Special high-fat diet significantly lowers epileptic seizures

Almost one hundred epileptic children across the South West are having their lives changed thanks to a special diet which reduces their seizures.

The ketogenic diet is high in fat and also low in carbohydrates and protein.

Dieticians at Bristol Children's Hospital have surveyed 90 children with epilepsy.

They found that in some children, this way of eating has stopped their seizures completely.

Although experts still aren't completely sure why it works - it's thought that it may make seizures less likely by altering the chemical composition of the brain.

Jack Savin from Bristol has been on a ketogenic diet for a year and a half.

His mother Mandy says since starting the diet Jack has gone from up to fifty seizures a day to at most two a week.

Mandy says the diet's effects were almost immediate:

Of the 90 children surveyed by Bristol Children's Hospital, two thirds saw more than a 50% reduction in their seizures.

In addition, more than 10% of the children saw their seizures stop entirely.

Jack is being supervised by dieticians at Bristol Children's Hospital.

His prescription diet is high in fat and low in carbohydrate and protein.

Mandy says it is a challenge to prepare all of his meals in a suitable way but it is worth it to see the improvement in his health.

Jack will spend a total of two years on the ketogenic diet.

Researchers say the effects can be permanent.

For more information on the ketogenic diet, you can visit the Great Ormond Street Hospital website.