Episode 291: Dr. Matt Bernstein, MD | Metabolic Psychiatry, Ketosis, and Food Addiction

Can changing what you eat treat depression, anxiety, and even psychosis more effectively than medication alone? In this episode of Food Junkies, Dr. Vera Tarman sits down with Dr. Matt Bernstein, MD, psychiatrist and CEO of Accord, to unpack the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry — and what it means for people recovering from food addiction.

Dr. Bernstein trained at Columbia, Penn, and the MGH-McLean Psychiatry Program before shifting from traditional hospital-based psychiatric care toward lifestyle-based interventions: nutrition, sleep, light, and movement. He now serves on the advisory board of Metabolic Mind and helped organize the first public conference on metabolic psychiatry in 2023.

In this conversation, Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Tarman explore how brain energy metabolism — not just neurotransmitters — may be a root driver of conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's, and why ketogenic and low-carbohydrate approaches are showing early but compelling results for food cravings, food noise, and psychiatric symptom relief.

In This Episode, You'll Learn:

• Why Dr. Bernstein moved away from conventional psychiatric medication models toward metabolic approaches
• How brain insulin resistance can contribute to depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia
• The role of mitochondria, oxidative stress, and the gut-brain axis in mental illness
• How ketones act as an alternative brain fuel — and why that matters for insulin-resistant neurons
• The connection between brain insulin resistance and Alzheimer's risk decades before symptoms appear
• How ketogenic and low-carb diets naturally reduce food cravings and "food noise" for people with food addiction
• What a day in the Accord immersive metabolic psychiatry program actually looks like
• Why combining diet, exercise, circadian rhythm alignment, and mind-body practices produces faster results than any single intervention alone
• How GLP-1 medications compare to ketogenic diets for reducing food noise and cravings — and where each may fall short
• The risks of rapid or unsupported psychiatric medication tapering, and why "hyperbolic tapering" matters
• What to watch for (and troubleshoot) if a ketogenic diet isn't producing results after several weeks

Guest

Dr. Matt Bernstein, MD is a psychiatrist and CEO of Accord, an immersive metabolic psychiatry program near Boston. He is a leading voice in metabolic psychiatry, sits on the advisory board of Metabolic Mind, and helped organize the first public conference dedicated to the field in 2023.

Connect with Dr. Matt Bernstein & Accord

Website: https://accordmh.com/

Releasing What's Not Ours: Healing Food & Body Struggles Through IFS with Vanessa Kredler

👉Learn more here: https://sweetsobriety.newzenler.com/courses/releasing-whats-not-ours

Connect with Food Junkies

• 🎧 Subscribe for new episodes
• 🌐 Learn more about food addiction recovery at https://www.sweetsobriety.ca/
• 📩 Have a guest suggestion or topic request? Send it our way: foodjunkiespodcast@gmail.com

The content of our show is educational only. It does not supplement or supersede your healthcare provider's professional relationship and direction. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified mental health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition, substance use disorder, or mental health concern.