Re: Emphasize the fats - Was Correlation Between Epilepsy and Diet?

[Guest guest]

Sally,

You remind me of my days in West Africa with the Peace Corps, with your

refrain of " more and more and more fats " !

I remember being served a mound of fermented corn dough (like a sort of

sour polenta), called banku, absolutely swimming in a rich, red palm

oil-based gravy (yes, there were even some meat and vegetables at the

bottom of all that oil!)--and the more wealthy the household and the more

honored the guest, the more oil was ladled on top!!

Of course, we " modernized " folks turned up our noses at such quantities of

oil (hopefully a turning that was invisible to our proud hosts!).

Can you or anyone give any examples of before-after or any other tales as

to why you are so very pro-fat? Is it simply from reading many Weston A.

Price and other nutritional writings, or do you have any eyewitness

reports of the power of fats?

Thanks for sharing,

in Illinois

safallon@...

10/18/2001 01:06 PM

Please respond to

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Subject: Re: Correlation Between Epilepsy and

Diet?

Dear Kareemah,

I think you need to emphasize the fats even more. Make your smoothie with

cream (not milk) and plenty of egg yolks. In fact, I would give him cream

with every meal--shipped cream on fruits, cream in sauces, etc. Loads of

butter. And of course, cod liver oil every day. Sally

[Guest guest]

,

You wrote:

<< " Can you or anyone give any examples of before-after or any other

tales as to why you are so very pro-fat? Is it simply from reading

many Weston A. Price and other nutritional writings, or do you have

any eyewitness reports of the power of fats? " >>

Here are some info about the use of a Ketogenic diet for reducing

seizures. The ketogenic diet is a high fat diet which appears to

benefit some people with epilepsy, particularly children.

The Ketogenic Resource:

http://www.mynchen.demon.co.uk/index.htm

Follow the link:

o The ketogenic diet

and on this page follow the link:

o An introduction to the ketogenic diet

First Prospective Study of Ketogenic Diet Says It Reduces Seizures:

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/press/1998/DECEMBER/981207.HTM

http://www.choa.org/library/conditions/ketogenic_overview.shtml

Ketogenic diet may not require initial fast:

http://www.neurologyreviews.com/apr01/nr_apr01_ketogenic.html

From The Ketogenic Resource:

" Keaton has been on the diet for about 8 months and we have seen a

positive effect on his progress. He does much better on days when he

is in high ketosis then when he is not "

" has had one seizure since the start of the diet in May 1996.

She is now walking and starting to talk. This is the greatest

improvement we have experienced. "

" His seizures now are far less frequent, and less severe than

previously. "

" We have never seen seizure control like we are having right now in

Nichole's life. We are hopeful that it will continue and that she

will develop normal. "

" Kameron will be one year SEIZURE FREE July 16, 1996 and on June 14,

1996, he will be four months DRUG FREE!!! "

" When was on the diet we finally got to meet him, he was

seizure free for the first time in his life. "

" Great program! Stopped five anti-epileptic drugs. 3/95 to present "

Of course, these comments are anecdotal, and there are many others

who have not benefited from the diet in the same way.

So, what is the diet? There are a number of variant diets. The

classical 4 to 1 diet contains four times as much fat as carbohydrate

plus protein. (For comparison, in a normal diet there is less than

half as much fat as carbohydrate plus protein.) As well as

maintaining this ratio, the total energy intake is restricted to

about three quarters of the normal, and liquid intake may also be

controlled.

The diet is normally introduced by a period of hospitalisation. Prior

to going to hospital, the victim is starved for 12 hours. On entry to

hospital, a reference EEG will be taken, and the child continues to

fast. By the next day, ketosis should be achieved, and the diet will

start at one third of the recommended calorie (fuel) intake. On day

four the calorie intake will be increased to two thirds the

recommended level, and on day five the full intake will be achieved.

Providing there are no complications the child will then be

discharged. Meanwhile during the period of hospitalisation a suitable

diet will have been designed and the parents will have been briefed

on its operation.

In variants of the diet, the ratio of fat to carbohydrate plus

protein may be reduced below 4 to 1, to 3.5 to 1 or 3 to 1, or it may

be increased to as much as 5 to 1. Typically the lower ratios are

used with younger children. Also, once the diet is in operation

successfully, the ratio may be reduced over time as far as possible,

providing the beneficial results continue.

A much more significant variant is the MCT oil diet. MCT stand for

medium chain triglycerides, which are a particular type of saturated

fat found in coconut oil. MCT oil is one of the wonder ingredients of

the nineties, being used by athletes to improve their performance.

MCT oil is special because although it is a fat, it metabolises

quickly, like carbohydrate. It does this because it can pass directly

though the intestinal wall into the portal blood system and thence to

the liver where it is metabolised, instead of having to go via the

lymphatic system like longer chain fats. The advantage of using MCT

oil is that the diet can achieve a similar energy production balance

to a normal diet, but can still deliver the necessary ketones. In the

typical MCT diet, the proportions will be 35% fat, 35% MCT oil, 20%

carbohydrate and 10% protein (a 2.3:1 ratio). Also, the total calorie

intake is set at the normal level, rather than three quarters of

normal, so the MCT diet is far less rigorous than the classical diet.

There does not seem to be any very clear rationale for these

variations from the classical diet, except the pragmatic one that it

is claimed they work, although this claim is hotly disputed.

For info about MCT oil and Coconut Oil you can join the Coconut-info

group:

coconut-info

Best wishes,

- Jan