Psychiatrist

Dr. Christopher Palmer

Harvard psychiatrist and director of the Department of Postgraduate Education at McLean Hospital. Author of Brain Energy. Proposes that mental illness is fundamentally a metabolic disorder rooted in mitochondrial dysfunction.

Known For

Brain EnergyMetabolic theory of mental illnessKetogenic diet for psychiatric disorders

Canon

Alzheimer's as Metabolic Disease ("Type 3 Diabetes")

Curious

The Gut Is a Second Brain — And It Talks to Your First One

Canon

Ketogenic Diets Reduce Depression and May Quiet the Mind

Curious

Episodes

#Why Mental Illness Is a Metabolic Problem — and What That Means for Your HealthJan 7, 2026 #Heal Your Mind: The Metabolic Theory of Mental IllnessFeb 5, 2025