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Ketogenic diet
Tue, 04/07/2009 - 02:11Topic: Complementary Therapies
Hi
I am considering going on the ketogenic diet to control my TLE partial seizures so I can go off my meds.
Has anyone got any advice/experience of this diet?
Thanks
Wonder Woman
Re: Ketogenic diet
Submitted by 3Hours2Live on Tue, 2009-04-14 - 04:18
I was on the Dr. Atkin's Diet in the late 1970's. I was in my mid 20's then, and I didn't know
my complex partial seizures were a form of epilepsy. I used the diet to lose body fat while
building muscle mass with weight lifting. One side-effect of the diet was that it minimized my
complex partial seizures; a couple undesirable side-effects were the low fiber and occasional
episodes of very low blood-sugar levels just before awakening in the morning to have breakfast.
Snacking on sardines right before bed stopped the low blood-sugar symptoms, but such a snack was
slightly unpleasant.
Once my body went into ketosis (measured in urine by Ketostix's available at most drugstores) my hunger went
away, and I had to eat by measurements and schedules to be sure to maintain strength and nutrition.
Now blood sugar levels are so easily measured at home with digital meters, I wish I had the meters
back then instead of the "match the color" diabetic blood test strips to also monitor blood sugar levels
better while on the diet, since the "valleys" were very unpleasant.
I tried for zero carbohydrate intake because carbohydrates frequently "sneak" into protein foods,
and going out of ketosis messes things up for a day or so at least. The cost of an all meat diet
back in the 1970's wasn't that much greater than a regular diet, but now the price differences are
very large. The low fiber causes irregularity, and the ketosis gives off "fumes" that can be
minimized by drinking more than average amounts of water, or at least somewhat masked by non-sugar
(or very low sugar) SenSen licorice-like breathe mints. The diet was very inconvient if I couldn't
always eat at home. I was on the diet a few months when I reached a near ideal muscle-mass-ratio.
A couple months after stopping the diet, my clusters of complex partial seizures slowly returned at
about half the frequency for 5-6 years. Many editions of Dr. Atkin's Diet Books are in print.
I hope this helps.
I was on the Dr. Atkin's Diet in the late 1970's. I was in my mid 20's then, and I didn't know
my complex partial seizures were a form of epilepsy. I used the diet to lose body fat while
building muscle mass with weight lifting. One side-effect of the diet was that it minimized my
complex partial seizures; a couple undesirable side-effects were the low fiber and occasional
episodes of very low blood-sugar levels just before awakening in the morning to have breakfast.
Snacking on sardines right before bed stopped the low blood-sugar symptoms, but such a snack was
slightly unpleasant.
Once my body went into ketosis (measured in urine by Ketostix's available at most drugstores) my hunger went
away, and I had to eat by measurements and schedules to be sure to maintain strength and nutrition.
Now blood sugar levels are so easily measured at home with digital meters, I wish I had the meters
back then instead of the "match the color" diabetic blood test strips to also monitor blood sugar levels
better while on the diet, since the "valleys" were very unpleasant.
I tried for zero carbohydrate intake because carbohydrates frequently "sneak" into protein foods,
and going out of ketosis messes things up for a day or so at least. The cost of an all meat diet
back in the 1970's wasn't that much greater than a regular diet, but now the price differences are
very large. The low fiber causes irregularity, and the ketosis gives off "fumes" that can be
minimized by drinking more than average amounts of water, or at least somewhat masked by non-sugar
(or very low sugar) SenSen licorice-like breathe mints. The diet was very inconvient if I couldn't
always eat at home. I was on the diet a few months when I reached a near ideal muscle-mass-ratio.
A couple months after stopping the diet, my clusters of complex partial seizures slowly returned at
about half the frequency for 5-6 years. Many editions of Dr. Atkin's Diet Books are in print.
I hope this helps.