At the intersection of fat loss fads and the problematic neurological condition of epilepsy, comes the use of a fairly old diet that may help reduce seizures where frequent and anti-convulsants stumble.
The various Keto Diet study results thus far seem to reflect the greatest benefit for children instead of adults. It was unclear why. -Were the adults drinking on the side? Was there increased neuroplasticity in children?
Of those who stayed on the diet for at least a year, about 25% of the children had a ~90% improvement and ~10% were seizure-free, some with little or no meds.
Another 50%, had at least a 50%-90% reduction in seizures.
Is it the absence of carbohydrates, or the presence of Ketones from the diet that reduces epilepsy?
Right now, nobody’s sure.
Hopefully, one day the benefits shown in the child studies can be used to discover a way to help adults with the disease.
Idea: Can something similar to a Keto diet help adults -a little-? Ex: a Slow-carb, no sweets or fast carbs diet?
Notes:
The Ketogenic Diet is very strict and hard to stay on. The epilepsy version of it seems even more rigidly controlled.
It’s hard bias toward fats is a giveaway that it’s quite scientific, and the patient normally spends some time in the hospital as all the calibrations for them are made and fine-tuned.
Ketoacidosis is always a risk while on ketogenic diets.
In my experience, carbohydrate metabolism is absolute crap if/when you come off it, and seems to take a while to normalize.
During it though, Twinlab MCT Fuel was a godsend, especially when I was just sick and tired of eating.
So if you really want to stick to a ketogenic diet to reduce epilepsy seizures, it might be just as useful for you.
Photo Credits: “Northern Lights”, by Steph Reling
Links:
ESD Keto Overview JHU Epilepsy Center Neurology Reviews Epilepsy.com Keto Diet The Epilepsy Diet Treatment OurKids w/2 Case Histories WebMD Link
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