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2 February 2005
Atkins Diet Could Help With Epilepsy 
Eating more protein and less carbohydrates could mean less seizures says a new review of possible dietary treatments for epilepsy just published in Epilepsy Currents. One of those dietary regimens examined is the low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet which was successful in suppressing epileptic seizures in a small series of patients. In the epilepsy community, the ketogenic diet (KD) - a high fat, adequate protein, and low carbohydrate diet - is the most well known of dietary therapies. It was devised in 1921 to "mimic the anticonvulsant effects of fasting, which were known to suppress seizures." Because the KD is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, the body is forced to burn fat for energy, a process called ketosis. The review explains that ketosis results in an anticonvulsant effect, although the exact mechanisms are not fully understood. As success has been observed with the widely recognizd Atkins diet, people with epilepsy might find this diet to be easier to follow. "Unfortunately, our knowledge about the relation between nutrition and epilepsy is in its infancy," says author Carl E. Stafstrom at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "Aside from the ketogenic diet, nutritional modalities to treat epilepsy are premature. The potential benefits of dietary alterations comprise an intriguing and novel approach to epilepsy treatment."
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