Fasting and Epilepsy - 14/04/2008 23:15
Please bear in ming the term "epilepsy" includes a vast array of different conditions, from "absences" to grand mal seizures. There are also a large variety of causes, from metabolic disease to scars on the brain surface.
ALL people have "thresholds" of electrical potential wthat would trigger an epileptic fit. Mine could be 200 volts, whereas an "epileptic" could be 20 volts. The threshold is reduces by disease, alcohol and malnutrition, to mention but a few.
Epilepsy is a form of uncontrolled spread of electrical activity over the brain surface, a kind of "short-circuit" of the complex electrical pathways of the brain cell membranes.
One of the most potent stabilizers of these membranes is Ketones.
I remember my professor in Paediatrics, back in the early 1980's, put a child on a 80% fat/oil based diet. This was the only intervention that controlled the epilepsy, after all combinations of maximal medication failed. The rationale is that practically all energy then comes from ketones, and these act like insulators on the cell membranes.
I have never seen a ketotic patient develop a convulsion. It is however still possible, if the "voltage" is high enough. I therefore NEVER advise the discontinuation of anti-epileptic medicine before the condition has been stabilized for several months or even years.
To remain permanently ketotic on a healthy diet is impossible.. as a healthy diet is based on carbohydrate, not fat (or protein for that matter). Regular fasting does stimulate our ability to produce ketones at short notice, however, and this could be protective.
André
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