1. Healthy Eating for people with Epilepsy
Robyn Blackford, RDN, LDN
Lurie Children’s Epilepsy Center
The Ketogenic Diet Program
Nov 12, 2016
Consumer Conference
Epilepsy Foundation of
Greater Chicago

2. Healthy Eating for Epilepsy
A wide range of diet therapies for all ages with epilepsy
Classic Ketogenic Diet
Modified Ketogenic Diet
Modified Atkins Diet (MAD) (… epilepsy = MADE)
Low Glycemic Index Treatment (LGIT)
General theme they have in common:
Eliminate sugar and sweets
Reduce amount of processed foods

4. Ketogenic Therapies

5. How do I begin?
Dietary habits can be hard to change if too many changes are made at the same time
Plan on changing ONE thing at a time
“New Diet” honeymoon phase
Find a trustworthy person to talk to about it
This will increase your success rate for your changes

6. How do I begin?
Even simple and consistent diet changes can have a positive impact on seizure control
Even one positive change in your diet can bring you closer to better overall heath
Just like using better judgement for sleep hygiene, using better judgement for what you eat will impact your health, wellness, and seizure control
This can be as easy as a 2 step process!

7. Eliminate Simple Sugars
STEP ONE
Eliminate foods that are high in sugar or have a high glycemic index
Glycemic Index = a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating
High GI foods are rapidly absorbed into the body
Sugar is a type of carbohydrate that have high GI
Once these foods are eliminated from your diet for a few weeks, you may find that you have no desire to eat them

8. Eat a Natural, Whole Foods Diet
STEP TWO
Eat foods that have little or no processing
Minimally processed foods have at most 3 ingredients on their food label
Whole, natural foods have the highest amount of nutrients
They have the least artificial ingredients

9. Let’s try an easy example …
Food category: sweets/treats
Ingredients: 16
Food category: treat
Ingredients: 1

10. Nutrients and Brain Health

11. Healthy Lifestyle Choices
STEP 1: Eliminate Simple Sugars
STEP 2: Eat a Natural, Whole Foods Diet
Limit processed foods
STEP 3: Exercise
30 minutes per day
Walking with your dog, friend, neighbor
Biking
Use a tracker and try to increase your steps
THE CHALLENGE

12. Robyn Blackford, RDN, LDN rblackford@luriechildrens
Robyn Blackford, RDN, LDN Epilepsy Center office Thank you!