Alex Mercer

Lithium (common in bipolar treatment) — keto’s diuretic effect changes kidney function and can alter lithium levels significantly. Levels must be monitored closely Valproate — another common mood stabiliser; its metabolism may shift on keto Any antidiabetic medication — keto dramatically lowers blood glucose and must be coordinated with your prescriber Bring this plan to … Read more

Someone sat across from me last month describing a pattern I’ve encountered countless times: six weeks into her ketogenic protocol for mental clarity, the fog hadn’t lifted — if anything, it had thickened. Her energy flagged by mid-afternoon. What she didn’t realize was that her shift away from fortified grains and legumes had quietly created … Read more

I made an early misstep in my experience: I assumed that anyone struggling with mood instability simply needed to avoid excitatory foods and ramp up calming nutrients. What I didn’t grasp—not until I began studying the neurochemistry more carefully—was that glutamate itself sits at the centre of how the brain regulates mood, and that the … Read more

Your doctor tells you mental health struggles are primarily neurochemical—fix the serotonin imbalance with medication—while a wellness blogger insists the real culprit is your blood sugar crashes and inflammatory diet. The truth is neither framing captures the whole picture. Metabolic psychiatry sits at the intersection: it proposes that brain function depends not just on neurotransmitter … Read more

Researchers employed MRS (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) neuroimaging to measure outcomes, enabling direct visualization of shifts in how the brain’s chemistry functioned. The findings proved remarkable: Brain glutamate concentrations fell measurably — this excitatory neurotransmitter, when present at excessive levels, correlates strongly with mood swings and the cellular damage patterns observed in bipolar disorder Nine in … Read more