What Is the Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy?

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.