Information on ketogenic, Atkins diets

The standard ketogenic diet, a dietary approach for managing medication-resistant epilepsy, calls for a 4-1 or 3-1 ratio of fat to protein and carbohydrates. Why this diet works in controlling seizures is unclear, but researchers theorize that the diet forces the body to burn fat rather than sugar for energy, which creates ketones. Higher ketone levels act on the brain to decrease seizures.

Foods allowed on the diet include mayonnaise, heavy whipping cream, butter, oils, eggs, tuna, cheddar cheese, hot dogs, chicken and shrimp. Sugar is not allowed.

A related diet – the modified Atkins diet – is also used for some children with epilepsy. The diet calls for even fewer carbohydrates than in the standard Atkins diet. Unlike the standard ketogenic diet, it doesn’t restrict calories, fluids or protein.

This is not a diet to be embarked upon lightly. It calls for close medical supervision, says Dr. Eric Kossoff, medical director for Johns Hopkins Hospital Ketogenic Diet Center. “The ketogenic diet is neither alternative, holistic or healthy,” he says. “It is an established medical therapy with real side effects, which include increased cholesterol, growth disturbance, constipation, acidosis and kidney stones.”

However, he says, side effects are generally treatable and rarely require discontinuation of the diet.

To learn more, go to:

 www.epilepsy.com

Epilepsy Foundation of America

The Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles

 WebMD

Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Center

Atkins for Seizures

– Janet Cromley