Dyane Harwood, a Ben Lomond-based author, mental health advocate and podcast co-host, has been named one of the 10 recipients of the 2024 Fresh Start Award, presented by the Bay Area nonprofit initiative Metabolic Mind.
Harwood described the recognition as a “wonderful honor” and outlined an ambitious plan for using the $10,000 prize to expand her advocacy and educational efforts.
“In 2025, I’ll attend key international medical conferences as a Lived Experience Speaker to share how my vegan keto diet for bipolar is not only doable, but life-changing,” Harwood shared. “I’ll also consult a Bay Area veteran author coach/agent to fine-tune my second book, ‘Birth of a Keto Brain—An Exploration of Metabolic Psychiatry,’ featuring a foreword by Dr. Shebani Sethi, founding director of the Stanford Metabolic Psychiatry Clinic. Finally, I’ll create and facilitate an online peer community for those interested in using a vegan ketogenic diet for mental health.”
With the Fresh Start Award, Harwood also enrolled in the Integrative Ketogenic Research Therapies (IKRT) Group Metabolic Mental Health educational program with ketogenic pioneer Dr. Erin Bellamy on Nov. 4. In addition, she plans on offering free online and San Lorenzo Valley in-person vegan/vegetarian keto and mental health support groups next year.
Harwood uses vegan ketogenic therapy to manage postpartum bipolar disorder. Since achieving wellness, she has appeared on ketogenic-themed podcasts and spoke at the inaugural Ellenhorn Metabolic Psychiatry Conference.
Currently, she co-hosts the “Our Healing Journey with Metabolic Psychiatry” podcast, moderates online support groups and serves on two lived experience advisory panels. Follow her Instagram account (@dyaneharwood) for updates.
The Fresh Start Award honors individuals who have demonstrated remarkable resilience in their mental health journeys through ketogenic therapy, a dietary approach aimed at reducing or eliminating symptoms of psychiatric illness. Each recipient receives $10,000 to support their advocacy, education or professional growth.
Harwood joins a diverse group of honorees from around the world, all of whom are using innovative strategies to transform their lives and contribute to the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. The award recognizes individuals who have experienced significant setbacks due to mental illness and are now in a position to pursue new goals.
“I’m deeply inspired by the strength and determination of this year’s Fresh Start Award recipients,” said Jan Ellison Baszucki, president and founder of Baszucki Group and Metabolic Mind. “Their stories of recovery using cutting-edge metabolic therapy offer hope to all those battling serious mental illness.”
To read more about the Fresh Start Award winners, visit metabolicmind.org/fresh-start.
Go Mama! We’re so proud of you.