Ketogenic Diet

By: Carrie Davis/News Channel 7 | News Channel 7
Published: November 12, 2007

People who suffer from seizures can face a lifetime of pills to control the episodes. Now one local nutritionist is proving that changing your diet just may do the trick.

Paige Horton carefully weighs out her daughter's breakfast each morning, because anymore food than she's supposed to have and the effects could be devastating. 8-year-old Chandler has had seizures since birth and after years of different medications, the Horton's decided they had to try something new.

"The biggest thing I have always been worried about is the brain damage, recovering from that."

So they started feeding chandler a Ketogenic diet.

Julisu Dimucci-Ward with Spartanburg Regional says, "90% of the calories are from fat and ten percent is from the sum of protein and fat."

One of only 119 nutritionist in the U.S. who can calculate a Ketogenic diet, Dimucci-Ward says two thirds of the people like Chandler can be seizure free if they control what they eat.

The main ingredients are fat and cream with virtually no carbohydrates or sugar. The idea is that you keep the person on very small amounts of food almost near starvation but with just enough nutrients to still grow properly. Then over time, through eating these foods, the body changes its chemistry and burns fatty deposits called Ketones instead of glucose.

"The state of ketosis acts like a medicine on the brain."

Paige has had Chandler on it more than a year and in December they will hit a mile stone.

Horton says, "We've come off almost all of her seizure medicine and she hasn't had a seizure in 9 months."

Chandler chants, "I am going to be off my diet, I am going to be off my diet."

For her that's an exciting thought considering, not only will she get to resume a normal diet, but live her life seizure free.

This Saturday from 10am to 12pm you can talk to nutritionist Julisu Dimucci-Ward and parents with children on the Ketogenic diet at the Gibbs Cancer Center at Spartanburg Regional. Everyone is welcome.