The ketogenic diet, a high-fat, adequate-protein and low-carbohydrate diet, is regaining popularity in treating difficult-to-control cases of epilepsy, particularly in children. The classic ketogenic diet contains a 4 to 1 ratio by weight of fat to combined amounts of protein and carbohydrates.
The diet has proven to be effective in half of the patients who try it, and very effective in one third of the patients. It has given new hope to parents whose epileptic children status couldn't be improved by anticonvulsant medication.
After stroke, epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders. It is estimated that if affects 50 million people worldwide. Most people with epilepsy can successfully control their seizures with medication. However, 20 to 30 percent fail to do so, despite trying different drugs. Particularly for them the diet is again proven valuable in epilepsy management.