Fay, it seems scary to have to measure and weigh food and to have such restriction, is it hard?

Where does one begin?

Hello,
I would also like some information on this type of diet.
My daughter is 8years old and has several types of seizures. Docs say it is hard to control type of Epilepsy.

She is having problems at the moment!!

So the Keto diet may be something I might want to pursue in the future.

What does it involve?

Julz

The first thing to do if you are interested in the diet is to talk to your Neurologist. Most of them know a center that prescribes the ketogenic diet if they don't personally prescribe it. Or check out the links for more info.
It is scary when you first start the diet simply because you are so scared that you'll make a mistake. But within a few days it isn't hard at all and you realize it is like everything else that is new- once you weigh a few meals out, it isn't nearly as hard as you thought it would it would be. Weighing out a ketogenic diet meal takes only about a minute or two- about the same amount of time it would take someone to put food on a plate for a toddler.
Cooking the food can be as easy as scrambling eggs in butter or fixing a salad. And the foods are foods most people eat every day too. Beef, pork, chicken, cheeses, bologna, hot dogs, fruits and veggies, mayonaise, oils, etc. Of course the list is much larger than this too. The only thing that is really different is they have heavy whipping cream with almost every meal. Most of Scott's meals call for 10 grams to 55 grams of 36% heavy whipping cream. 10 grams of cream is less than 1 ounce and 55 grams of cream is about 2 ounces. But we must weigh everything on a gram scale. Being even 1 gram off can cause a seizure or prevent the diet from working. We add water to the cream to "make' milk and it can taste like a real milkshake if you sweeten with sweetener and flavor it. You can also whip it and turn it into ice cream or even sherbet that tastes just like store bought by whipping it with sugar free jello and fruit.
The hardest part of the diet is having to make sure that everyone (including other medical professionals) realizes the diet is taken seriously. When they get sick any medication that is prescribed by another doctor must be totally sugar free and calorie free. Most medications have some form of carbohydrate like cornstarch or sugar to make it taste better. We even have to pay attention to shampoo, soap, lotions, toothpaste, etc too because these also usually contain sugar as well.

Fay, why and how does this diet work? Do you know? Why does all the fat in the diet help to control seizures?

Hi Fay, My Ciropractor put me on the Atkins diet and I went 9 months without having a seizure. I asked my Neuroligist and a Nutritionist about having carbs any the both said my body needs them so I started eating carbs again. I had a VNS implant put in in August and since then I started having a seizure once a month (which was normally every two months or longer) which now progressed to every couple of weeks. I don't know if it's from the implant or going off the Atkins diet. After the Holidays I want to go back on the diet and see what happens. The only thing about that diet is I get so tired of eating eggs in the morning, bologna, cheese and nuts for lunch and a supper without carbs. Any other suggestions about what to eat on this diet? Have a great holiday!
Napster

Hello Napster and sorry for the very late reply. Scott has been having major problems with Pheumonia- twice in a 1 month period and asthma-wheezing for almost 4 months now nonstop almost- so have had my hands full. I haven't been able to post as much as i usually do.
The Atkins diet for Epilespy is a little different than the regular Atkins diet to lose weight -you are wanting to stop seizures, not lose weight- so you might want to start looking at one my links here for more info about the Atkins for epilespy diet. If it helped you once, it will help you again. Dr. Eric Kossoff at John Hopkins is the top doc IN THE WORLD for the Atkins diet for epilespy and they are great at giving more info if you'd like to contact them. There is also a link to a website that explains more about how the atkins for E works and even links to recipes and stuff. It is for adults of all ages who are on the diet plus kids who are on it too.
Your docs are correct about your body needing carbs. Even Scott gets a certain amount of carbs at every meal and he's on the ketogenic diet which is A LOT stricter than the atkins for E diet is.
There are LOTS of foods that is allowed on the Atkins for E diet too. Here are just a few that is listed in the keto book: Chocolate Macadamia nut muffins, french toast, cheeseburger pie, dep dish pizza, faux fried rice (using califlower, eggs,scallions, olive oil and soy sauce), Faux mac and cheese, carb friendly greek salad, peanut butter cookies, fried chicken, chocolate ice cream, brownies, shrimp scampi, mini mexican pizza squares, raspberry cheesecake in a cup and creamy crab dip.
If you have more questions, please ask away. I'll help you any way I can and I promise I won't take so long to answer you back too!

I am new to these boards but I have been on Atkins for over 5 years. I began doing Atkins/low carb to lose weight but the longer I was on it, the more I learned that this is one of the most healing diets out there. It gets a lot of bad press so be careful of what you read. I am going to relay some information from a book I am reading called the Brain Trust Program written by Dr. Larry McCleary. "Ketones, occur naturally in the body as by-products of partially burned fats. We all produce them but when we restrict carbohydrates or prolong a fast, we tend to produce considerably more, throwing the body into a state of ketosis. Many tissues respond better to ketones as an energy source as opposed to carbs. Children especially respond well to ketones. The book goes on to say that the ketones fuel the cellular furnaces and provide fuel for energy-starved brain cells, which is why a ketogenic diet is used for children with epilepsy. See, it is important to restrict carbohydrates since it can cause glucose embalances that produses seizures in epileptics.

Ketones act like mini surgeons or healers, especially noticed in neruological ailments.

Thanks Black57. You are very right! Scott burns fat for his fuel rather than sugar. His keto team (Neurologist and Dietician) determine the calories based on his age, height and weight then break the calories down into the precise amount grams of protein, fat and carbs. One gram ( 2 drops of water) more than needed can prevent the diet from working and can cause him to go into nonstop seizures. Everything is weighed to the exact gram on a gram scale.

Fay, how did you become a ketogenic coach? I am a musician and I want to kee my focus in that field but I alos believe that I have something to contribute to people who need this diet for medical reasons. I want to be able to help someone find relief from a lifestyle that I believe in. I consider kegenic diets as an unexpected cure. :bigarmhug:

I was professionally trained by both my keto team (Neurologist and Dietician) and by Mrs. Millicent Kelly (retired dietician that perfected the diet for over 55 years at John Hopkins) and by Dr. John Freeman (ketogenic diet expert and retired Neurologist also at John Hopkins having prescribed the ketogenic diet for over 50 years there) the first time Scott was on the diet. I still help train, answer questions that only a parent of a child on the diet can answer, give support and advice as needed about the diet, etc at our keto center. I have been a keto coach for about 15 years.
I have a few website addesses that are loaded with info about both the Ketogenic diet and the Modified Atkins diet that I'll try to post in the next day or so. Will have to hunt them down as my other computer got fried during a storm. I just got this one 1 1/2 weeks ago as a gift from Labrat and spouse (thanks again Labrat!) and haven't had a chance to put all the addresses in my favorite website addresses list yet.
My Dad was a musician too. He played bass (and sometimes the banjo) in a Country and Bluegrass band until he died in May 1994. What I wouldn't give to hear him play just one more time!

Fay, how do you calculate the amounts of calories, fats etc. Do you go by the patient's weight or by the frequency of seizures. Do you test insulin/glucoase levels. Just in case you were wondering, I would never practice this on anyone without the training or certification that I would need. I am just curious. I am a certified medical assistant and IV techinician as well as musician. :angel:

Hello Black. I don't do the breakdowns as I'm not a certified licensed Dietician. I do know that the Dietician bases her breakdowns on the weight, height, activity level, amount of seizures (which affects both the metabolism and activity levels) and their age.
Yes, I test both Scott's blood glucose and blood ketones at least twice a day and more often when he's sick, had a seizure or we changed his diet in any way. We use the Precision Extra by MediSense monitor. I use two monitors so that I only have to stick him one time. One meter tests for the glucose and the other tests for the ketones. The Precision Extra monitor is the only monitor that tests blood ketones as well as blood glucose.

Fay, Deep down I would like to be a music therapist. The only reason I did not persue that field is that the nearest schools that offer that as a major are not very close to home. Once upon a time I was the featured performer at Cancer Survivors Day. At the end of the event everyone released butterflies that representing survivors of cancer. I am glad that there is music and art therapy that is used in the hospital setting. I just wanted to say that so that you can get to know me better. :rolleyes: