Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder driven by a combination of neuroinflammation, metabolic dysfunction, neurotransmitter imbalance, and HPA-axis dysregulation. High-carbohydrate intake and chronic insulin spikes promote insulin resistance, unstable blood sugar, and systemic inflammation. These factors damage the gut barrier (leaky gut), allowing endotoxins such as LPS to enter circulation and reach the brain. This triggers microglial activation and neuroinflammation in key regions including the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and limbic system. Neuroinflammation disrupts dopamine and glutamate signaling—core mechanisms behind hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, emotional flattening, and cognitive decline.

Schizophrenia is strongly associated with excessive dopamine activity in the mesolimbic pathway (positive symptoms) and low dopamine in the prefrontal cortex (negative symptoms). Inflammation and insulin resistance worsen this imbalance by upregulating dopamine release in some circuits while suppressing it in others. Elevated glutamate and reduced GABA increase neuronal excitability, contributing to thought disorganization, sensory distortions, and psychotic episodes. Mitochondrial dysfunction is common and reduces ATP production, weakening neuronal stability and cognitive function.

Chronic stress and blood sugar swings dysregulate the HPA axis, keeping cortisol chronically elevated. Cortisol amplifies dopamine abnormalities, increases glutamate, suppresses neuroplasticity, and worsens hallucinations, paranoia, and emotional volatility. This is why episodes often flare during stress, sleep loss, and metabolic instability.

Fasting, ketogenic diets, and carnivore diets have strong mechanistic rationale for reducing schizophrenia symptoms. Ketosis lowers inflammation, reduces glutamate excitotoxicity, and increases GABA, stabilizing hyperactive neural circuits. Ketones bypass impaired glucose metabolism and provide a clean, anti-inflammatory fuel source that improves mitochondrial function and neuronal stability. Stable blood sugar reduces cortisol spikes and dopamine surges that trigger psychosis. Carnivore and ketogenic diets restore zinc, magnesium, omega-3s, B-vitamins, and amino acids essential for dopamine, serotonin, and GABA synthesis. Fasting activates autophagy, clears inflammatory debris, reduces microglial activation, and helps normalize dysfunctional neural networks. Together, these interventions target the core biological drivers of schizophrenia and can significantly reduce symptom severity, cognitive impairment, and episode frequency.