chrispalmermd.com X: https://x.com/chrispalmermd Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrispalmermd YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChrisPalmerMD Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisPalmerMD Timestamps 00:00:00 Chris Palmer 00:00:20 Personal Story, Nutrition & Mental Health 00:05:28 Treatment-Resistant Mental Disorders & Low-Carbohydrate Diet 00:07:32 Ketogenic Diet & Schizophrenia Success Story 00:11:01 Nutrition for Mental Disorders, Ketosis, Highly Processed Foods 00:13:55 Epilepsy & Ketogenic Diet, Fasting; Mitochondrial Benefits 00:19:54 Mitochondria Functions, Mental Disorders 00:25:44 Mitophagy, Autophagy, Longevity & Calorie Restriction 00:30:51 Carbohydrate Restriction, Depression Treatment 00:33:49 Acknowledgements #hubermanlab Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

SPEAKERS

Andrew Huberman
host
Professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine and host of the Huberman Lab podcast.
Dr. Chris Palmer
guest
Psychiatrist and attending physician focused on metabolic approaches (including ketogenic diets) for treatment-resistant mental illness.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Huberman Lab, featuring Andrew Huberman and Dr. Chris Palmer, Essentials: Diet & Nutrition for Mental Health | Dr. Chris Palmer explores ketogenic nutrition as a metabolic lever for treatment-resistant mental illness Dr. Chris Palmer links nutrition to mental health through personal experience: a low-carb Atkins approach resolved his metabolic syndrome and unexpectedly improved mood, energy, sleep, and cognition.

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