The Ketogenic Diet
The ketogenic diet is a rigid, strictly calculated therapeutic diet used to treat difficult-to-control epilepsy in children. This diet is very high in fats and very low in protein and carbohydrates. It works by tricking the body into reacting as if it's starving or fasting; it causes the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. When fat is burned, a residue of ketone bodies remains-so the body is in a state of ketosis.
Despite the use of this diet in the treatment of epilepsy since before the 1920s, its exact mechanism is unknown. Research was largely discontinued as anticonvulsant drugs became available in the 1950s.
The ketogenic diet is used to treat intractable epilepsy in children. It may be prescribed when seizures are out of control or when the side effects of anticonvulsant drugs and/or surgery are considered unacceptable. It is both safe and effective with rare side effects. Children must be supervised by qualified specialists, while on the diet. It is prescribed only when both the child and the family are highly motivated. The diet may be prescribed for two to three years.
When rigidly adhered to, the ketogenic diet may successfully control epilepsy in 30% of children with intractable seizures. Many others will experience a marked decrease in seizure frequency. Many will be able to return to a normal diet within 2 to 3 years, free of seizures or medication.
The ketogenic diet may effectively treat some cases of childhood myoclonic, absence and atonic seizures as well as tonic-clonic and multifocal seizures.
The ketogenic diet is usually directed at children from the ages of one to eight years. Children below the age of one are not usually put on the diet. It has had some success in some older children and adolescents, too. It is said that adults may have problems maintaining essential nutrients and therefore may not benefit from the diet, but in-depth studies are rare and inconclusive.
Most people investigate this diet as a last resort. The diet is very unpalatable and demands great commitment from the entire family for a considerable period of time.
After consultation, if you opt for the diet, you may be asked to participate in a trial period. There may be a training time of several days at the clinic or hospital, where you will be given a diet designed specifically for your child. Most people who make it past the first month usually stick with the diet until they can return to a normal diet.
A key to success with the ketogenic diet is commitment. You and your child will have to cope with the lack of sweet and other tasty foods. Many children embrace the diet more easily knowing that they are "special kids with a magic diet."
Parents and others are warned against trying to institute any part of the diet on their own. The ketogenic diet is a complex medical treatment therapy that requires close supervision by a physician.
The following centres (neurology departments) in Canada are able to start children on the diet: IWK Hospital for Children, Halifax, NS; Hospital Sainte-Justine, Montreal, QC; Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, QC; Bloorview-MacMillan Centre, No. York, Toronto, ON; Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, ON; BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, BC.
Other Resources
Videotape
For copies of these videotapes, contact The Charlie Foundation To Help Cure Pediatric Epilepsy, 501 10th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90402:
1. Introduction to the Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Pediatric Epilepsy
2. The Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Pediatric Epilepsy: A Kid's View
3. The Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Pediatric Epilepsy: A Doctor's Version
Keto 1.0 computer program
For copies, contact the Pediatric Epilepsy Center, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Meyer 2-147, 600 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore MD 21287-7247. Computer disks are available to parents referred by a physician.
Keto Klub Newsletter
To receive or contribute, write to Keto Klub, 61557 Miami Meadows Court, South Bend, IN 46614, U.S.A.
The Ketogenic Cookbook
By Dennis and Cynthia Brake, 1997, Pennycorner Press, Gillman, Connecticut, 1-860-873-3545, $14.95 US. Both graduate chefs, the Brakes developed this cookbook in response to the needs of their two children, both on the ketogenic diet.