{"id":138046,"date":"2025-09-12T07:18:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T07:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/138046\/"},"modified":"2025-09-12T07:18:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T07:18:18","slug":"keto-diet-linked-to-reduced-depression-symptoms-in-college-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/138046\/","title":{"rendered":"Keto diet linked to reduced depression symptoms in college students"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study shows an association between at least 10 weeks of following a well-formulated ketogenic diet<\/a> and a roughly 70% decrease in depression symptoms among a small group of college students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond the reduction in self-reported and clinician rated depression, the students\u2019 global well-being increased nearly three-fold and their performance improved on several cognitive tasks. All but one participant also lost weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 16 students who completed the pilot trial were receiving medication, counseling, or both for major depressive disorder before beginning the keto diet. The findings suggest achieving nutritional ketosis<\/a> through diet is a feasible adjunctive therapy for depression and pave the way for a larger clinical trial, researchers say.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Jeff<\/p>\n

The pilot study did not have a non-keto control group for comparison. Previous research has suggested medications and counseling reduce depressive symptoms by about 50% in a similar time period.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people are suffering right now, so it\u2019s rewarding to potentially bring forward a solution,\u201d said Jeff Volek<\/a>, PhD, lead author of the study and a professor of human sciences at The Ohio State University<\/a>. \u201cThere is more science yet to do, but because there is evidence of a benefit, expanding accessibility to a well-formulated ketogenic diet as an augmentation to treatment for depression is something to think about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study is published today (Sept. 9, 2025) in the journal Translational Psychiatry<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Volek\u2019s lab teamed with Ohio State mental health experts to design and complete the trial with young adults studying at the university.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/p>\n

Stress, anxiety and depression are the No. 1 impediment to academic performance for U.S. college students, said co-author Ryan Patel<\/a>, DO, a psychiatrist in Ohio State\u2019s Office of Student Life Counseling and Consultation Service<\/a>: About 40% of college students report depression symptoms, and about half of them are receiving treatment of some kind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a treatment gap in that we have more students suffering from mental health concerns than can feasibly receive professional treatment,\u201d Patel said. \u201cThere is a need for finding ways of helping students on a large scale. And nutrition is one way we can do that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Twenty-four students were enrolled in the trial and 16 students \u2013 10 women and six men with an average age of 24 \u2013 completed the entire study.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Participants received extensive education on the keto diet, consisting of fewer than 50 grams of carbs per day combined with higher fat and moderate protein intake. The keto diet converts fat into ketones used by cells in the body and brain as an alternative to glucose, and is designed to\u00a0put the body in a state of nutritional ketosis, when it has greater access to ketones as both fuel and a signaling molecule. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Drew<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very important to make sure participants knew what they were getting themselves into,\u201d said Drew Decker<\/a>, MS, first author of the study and a graduate student in Volek\u2019s lab<\/a>. \u201cAnd a big part of increasing chances for adherence to the diet was talking to each individual about what they like and don\u2019t like to eat so we could tailor some suggestions for how they could structure their diet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The team also provided 10 complete starter meals, offered consistent advice and snacks for the first half of the trial, and communicated throughout the study with participants through a private app. The students were advised to eat when they were hungry and finish eating when they were full, and not to worry about calories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At baseline and over the course of 10 to 12 weeks, the students reported depressive symptoms using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9<\/a> (PHQ-09), the standard instrument to measure the severity of depression in clinical settings, and completed the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index<\/a> (WHO-5). They also took a series of cognitive tests assessing episodic and working memory, processing speed, executive function, and attention and inhibitory control.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer<\/p>\n

Co-author Jennifer Cheavens<\/a>, PhD, professor of clinical psychology<\/a> at Ohio State, oversaw clinical assessments of participants before and throughout the trial.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things we really wanted to make sure of is that we were providing a treatment for people who met the diagnostic criteria for having major depressive disorder,\u201d Cheavens said. \u201cEach participant had about a 2 1\/2-hour interview at the beginning, and then weekly assessments of their symptoms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students were also screened to ensure that they did not have any contraindications to a ketogenic diet, such as Body Mass Index under 20, eating disorders, pregnancy or high alcohol consumption.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Results included:<\/p>\n

Participants achieved ketosis, based on a measure of ketone values in their blood, 73% of the time \u2013 an indication of good adherence to the diet.Self-reported depression scores decreased 37% by week two and reached 69% of improvement at week 10-12. The range of symptom severity varied, but nobody\u2019s symptoms worsened.Clinician-rated assessments of depression at week six and week 10-12 decreased by 59% and 71%, respectively.By week two, perceived ratings of global wellness had increased two-fold, which improved to nearly three-fold at the end of the intervention.As a group, participants lost an average of 11 pounds and their body fat decreased by 2.4% \u2013 with most exceeding the clinically significant drop of 5% weight loss.As a group, participants\u2019 performance improved on cognitive tasks assessing episodic memory, processing speed and executive function.No significant changes in cholesterol or triglycerides were found.<\/p>\n

Patel, who met with the students throughout the trial, said the magnitude of the reduction in depressive symptoms linked to the keto diet was notable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe average effect size for medications and counseling after 12 weeks is about 50%, and we saw a substantially greater result,\u201d he said. \u201cThat is an impressive finding, that across the board, in this real-world setting, everybody got better, and across the board, our participants did not need more treatment or emergency intervention.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For over two decades, Volek has been studying therapeutic applications of ketosis for conditions such as heart disease and cancer as well as athletic performance and soldier health and resilience.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is that the ketogenic diet is working through a variety of potentially different mechanisms \u2013 there\u2019s a whole range of physiological metabolic adaptations to the diet that could overlap with some of the pathophysiology of depression,\u201d Volek said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The team collected a range of biological data on changing levels of proteins related to inflammation and brain function in this pilot that may help inform a future study examining potential mechanisms behind the diet\u2019s effects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t teased out those mechanisms here because this is a proof-of-concept study for an adjunctive therapy,\u201d Volek said. \u201cThis is one of the first really well-controlled studies and it has limitations, but the results encourage us to want to keep pursuing it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

This project was supported by a grant from the Baszucki Group<\/a> Brain Research Fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additional co-authors included Scott Hayes, Whitney Whitted, Ann Lee, Alex Buga, Bradley Robinson, Christopher Crabtree, Justen Stoner, Madison Kackley, Teryn Sapper and Ashwini Chebbi, all of Ohio State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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