KETOGENIC DIET
The ketogenic diet is mainly based on high fat, low carbohydrate and controlled protein quantities and should be recommended and followed by an experienced epilepsy specialist and dietitian.
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A very specialised diet used since 1920s that may help to reduce the number or severity of seizures. The ketogenic diet is mainly based on high fat, low carbohydrate and controlled protein quantities and should be recommended and followed by an experienced epilepsy specialist and dietitian. Both children and adults can adopt this diet, but it is important to highlight that it may not work for everyone.
The name “ketogenic” comes from the fact that this type of food promotes “ketosis”, a process that happens when the fat in the body is processed by the liver and divided into fatty acids and ketones, the latter used as an energy source. The body usually uses carbohydrates as “fuel”, but because this diet is low in carbohydrates, fats become the body’s primary fuel.
The typical “classical” ketogenic diet, called the “long-chain triglyceride diet” provides 3 to 4 grams of fat for every 1 gram of carbohydrates and protein. In other words, 90% of the calories ingested come from fats. As this type of diet does not provide all the vitamins and minerals found in a more balanced diet, the nutritionist often recommends supplementation with vitamins and minerals. The most important of these are calcium and vitamin D (to prevent bone weakening), B complex vitamins and selenium. This type of diet does not interfere with the medication, but it is normal for the doctor to check whether the medication is free of carbohydrates/sugars.
Several studies have shown that, in many children, the ketogenic diet reduces and/or prevents seizures which cannot be controlled by antiepileptic drugs. On the other hand, more than half of the children who follow this type of diet registered a 50% reduction in the number of seizures, and some of them, between 10-15%, even become seizure-free.
