4MyChild: Help and Hope for Life

November 21, 2006

Ketogenic Diet and Cerebral Palsy

Seizures are common with children with cerebral palsy, in fact half of children with cerebral palsy are also affected with seizures, brain injuries allow abnormal impulses to occur. If drugs don’t work in treating the seizures, many families turn to alternative treatments such as a ketogenic diet, the most popular diet used to prevent seizures in children.
Known for reducing seizures in children with epilepsy, the ketogenic diet is high in fat and restricted carbohydrates, the diet ketosis: as fat is burned to compensate for reduced glucose (low-carbohydrates), by-products (ketones) build in the blood and inhibit seizures. The diet is more effective in children than adults, particularly when anticonvulsant drug therapy is ineffective.
The diet provides 3-4 grams of fat for every 1 gram of carbohydrate, calling for such foods as high-triglyceride dairy products (such as butter and cream) peanut butter. Carbohydrates, found in breads and starches, are eliminated from the diet, and liquid intake is often restricted as well in order to aid ketone accumulation.
The diet is typically supplemented with calcium, vitamin D, iron, and folic acid.

When the diet works, the response is often rapid and dramatic.

Please consult your doctor before implementing this diet.

More info on Ketogenic Diets:
Epilepsy Action: The Ketogenic Diet
Johns Hopkins : Ketogenic Diet