What Is the Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy?
In the field of epilepsy, diets that aim to produce ketosis are referred to as ketogenic diets.
They are typically prescribed to difficult-to-treat epilepsies including Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, and infantile spasms.
For these conditions the classical _therapeutic ketogenic diet (TKD)_ involves achieving ketosis through:
- Severe carbohydrate restriction (10 g per day)
- High fat (85-90%) and moderate protein intake (15%)
More liberal, less-restrictive ketogenic diets also exist, such as the medium chain triglyceride (MCT) diet, the modified Atkins diet (MAD) and the low glycemic index treatment (LGIT).
In contrast to the _therapeutic ketogenic diet (TKD)_, these approaches do not typically target ketosis, though this will frequently occur with the _modified Atkins diet (MAD)_ and the _LGIT_.
The benefits and limitations of all of these diets are well-defined in both adults and children.