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Health Secretary's Keto Cure Claim Misleads on Schizophrenia

2/10/2026

Summary

Story summary

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed ketogenic diet cures schizophrenia in Tennessee, a claim experts call misleading.
Dr. Christopher Palmer, a Harvard psychiatrist, says he studied the diet's mental-health effects but never claimed it cures schizophrenia.
Palmer notes that the word 'cure' implies permanence, which clinical observations do not support.
Experts warn promoting such claims could mislead patients and encourage abandonment of necessary medications, risking severe mental health crises.

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Story summary

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed ketogenic diet cures schizophrenia in Tennessee, a claim experts call misleading.
Dr. Christopher Palmer, a Harvard psychiatrist, says he studied the diet's mental-health effects but never claimed it cures schizophrenia.
Palmer notes that the word 'cure' implies permanence, which clinical observations do not support.
Experts warn promoting such claims could mislead patients and encourage abandonment of necessary medications, risking severe mental health crises.