Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by seizures, bursts of electrical signals in the brain. Epilepsy is commonly diagnosed at a young age after a child has had two or more unprovoked seizures, but it also can be diagnosed in adults. Seizures, which can cause a person to just stare blackly or have full-on convulsions, can be extremely dangerous, since they can happen at any time, such as when swimming or driving. Researchers have found that a ketogenic diet can help decrease the frequency and intensity of seizures by changing the way your brain metabolizes energy. This diet has been found to be especially useful in children.
Treatment for Epilepsy
Most likely, your child's physician will start by prescribing an anti-epileptic medication that can help reduce the frequency of your child's seizures. Depending on the part of the brain where the seizures are occurring, he also might recommend surgery in which the affected part of the brain is removed. Your physician also might recommend that, in addition to having your child take medication, you see a dietitian so that you can learn about a ketogenic diet and how it can help your child.
Symptoms of Epilepsy
Seizures can affect your child's normal brain processes and result in your child being temporarily confused or jerky, and can even cause a loss of consciousness. These symptoms vary from person to person and by the severity of each convulsion. Because you cannot predict when the next seizure will happen, it is important to do as much as possible to reduce the frequency and intensity of the seizures in order to prevent a serious accident.
Ketogenic Diets
Researchers believe that a ketogenic diet can help reduce the frequency of seizures in your child. A ketogenic diet is a very strict diet that causes the body to break down fats instead of carbohydrates for energy by limiting the amount of carbohydrates in the diet. When the body can't find carbohydrates to use as energy, it starts using fat from foods and from its own stores instead. This breakdown of fat for energy causes the body to produce ketones, thus the name ketogenic diet. Researchers believe that the brain reacts differently when using ketones instead of sugar as fuel and that it is this change that causes the frequency and intensity of seizures to decrease.
There are two types of ketogenic diets, the low glycemic index diet and the modified Atkins diet. in both, carbohydrate intake is closely monitored, but energy intake still is more than adequate to prevent malnutrition.
Low Glycemic Index Diet
A food's glycemic index is a measure of how much it causes blood glucose to rise in the body. For the low GI diet, carbohydrate intake is limited to 40 to 60 g per day and only foods with a GI of less than 50 are allowed. This diet doesn't limit the amount of protein, fats, fluids or total calories that can be eaten, though. Low GI foods include meat, fish and poultry; beans like lentils and split peas; starch like brown rice and whole wheat breads; fruits like fresh pineapple, peaches or apples; vegetables like eggplant, tomatoes and beets; and nuts and seeds like walnuts and sunflower seeds.
Modified Atkins Diet
The modified Atkins diet limits the amount of carbohydrate intake allowed to 15 to 20 g each day. It does not, however, limit protein, fat or caloric intake. Foods that are allowed on this diet include fish, poultry and other non-breaded meats; 3 to 4 oz. of cheese per day; up to 15 g of vegetables per day; and any fat or oil without added sugar. This diet is more effective but is more strict and might be more difficult for children to follow.
