Hi Brent,
Thanks for sharing your story and for your question. I’m sorry to hear about your son’s mother and her family history of schizophrenia. You’re correct in that having a strong family history like that increases your son’s risk for developing schizophrenia himself. I wouldn’t recommend a ketogenic diet for your son at this point. However, there is evidence that children who have high levels of insulin resistance beginning at age 9 appear to be at much higher risk of developing a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Therefore, I would watch for this as he gets older. His pediatrician can do some blood tests to check for this.
There are many things you can do to try to protect your son from developing a mental illness. Most of them are obvious, such as helping him be as happy and healthy as possible. This includes having friends and family that he connects with and can depend upon. Diet and exercise can play a role as well. For his diet at this point, I would try to include mostly whole foods, such as fruits/vegetables, meats, fish, eggs, and dairy, and avoid processed foods as much as possible. I would also promote water or milk as the beverages of choice.
As your son gets older, if you notice problems, such as significant mood or attention/concentration difficulties, I would seek out a consultation with a mental health professional to see if there are strategies to help manage those symptoms. Intervening before they become huge problems can go a long way in preventing more serious problems.
I hope this is helpful. Stay tuned for a book that I’m working on — it will include many other suggestions for intervention strategies if needed as time goes on.
For now, I wish you the best in raising your son and hope that both of you stay happy and healthy!

Chris

Brent

Dr. Agnes Ayton is an eating disorder specialist at Oxford who is interested in the effects of the ketogenic diet in eating disorders. Here is her LinkedIn profile

Charles,
You might also appreciate Dr. Palmer’s blog post Can a ketogenic diet successfully treat Bipolar Disorder? https://www.chrispalmermd.com/ketogenic-diet-bipolar-disorder-schizoaffective/

Charles, I believe 2 of the 3 Therapeutic Ketogenic Dietitians on thispage https://www.chrispalmermd.com/clinicians-doctors-coach-dietitian / have experience with Parkinson’s as well. Unfortunately I don’t remember which ones.