RFK Jr. claimed that keto diets cured schizophrenia. Here’s what science says.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/02/17/keto-diet-schizophrenia-rfk-jr/

Ketogenic diets do show promise for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but the research is preliminary and not backed by randomized controlled trials.

Kevin Klatt, an assistant professor in the department of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, said Kennedy’s comments about the keto diet illustrate the contradiction between the extremely high bar the health secretary sets for evidence of vaccine efficacy and the low bar for nutritional advice.

“Gold-standard science for them is the science they like,” said Klatt, who is also a registered dietician. “You can take a single study or anecdote, and that gets to be called gold-standard science.”

He joined President Donald Trump in connecting Tylenol use in pregnancy to autism based on research that shows an association but not causation. He has criticized the fluoridation of drinking water as lowering the IQs of children, citing studies in areas with levels far above the acceptable threshold in the United States. He also touted Vitamin A as a measles treatment, which has not been proven in the U.S., based on the experiences of malnourished children abroad.