CrossFit for Health: Metabolic Health Is Mental Health, With Dr. Chris Palmer

We’re in a global mental-health crisis. People are more depressed, anxious, addicted, and isolated than ever.
There are treatments - medication, therapy, recovery programs - and they work. But not all of the time and not for everyone.
Part of the problem, says Dr. Christopher Palmer - Director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at McLean Hospital and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School - is that the origin of mental illness is still largely a medical mystery.
But Palmer doesn’t think so.
“What I'm here to say is we are, in fact, missing the elephant in the room,” he says. “Because mental metabolic problems have been identified in the brains and bodies of people with mental illness for over a century.”
In a talk given at the CrossFit for Health Summit on Feb. 3, 2024, in Austin, Texas, Palmer presents the case for mental illness as metabolic illness, advocating for an integrated approach to mental-health treatment in which CrossFit could play a pivotal role.
“The CrossFit prescription can be a legitimate biological metabolic brain intervention for people with real mental illness,” Palmer says.
CHAPTERS
0:00-3:54 - The state of the global mental-health crisis.
3:54-5:23 - The problem with mental-health treatments.
5:23-10:53 - The great mysteries of mental illness: What is it and what causes it?
10:53-12:55 - The P factor and D factor: The unknown element all mental disorders share in common - and the one they share with physical disorders.
12:55-13:49 - Mental disorders are metabolic in nature.
13:49-16:46 - The bidirectional relationship between mental illness and obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
16:46-21:53 - Mental illness and lifespan reduction: a behavior issue or a metabolic one?
21:53-24:17 - Thinking in complex feedback loops instead of linear relationships.
24:17-26:33 - What is metabolism and what controls it?
26:33-28:29 - Mitochondria as the unifying link for the risk factors for mental illness.
28:29-30:07 - A new approach to treatment.
30:07-36:00 - Exercise and mental health.
36:00-39:08 - The ketogenic diet as a metabolic treatment for mental illness.
39:08-40:46 - CrossFit as a legitimate biological metabolic brain intervention for people with mental illness.
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[@jakecooper398]

Crossfitter and and individual with bipolar here on week 5 with keto. Performance currently dropped but improving. Chronic anxiety has vanished. Big fan of Dr. Chris Palmer and would LOVE to connect for ongoing treatment. I'm also in my MSW program now with intent to be a therapist specializing in individuals with acute mental illness.

[@jsacodes916]

Did you cut out caffeine as well?

[@J.K.Lantz967]

Why hasn’t any social media accounts done anything with this yet? This should be spreading through the world

[@guerrerofit2605]

#Dios nos ayuda herman@s! ANIMOOO #CROSSFIT !!

[@jakecooper398]

How can I get connected further with Dr. Palmer or even Crossfit to contribute to this metabolic health movement in mental health?

[@crossfit]

Hi Jake! Thanks for watching. Find Dr. Palmer on Instagram at his handle @chrispalmermd
You can also find other CrossFit Health videos here: ua-cam.com/play/PLdWvFCOAvyr14DHNgXgcqvxSvim7WLYo7.html

[@chayoluna1351]

So I’m just halfway though this lecture, but I hope he talks about the side effects of antipsychotics which increase the risk for obesity and diabetes. I’ve met many ppl whom have mental health disorders, and aren’t obese or diabetic. Although I fully support moving your body and improving your metabolic health, I don’t agree with the assumptions being made in some of his comments.

[@chayoluna1351]

After listening to the whole lecture, he did bring it up. Very informative and helpful info! Thank you ❤