Metabolism & Seizures

It has been known since the 1920s that your brain metabolism can reduce the intensity and frequency of seizures in epileptic children. Doctors prescribed a special diet, known as the ketonic diet, to change the brain's metabolism to prevent seizures. The ketonic diet is a high-fat, adequate protein, low carbohydrate diet that does not lead to weight loss. Versions of the ketonic diet are still prescribed for the treatment of seizures in children who don't respond to conventional medicine.

Glucose as Brain Fuel

The aim of the ketogenic diet is to change the brain's metabolism. Like other parts of the body, the brain needs fuel to function. Glucose normally serves as fuel for the brain. Glucose is turned into carbon dioxide, water and energy in the cellular engines, the mitochondria. Ordinarily, carbohydrates are the main source of glucose. They break down into glucose in the digestive tract, and glucose then passes from the digestive tract and into the blood stream.

Ketone Bodies as Brain Fuel

When carbohydrates are restricted, the body starts burning fat and converting excess protein into glucose. As reported on Epilepsy.com, the ketogenic diet does not provide excess protein. So, the body must burn fat to function optimally. The liver breaks down dietary or stored fat into fatty acids and glycerol and in the process it produces ketone bodies. Glycerol can be converted into small amounts of glucose, which the brain can use as fuel. But, the brain cannot use the fatty acids generated in the liver. The blood stream is separate from the brain, and only some molecules can cross over. Fatty acids cannot. However, the brain can use the ketone bodies as an alternative fuel. This form of metabolism is called "ketosis."

Maintaining Ketosis

According to Epilepsy.com, the ketogenic diet works only when it induces ketosis. This kind of metabolism requires restricting all possible sources of glucose. While carbohydrates normally are the main source of glucose, they are not the only source. The body will normally do what it can to avoid breaking down proteins in muscles and connective tissue. But if the ingested foods are high in protein, the body can turn the protein into glucose without breaking down muscle and connective tissue. This is the reason the ketogenic diet restricts protein in addition to carbohydrates. It provides just enough proteins for the body to avoid feasting on itself. The only food source left for the body to use is dietary fat.

Cell Stabilization

It is still an open question how exactly ketosis reduces the intensity and frequency of seizures in some epileptics. Newer studies provide some clues. According to a report in the September 2007 issue of "Epilepsy Currents," ketone bodies are a compact source of energy. Turning them into energy requires better engines, or mitochondria. Functional mitochondria are an imperative for seizure prevention. So, it is possible that ketone bodies prevent seizures by increasing the functionality of mitochondria in the brain's neurons.