DIET - Has it helped your Epilepsy???

[reppowell]

Hi guys....

I have been having a lot of trouble with my E recently and my neurologist keeps saying to make sure i eat right and that I'm on a good diet.

I'm just really curious whether it works or not as i have never been told to do this before even when my E has been bad previously.

I'm a bit nervous about going onto a healthy healthy diet as every time i see someone at the moment they keep saying that i have lost weight and im not a big girl I'm a size UK 8 - 10 and im nervous about loosing more weight as my BMI is already to low.

Has anyone tried or done changing there diet and did you see any changes in your E at all?

Thanks guys

Becky
x

[skillefer]

Others here at the site have used diet to treat their seizures. And I've found that if I eat correctly for me, I have better control too...I guess what I dont understand is what do you mean by a "healthy healthy diet" ?Some people here use the GARD diet, Keto diet,etc..while others do for the raw food approach. Personally, I eat 6 small meals a day (sounds like a lot...I know....) but I'm hypoglycemic and have to keep my blood sugar even...nobody should use a diet with a cookie cutter mindset...what i mean is that each of us is different. What is healthy and helpful for me, may not work for you. If your going to try to go on a "healthy healthy" diet, make sure that it's with the docs help as far as blood work and monitoring everything are concerned, and that it's geared towards you and your bodies needs.

PS= Sounds like your doc realizes that what we ingest can indeed trigger us to seize, or help us to avoid it. Something that many have suggested for a long time...too bad that the medical establishment is just starting to pick it up. (yes, food and drinks can trigger seizures. For me, if my blood sugar drops too quick, I can seize...so I eat a diet that's similar to a diabetic diet. I also avoid all alcohol and caffeine...and recently quit smoking. And yes those can all trigger seizures. For others it's recently developed food allergies...and for others it's sensitivities to additives and preservatives like MSG or artificial sweetners.) So look over what you eat and drink...keep an actual log, and see if you notice a pattern. For example, do you only seize on days after drinking...or on days when you have more then 2 coffees...things like that.....

[Bernard]

Has anyone tried or done changing there diet and did you see any changes in your E at all?

Yes, my wife is on a pseudo-LGIT diet (pseudo because she only limits simple carbs, not total carbs) and when she cheats too much, she has seizures.

Have a look at this interesting discussion about diets, the gut brain, the neuroendicrine system and NPY.

[Meetz1064]

has helped my seizures. I'm on the GARD diet. Even though I've been diagnosed with more types while on it, (all of mine are nocturnal) the control is really very good. I haven't had a t/c in years now.

[LuvMyTwins]

Like Skille, I'm also hypoglycemic and need to eat throughout the day. Yet, I eat raw veggies, etc. Cooked food maybe 1-2x per week. I've found that I not only have more energy, but also a ton of control over seizures.

Doctors are starting to realize that what we choose to ingest can negatively (or positively for that matter) affect our situation. Remember seizures are a symptom---sometimes it's up to us to find the cause.---Mere

[Dutch mom]

Hi,

Yes, diet saved my boy!

My son (9) is not on a healthy diet at all. But the (unhealthy) ketogenic diet sure has helped to control most of his intractable epilepsy in the past 5 years. He's been on 10 anti-epileptic drugs and benzo's but they didn't help at all.
He eats 90% fat (mayonaise, cream, oil, fat meat and cheese) and allmost no carbs + just enough protein. Each meal is stricktly calculated on calories. He can't eat any snacks and only drinks with no calories and no sugar (limited sweetners.) He gets mulitvitamines, calcium ,Q10 and carnitine supplementation each day.
We saw his seizures reduce from 50-100 a day to hardly any seizures at all. His EEG improved from 90-99% epileptic activity to less than 30%. He's free of all anti-epileptic drugs and benzo's now.

Similar results have been reached on the (modified) Atkins diet (as a treatment for epilepsy not used for loosing weight but on adequate calories and restricted carbs.) Sure worth a try!

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press.../01_28_08.html

http://atkinsforseizures.com/

http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/pressoffice...y/ep_diet.html

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/j...TRY=1&SRETRY=0

[RobinN]

The word DIET has such a negative image to most people. Many think ... Do Without....Limit Food...Boring... Bland...Self Deprivation...etc

How about substituting the word NUTRITION instead. It brings up images to my mind of nourishing the body. Of giving the body nutrients to provide energy so it can function at a higher level.

Eating non-toxic foods, non allergenic foods doesn't mean that you have to lose weight.

If you study the nutrition that people are eating for many neurological disorders they are all rather similar.
Reduction or elimination of simple carbs - white flours, manmade products
Increase vegetables, organic meats and fish
Reducing fruits until blood sugar is stabilized, and the gut is healed of all yeast/mucosal issues, and then used sparingly on their own. They should not be eaten with foods that digest slowly, as they tend to ferment in the body and cause a blood alcohol imbalance.

There is a lot of information on this, as there is no doubt that it can heal the body

Becky, please give your Doctor a HUG for me, as it is rare that they suggest this route. You have found yourself a keeper.

[joan]

I am a few weeks away from putting my 16 yo daughter on Modified ATkins for seiures or the keto diet. If all goes well with her, my son next.

joan*

[rackelsmom]

The MAD diet is a great one! I wish you the best on it. I'm a parent educator at Hopkins for the Keto induction groups and work with a woman whose daughter is on MAD. It has worked for her almost as well as Keto has worked for my daughter. My daughter is 100% seizure free for over a year on Keto. I'm not alone in the conclusion that diet saved her life, our epileptologist agrees, it has done for her what no medicine or surgery could. Stopped the seizures completely.

[joan]

Thank you * Im encouraged by MAD. But if it doesnt work we will move to Keto. I will find out in 2 weeks if my Dr going on this ride with us or are we switching to NYU or Baltimore.

I am so glad you have found something that helps. Thats all we want.

BE well
joan*

[rackelsmom]

I know I'm biased, but if you have a choice of where to initiate a diet and who will follow you, Baltimore is phenomenal! IMHO

[joan]

That is my first choice but my first contact with them was negative. Not in a bad way but they hate her age. They don't want to waste their time on a teen that wont stick to the diet. IF my Dr doesn't do this for us. I will again request Baltimore and I'm usually good at getting what I need. Ive been in contact with Dr Eric Kossof and I think hes the one I have to convince. My daughter not a normal teen. From birth she was wise beyond her years. She just a mature type of kid and the type of kid that can pull this off. I think if I can convince him. he will take her on. If not, I fall back to NYU. Still not too bad lol
Be well
joan*

[Dutch mom]

Go for it Joan! I know several teens who do very well on keto.

[reppowell]

Thank you to everyone your advice has been really helpful. As im not aware to what diet i need to go on maybe i should seek advice from my Dr.......... I have now been signed off work for almost 3 months now due to my E! I'll try anything to make it better.

Take care everyone

Becky
xxx

[Bernard]

Becky, I listed several of the "seizure control" diets (ie. the diets that have been clinically studied for seizure control) in the chart of alternative epilepsy treatments. You can read about them there and get an idea of which one might best fit your situation (ie. which might be easiest to adopt).

[reppowell]

Thank you Bernard thats really helpful..... i shall have a look and see what i think would be most sutible.

x

[rackelsmom]

That is my first choice but my first contact with them was negative. Not in a bad way but they hate her age. They don't want to waste their time on a teen that wont stick to the diet. IF my Dr doesn't do this for us. I will again request Baltimore and I'm usually good at getting what I need. Ive been in contact with Dr Eric Kossof and I think hes the one I have to convince. My daughter not a normal teen. From birth she was wise beyond her years. She just a mature type of kid and the type of kid that can pull this off. I think if I can convince him. he will take her on. If not, I fall back to NYU. Still not too bad lol
Be well
joan*

Joan,

Dr. K is a wonderful compassionate doctor and their staff is incredible. Zahava the dietician is amazing. Rachel wasn't really a good candidate either, they were just trying to give her brain a rest before turfing her back for another resection and now she is one of their walking miracles. If he tells you your daughter isn't a good candidate, remind him that there are others who weren't good candidates that he took a chance on and are now seizure free. Be persistant and show him you and your daughter are committed to doing the diet.

Blessings,
Ann

[joan]

Thank you for that. I think he was trying to discourage me to be sure we are going to be devoted. I plan on contacting him again after we see her Dr next week. I had the feeling that IF he knew we were serious? He couldnt turn us away. Again, thank you and continued success.
joan*

[RobinN]

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/200904...prweb2321474_6

http://www.primalbody-primalmind.com/reviews.html

"With the flood of information regarding nutrition currently available, one is happy to find a coherent picture emerging out of a simple organizing principle: how did our long biological history condition us to eat?"
"The answer is available to us, and is unsurprisingly congenial to our tastes. Happily, also, it may lead us back to a natural pathway to health, as we shed some of the downsides of our recent agricultural revolution, our more recent industrialization of food sources, and our most recent depletion of agricultural soils. In this incisive book, Nora Gedgaudas lights a path toward dietary discretion and natural health that obliterates much of the standard dietary doctrine along the way. Larger truths have a tendenct to be simple. It is so here as well. The practical implementation in our commercial world may be less so, but the venture is worthwhile.”

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Chief Scientist EEG Institute
Co-Author: ADD:The 20-Hour Solution

[RobinN]

http://www.primalbody-primalmind.com...-mistakes.html

Top Ten Worst Nutritional and Dietary Mistakes People Make

10) Relying on superficial descriptions such as “natural” or even “organic” on labels to determine whether a food is truly healthy.
9) Relying on the media, your doctor or even conventional nutritionists/dieticians to provide accurate nutritional information
Believing that junk food “in moderation” is OK.
7) Following “government guidelines” or “The Food Pyramid” for healthy eating.
6) Thinking that “being slim” means you are healthy---using weight as your litmus of “good health”.
5) Using vitamins to “make up for” unhealthy eating habits.
4) Believing that exercise can “make up for” unhealthy eating habits.
3) The belief that “genetics is destiny”.
2) The belief that eating healthy means having to give up enjoyment of food, good flavor, fat, dietary cholesterol or animal source foods.
1) The belief or assumption that eating a quality diet is too expensive…or too difficult or complicated to maintain.

Awesome list, I suggest that you follow the link to read the rest of the story.