Diet for epilepsy

By introducing certain rules into the diet, a variety of diseases are often treated, including convulsive syndrome. Indeed, there is a diet for epilepsy, which is simultaneously one of the methods of treating the disease, as well as a means of preventing secondary disorders in the patient's body. Thanks to the diet, patients can feel better for a long time.

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The essence of the diet for epilepsy

Many experiments by scientists have proven the existence of a pattern between the consumption of certain foods and the occurrence of epileptic seizures. For a long time, doctors believed that the diet of patients with epilepsy should consist of a large number of strict restrictions. But, fortunately, modern medicine does not stand still, and at present it has been proven that strictness in the diet is not necessary, patients just need to adhere to some principles.

The diet of a sick person should be high-quality and balanced, with a high content of coarse-fiber plant foods. Most often, patients are prescribed plant-milk nutrition.

However, there is no need to completely exclude meat products. Every day you can include in the menu one small portion of meat, fish dish, preferably boiled or steamed.

Of course, there cannot be just one diet for epilepsy patients. For example, if, in addition to seizures, a person periodically experiences headaches caused by eating certain foods, then excluding them from the menu can significantly alleviate the condition. If the disease is complicated by diabetes, then seizures can be a consequence of a decrease in blood glucose levels.

With prolonged treatment with drugs, the patient's body may experience a deficiency of folic acid, cyanocobalamin, homocysteine, which must be taken into account when preparing a daily menu.

Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy

The ketogenic diet for epilepsy implies a diet containing about 70% fat, and only 30% proteins and carbohydrates. This diet is mainly used in pediatric practice.

The mechanism of the ketogenic diet is the anticonvulsant activity of ketones - organic compounds that are formed as a result of fat breakdown and significantly reduce the stimulation of seizures by the brain. Fats, in turn, are broken down when there is a glucose deficiency in the human body, during fasting, or with a sharply limited amount of carbohydrates in food. Based on this, the essence of the ketogenic diet can consist of a certain combination of the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrate foods in the daily diet, simultaneously with a pronounced decrease in the volume of liquid drunk.

Thus, a rather meager and monotonous diet is prescribed, consisting mainly of fats: vegetable oil, animal fat and fatty meat, dairy products with a high percentage of fat (cream, butter, etc.). In some countries, where the incidence of epilepsy is quite high, they even produce special high-fat products for such patients - these are very fatty yoghurts, various curds and canned meat.

Diet for epilepsy in children

The ketogenic diet is most often used in pediatric patients. The child is admitted to hospital and prescribed fasting for two to three days, after which they begin dietary nutrition. The child must adhere to the ketogenic diet for 2-3 days, and after that, as a rule, he is transferred to a normal diet.

This diet is considered especially effective in children aged 1 to 12 years. Doctors often prescribe it when antiepileptic drugs do not show the expected effectiveness or provoke the development of undesirable side effects.

Dietary treatment of children must be carried out under the supervision of a specialist in pediatric nutrition and a neurologist. In the first days, when the baby is fasting, he is allowed to drink only water and tea without sugar. About a day later, a quick test is used for the content of ketone substances in the urine: if there are enough ketones, then you can begin to introduce high-fat foods into the diet.

It is important for the doctor to closely monitor what the child eats, since even a small increase in the caloric content of the diet can negatively affect the effectiveness of dietary treatment.

Usually, the sick child is discharged after about a week, with a decrease in the frequency of seizures noted over the next 3 months. If this dietary treatment is considered successful in a particular patient, it is periodically repeated for 3-4 years.

Side effects of the ketogenic diet sometimes include nausea, difficulty defecating, and hypovitaminosis.

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Diet for epilepsy in adults

The ketogenic diet for epilepsy in adults is used somewhat less frequently than in children, due to certain contraindications that are relevant specifically for older patients.

Due to the high fat content in the diet, the diet is not prescribed to people with functional disorders of the liver and kidneys. The fact is that with an excess of fatty foods, these organs are overloaded, and they may not cope with the removal of metabolic products, which will lead to a relapse of chronic pathologies.

In addition, the ketogenic diet is not recommended for epileptic patients, those suffering from cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis.

In all other situations, the decision to prescribe dietary nutrition is made by the doctor, based on the general health of the patient and the presence of background diseases, especially chronic ones.

The diet of adults with epilepsy should consist of varied and nutritious dishes. Particular attention is paid to products with a high fiber content - these are plant foods, bran, cereals. Such products gradually establish high-quality intestinal peristalsis and serve as a preventive measure against constipation.

One of the rules of dietary nutrition is to have your last meal no less than 2-3 hours before going to bed.

It is important to remember that when drinking large amounts of liquid, attacks may become more frequent. Because of this, most doctors recommend drinking a little water and drinks throughout the day, and may even prescribe diuretics to remove excess fluid from the body.

Some experts are of the opinion that the amount of salt in the diet of epileptics should be limited, but there is no scientifically proven evidence of the effectiveness of this method. However, the amount of easily digestible carbohydrates, in particular, regular sugar, should still be limited.

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Diet menu for epilepsy

On Monday:

• For breakfast – carrot and cottage cheese salad with sour cream.
• For second breakfast - a large orange.
• We have lunch with borscht, steamed meatballs and salad.
• We snack on jelly and a crouton.
• We're having fish fillet with lemon for dinner.

On Tuesday:

• We have cottage cheese casserole for breakfast.
• For the second breakfast we prepare a fruit salad with full-fat yogurt.
• For lunch - vermicelli soup with meat, bread with liver pate.
• Snack: sandwich with butter and cheese.
• We're having chicken roll with egg for dinner.

On Wednesday:

• We have an omelette with vegetables for breakfast.
• For the second breakfast – cereal cookies, juice.
• We have cheese cream soup and fish and rice casserole for lunch.
• Snack: tea with milk and crackers.
• Dinner: cabbage rolls, salad.

On Thursday:

• Breakfast: oatmeal with milk and butter.
• A fruit cocktail is suitable for a second breakfast.
• We have lagman and potato zrazy for lunch.
• Snack – banana.
• We have a pie with rice and minced meat for dinner.

On Friday:

• Breakfast: stuffed boiled eggs.
• For second breakfast – juice with a cheesecake.
• We have chicken broth and meat dumplings for lunch.
• Snack: dried fruit compote.
• We have boiled pork with vegetables for dinner.

On Saturday:

• Breakfast: toast with cheese pate, jelly.
• Avocado salad is perfect for a second breakfast.
• We have fish soup with vegetable stew for lunch.
• Snack: biscuits, juice.
• We have mashed potatoes with meat gravy and salad for dinner.

On Sunday:

• We have cheesecakes with honey and sour cream for breakfast.
• For second breakfast – cottage cheese with raisins.
• We have kharcho with a boiled piece of meat for lunch; you can add a vegetable salad.
• Snack – a piece of melon or a peach.
• We have dinner with a portion of dumplings with sour cream.

Epilepsy Diet Recipes

The dishes of the epilepsy diet can and should be varied, since dietary nutrition is usually long-term and should bring benefit and pleasure to the patient. We offer you several simple but tasty recipes that will help diversify the menu of a patient with epilepsy.

• The most delicious meat roll. Ingredients: 700 g of any minced meat, two pieces of toasted bread, five chicken eggs, up to 400 g of champignons, 2 onions, one carrot, a little salt, cold water, sunflower oil (or other). Let's start cooking: cut the peeled and washed mushrooms into medium pieces, chop the onion, grate the carrot. Saute the mushrooms, carrots and ½ chopped onion in a frying pan with butter, add salt to taste, stir and leave to stew. Meanwhile, boil three eggs, cool and peel. Cut into medium pieces. Moisten the pieces of bread with water, squeeze out, pass through a meat grinder together with the remaining onion. Add the minced meat, 2 raw eggs and 2 tablespoons of cold water, salt, spices. Mix. Spread three quarters of the minced meat on a plastic food film in the form of a rectangle in a layer of about 15 mm. Put a layer of mushrooms and vegetables on top, leaving about 15 mm from the edges of the minced meat. Spread the chopped boiled eggs on top of the mushrooms and roll the structure into a roll (this is convenient to do with wet hands). Carefully transfer the roll to a baking sheet moistened with oil (you can put baking paper between it). If cracks form during transfer, carefully grease them with the set aside minced meat. Put in a hot oven at 180 ° C for about 60 minutes, until done. The roll is usually served hot. You can cook potatoes as a side dish.
• Ham and cheese salad. We will need: green salad leaves, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, green onions, ham, cheese (feta or mozzarella), boiled eggs, salt, olive oil and lemon juice. The amount of ingredients is arbitrary - it will still be delicious. Let's start cooking: cut all the ingredients into medium pieces, pour a dressing of olive oil with lemon juice. Add salt to taste. Simple, fast and delicious!
• Meat stew. Ingredients: 0.5 kg of meat, 100 g of onion, 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery, garlic to taste, 4 tomatoes, 1 tbsp of tomato paste, salt, seasonings, vegetable oil, herbs. Preparation: cut the meat into pieces approximately one by two centimeters. Simmer it in vegetable oil until done. Finely chop the onion, carrot, garlic and celery. Add to the stewed meat and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add tomato paste and finely chopped tomatoes (preferably without skin), as well as salt and seasonings. Add a little water and simmer over low heat. After the stew is ready, sprinkle with herbs and serve. Enjoy!

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What can you eat if you have epilepsy?

• Meat (preferably pork or beef), fish in any form.
• Chicken eggs.
• Dairy products with at least 2% fat content (cottage cheese, milk, fermented milk products, cheeses, sour cream, cream, yogurts, etc.).
• Butter and vegetable oil.
• Vegetables, fruits, greens.

• Porridges with butter, soups and borscht, broths, offal (liver, kidneys, heart).
• Tea, possibly with milk, coffee (limited).
• Bakery products, cookies, gingerbread.

What should you not eat if you have epilepsy?

• Any alcoholic beverages, including beer.
• Foods with a lot of salt.
• Pickled, salted dishes, sauces and hot spices (vinegar, pepper, horseradish, mustard).
• Smoked products.
• Chocolate and cocoa.

It is not recommended to drink a lot of liquid during the day, as well as overeat, serve too large portions, or eat hard-to-digest foods (especially in the afternoon).

Reviews of diet for epilepsy

In most cases, a diet for epilepsy produces the expected positive effect, and this is especially true for the ketogenic diet. However, such a diet has its drawbacks: it is not suitable for everyone and is often poorly tolerated by patients.

In such cases, patients are prescribed a virtually normal diet with a high content of meat and fatty foods, with the absolute exclusion of alcohol and a restriction of liquids, salt and sugar.

Of course, such a diet is also very effective, especially in combination with drug therapy and some lifestyle changes:

• the patient must be provided with sufficient and restful sleep;
• Bright and flickering light sources should be avoided;
• It is important to avoid physical and mental overload.

In addition to the standard list of prohibited and permitted products for the disease, it is necessary to pay attention to the individual characteristics of the patient: often the patient may exhibit intolerance to a particular product, which should be identified and excluded from the diet.

Indeed, in many cases, the diet for epilepsy is individual, when dishes and products are selected for each patient separately. This is a long process, but the result is usually not long in coming - the patient's condition improves, and the frequency and intensity of attacks decreases.