HoldsUp

Georgia Ede

Dr. Georgia Ede works in the field of metabolic psychiatry. Her published research focuses on the application of ketogenic metabolic therapy and ketogenic diets for treating mental health disorders and refractory mental illness. Her work also examines the use of ketogenic diets for weight management, alongside the contraindications, side effects, and clinical best practices associated with these dietary interventions.

18 claims checked on air: 2 context 1 contradicted 5 overstated 8 supported 2 unverified

What they said on air - supported

2 citing their own research

0:00:00supportedvery lowtheir own paperRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

In a published study of 31 psychiatric inpatients, 28 were able to stay on a ketogenic diet for 2 weeks or longer, all 28 improved substantially, 43% achieved full clinical remission from their primary psychiatric diagnosis, and 64% were discharged on reduced psychiatric medication.

"28 of those 31 patients were able to stay on the diet for 2 weeks or longer, which is what you need to do to start to see benefits. All 28 of those patients improved substantially to the point that 43% of them achieved full clinical remission from their primary psychiatric diagnosis and 64% of them left the hospital on less psychiatric medication" (said at 0:00:00)

The speaker accurately describes the published findings of a 2022 retrospective analysis (Danan et al., 2022, co-authored by Georgia Ede) evaluating 31 psychiatric inpatients placed on an adjunctive ketogenic diet. In that study, 28 of 31 patients adhered to the diet for more than 14 days, 100% (28/28) demonstrated clinical improvement, 43% (12/28) achieved clinical remission (defined by clinical rating scales or Clinical Global Impression scores), and 64% (18/28) were discharged on reduced psychiatric medication. Because this study is an uncontrolled, retrospective chart review, the certainty of evidence for the therapeutic efficacy of the ketogenic diet in this population is very low.

0:17:29supportedhighRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

The scientific hypothesis that depression is caused by deficient serotonin activity in the brain has largely been debunked.

"the science behind the serotonin hypothesis is extraordinarily thin to nonexistent. That serotonin—the idea that the reason why people develop depression is because they don't have enough serotonin activity in the brain—has largely been debunked." (said at 0:17:29)

A landmark systematic umbrella review evaluated the primary research areas examining the serotonin hypothesis of depression (including studies of serotonin and 5-HIAA metabolite levels, 5-HT1A receptor binding, SERT levels, tryptophan depletion, and SERT gene/gene-environment interactions). The review concluded that across all major research domains, there is no consistent evidence of an association between serotonin activity or concentration and depression, and no empirical support for the hypothesis that depression is caused by deficient serotonin activity.

0:30:26supportedmoderateRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

The vast majority of Americans currently have at least some degree of insulin resistance.

"now the vast majority of Americans have at least now some degree of insulin resistance" (said at 0:30:26)

Nationally representative epidemiological data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) support the claim. An analysis of NHANES 2009–2016 data (Araújo et al., 2019, PMID: 30484738) found that only 12.2% of US adults met all criteria for optimal cardiometabolic health (which includes normal glucose, blood pressure, lipid profiles, and waist circumference without medication), meaning approximately 88% of American adults have at least one cardiometabolic abnormality linked to insulin resistance. Furthermore, when evaluating insulin resistance and dysglycemia broadly (including metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes), the majority of American adults exhibit markers of impaired metabolic health.

0:30:45supportedmoderateRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

When the brain develops insulin resistance, insulin has a harder time crossing into the brain.

"if the brain becomes insulin resistant, then insulin has a harder and harder time crossing into the brain." (said at 0:30:45)

Circulating insulin crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) via a saturable, receptor-mediated transport mechanism. In preclinical and clinical models of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and central nervous system (CNS) insulin resistance (frequently observed in Alzheimer's disease), insulin transport across the BBB is significantly reduced and impaired. Central insulin signaling and insulin receptor function have also been shown to directly regulate the rate of BBB insulin influx, confirming that insulin resistance in the CNS and BBB endothelial cells diminishes the brain's uptake of peripheral insulin.

0:40:39supportedmoderateRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

Experiments by Stephen Cunnane and others show that when brain cells are given both glucose and ketones, they choose to burn a mixture of the two.

"experiments by Dr. Cunnane and others have shown this: that if you take a brain cell and you give it all the glucose it could ever want, but you also give it ketones, it will choose to burn a mixture of the two" (said at 0:40:39)

Dual-tracer positron emission tomography (PET) research led by Stephen Cunnane and colleagues in healthy humans and clinical populations demonstrates that the brain utilizes both glucose and ketone bodies simultaneously when ketones are available. In clinical PET studies measuring cerebral metabolic rates with 11C-acetoacetate and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose, brain ketone uptake increases in direct proportion to circulating plasma ketone levels, operating alongside ongoing glucose metabolism and providing a dual-fuel energy mixture rather than relying exclusively on a single fuel source.

0:44:52supportedvery lowtheir own paperRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

In a 2022 published study by Dr. Albert Danan and co-authors on 31 treatment-resistant psychiatric inpatients, 28 stayed on a ketogenic diet for 2 weeks or longer, 43% achieved full clinical remission, and 64% were discharged on less psychiatric medication.

"So this study, which I was a co-author on—this study was published in 2022. The clinical work was done by my friend and colleague Dr. Albert Danan, who is a psychiatrist who's been practicing psychiatry in Toulouse, France for more than 35 years now. And he invited 31 of his most treatment-resistant patients with major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia to come into the hospital and try a mildly ketogenic whole-foods diet under his supervision to see whether or not it would be helpful... 28 of those 31 patients were able to stay on the diet for two weeks or longer... 43% of them achieved full clinical remission from their primary psychiatric diagnosis and 64% of them left the hospital on less psychiatric medication." (said at 0:44:52)

The speaker accurately describes the findings of the 2022 retrospective study by Danan et al. (co-authored by Georgia Ede), published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. In that analysis of 31 hospitalized adults with treatment-resistant major depression, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder, 28 patients adhered to a carbohydrate-restricted ketogenic diet for at least 14 days. Among those 28 patients, 43% (12/28) achieved clinical remission (defined by clinical rating scales) and 64% (18/28) were discharged on reduced psychiatric medication dosages. Because this was an uncontrolled, retrospective chart review of clinical care rather than a randomized controlled trial, the certainty of evidence for clinical efficacy is very low.

0:55:03supportedhighRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

Hemoglobin A1C reflects an individual's average blood sugar levels over the preceding three months.

"The hemoglobin A1C is a reflection of your average blood sugar over the past three months." (said at 0:55:03)

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is a well-established clinical biomarker that reflects an individual's average blood glucose exposure over the preceding 2 to 3 months (approximately 120 days, corresponding to the average lifespan of human red blood cells).

0:55:20supportedmoderateRevolutionizing Mental Health: The Rise of Metabolic Psychia

Postprandial glucose spikes are among the earliest indicators of metabolic dysfunction before fasting glucose rises.

"And so if you're getting these peaks after meals, that's really one of the first clues to metabolic dysfunction or to the clue that you're eating the wrong way. It'll all come back down to normal by the next morning until you've got type 2 diabetes." (said at 0:55:20)

Established metabolic research shows that postprandial hyperglycemia (impaired glucose tolerance) is one of the earliest measurable dysfunctions in the progression toward type 2 diabetes, typically developing years before fasting plasma glucose becomes abnormal. In impaired glucose tolerance, loss of early-phase insulin secretion causes elevated postprandial glucose excursions while basal hepatic glucose output and fasting plasma glucose remain normal or near normal.

Fact-checked episodes

Publications