A more sympathetic way of treating epilepsy?
I recently saw a lovely film with Meryl Streep who’s son developed seizures and was treated in the conventional way – mainly to no avail. She eventually did her own research and discovered that a simple diet change can revolutionise the health of those with this problem.
Following on from that I have just read a very intersting article on the ketogenic diet (the one recommended in the film) and that this has long been associated with helping to manage epilepsy. It was discovered to help control symptoms back in the 1920s and was mainly used to help treat children with uncontrolled epilepsy. Controlled trials have shown that the diet can control seizures and more recent results have shown that adults as well as children can benefit from it. It can also reduce the need to take anti-epileptic drugs. It is recommended that a specialist dietician helps guide patients on the use of this diet.
At the end of the film the following statistics were stated. 1/3rd of people who try the diet are completely cured, 1/3rd are improved greatly but still have the occasional episode and the remaining 1/3rd see very little or no improvement. The question that was left was – why on earth with such a good success rate is this not suggested by our health service? I think we can guess the answer – no profit in it for anyone.
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