South Beach Diet For Epilepsy

Low-carb diets have been used to treat epilepsy in pediatric patients since the 1920s. (Ref 1) The first low-carb diets used for this purpose were very high in fat, adequate in protein and low in carbohydrates. Today, doctors still successfully treat seizures in some epileptic patients who do not respond to conventional medicine. The South Beach diet, a low-carb diet developed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston, is not ordinarily prescribed for epilepsy, but newer science suggests that all low-carb diets can help to reduce seizures. However, always consult with your physician before starting any new diet or treatment.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a condition that consists of repeated occurrences of seizures. A seizure begins as an over-excitement of a neuron. Normally when a neuron becomes overexcited, the neurotransmitter GABA calms down the neuron and prevents the hyperactivity from spreading. In epileptics, the hyperactivity of a single or a few neurons spreads to larger areas of the brain, eventually resulting in a convulsions and a loss of consciousness.

The Ketonic Diet

Today most epileptics are successfully treated with medicine, but when conventional medicine is ineffective, doctors sometimes prescribe a diet high in fat, adequate in protein and low in carbohydrates. The diet is also known as ketogenic. When carbohydrates are cut significantly, the glucose blood levels drop. The pancreas responds by producing the hormone glucagon. Glucagon breaks down carbohydrates stored as glycogen in the liver. When these stores are empty, the body begins to burn mostly fat or excess protein. Since the ketonic diet does not provide excess protein, the body is forced to burn fat. During fat metabolism, the liver generates ketone bodies as a byproduct.

Brain Metabolism and Seizures

Fatty acids, the main component of dietary fat, cannot be converted into glucose. Muscles can use fatty acids as an energy source. But fatty acids cannot reach the brain from the bloodstream. So, the brain cannot use them as an energy source. When the brain's preferred fuel, glucose, becomes restricted, the brain feasts on ketone bodies. No one knows exactly how the ketogenic diet helps to reduce the frequency and intensity of seizures in some patients. But it has been known for some time that ketone bodies are a more efficient brain fuel. According to a report in the September 2007 issue of "Epilepsy Currents," more efficient fuel sources give rise to an increase in mitochondria, the cell components that turn fuel into energy. An increase in mitochondria may give rise to a more stable cell structure, which in turn may prevent overexcitement and seizures.

The South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet restricts foods high in bad carbohydrates -- for example, white bread and white rice -- and foods high in saturated fat and transfats, such as deep-fried foods and fatty meats. The diet does not require a restriction of complex carbohydrates. These carbohydrates can be converted into glucose. So, the standard version of the diet will not make the brain switch from glucose metabolism to ketone body metabolism, and will not be effective against seizures. But a modified version of the South Beach Diet that restricts all types of carbohydrates and does not allow an excess of proteins may be effective in treating seizures.