{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/65b82968900efd00165f19d3/6abfa3c624f9c883f84243c9?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Keto for ADHD and Anxiety | Natasha Smikles","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/65b82968900efd00165f19d3/1790944058228-f4ae89ac-d86c-4dd0-adc5-5dfa748d9332.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p>📣 Natasha Smikles is a registered psychiatric nurse with about 20 years in mental health care who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. She shares how she went from ADHD medication to a ketogenic diet, and what changed for her.</p><p><br></p><p>📋 Natasha spent most of her career in Manitoba, working in acute psychiatry and crisis services and building a dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) program in Winnipeg. In this conversation with Robyn, she walks through the day a dog bath led her to ask whether she had ADHD, what the medication did for her and cost her, and what happened when she tried a ketogenic diet again. She also talks about how that experience changed her work, and about the Metabolic Psychiatry Summit she is co-hosting.</p><p><br></p><p>🔑 What You&#39;ll Learn</p><p>- How an adult ADHD diagnosis can follow years of building systems and rituals to cope</p><p>- Why Natasha stopped ADHD medication, including the day food tasted like cardboard</p><p>- What changed on a ketogenic diet: steadier mood, clearer memory, and no panic attacks</p><p>- Why a DBT therapist began to wonder whether biology should come first</p><p>- What the Metabolic Psychiatry Summit offers, and why lived experience is a big part of it</p><p><br></p><p>💡 Key Insight</p><p>&quot;I couldn&#39;t regulate my nervous system to be able to do it. It was like a biological thing that had to be fixed.&quot; — Natasha Smikles</p><p><br></p><p>🌐 Connect with Natasha</p><p>https://www.natashasmikles.com</p><p>https://www.instagram.com/natasha.smikles/</p><p>https://x.com/NatashaSmikles</p><p>https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-smikles-93753523a/</p><p><br></p><p>💚 Metabolic Psychiatry Summit</p><p>October 21-25, 2026</p><p>https://summit.robyndobbins.com</p><p>This is an affiliate link and not a sponsor of Ketobiography.</p><p><br></p><p>⚕️ This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice; always consult a qualified healthcare professional about your own health decisions.</p><p><br></p><p>⏳ Chapters</p><p>0:47 Introduction</p><p>3:08 Psychiatric Nursing, DBT, and Metabolic Psychiatry</p><p>4:24 Diagnosed with ADHD as an Adult</p><p>8:00 The Dog Bath Day That Raised the ADHD Question</p><p>15:47 ADHD Medication, Anxiety, and Side Effects</p><p>21:55 First Try at a Ketogenic Diet in 2016</p><p>25:36 Chris Palmer, Brain Energy, and Starting Keto for ADHD</p><p>26:32 Calmer Mood, Clearer Memory, and No More Panic Attacks</p><p>30:09 Fixing the Biology First: A DBT Therapist&#39;s Career Shift</p><p>35:01 DBT and Ketogenic Therapy With Clients</p><p>43:08 The Metabolic Psychiatry Summit and the Ripple Effect</p><p>49:49 Painting Nails in Acute Psychiatry: Impact You Never See</p>","author_name":"Robyn R Dobbins"}