A Child Speaks Thanks To A Ketone Diet

Author: Mark Velov Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

The body finds a way to provide the necessary energy in the absence of glucose as an energy source.

After two months on a ketone diet, three-year-old Fields Taylor says the long-awaited word "mom" from her family. The girl has a rare disease, discovered only 20 years ago, of which about 300 are registered worldwide. The syndrome is due to a deficiency of glucose- transporting protein GLUT1 - GD1 due to a mutation in the SLC2A1 gene. As a result, the body suffers from a lack of energy , which has a particularly detrimental effect on the brain. From birth, those affected suffer from seizures, headaches, lack of coordination of the body, there is a delay in mental development, including verbal abilities, and muscle weakness.

A few months ago, the doctor advised the family to put the girl affected by the disease, for which no cure has yet been found, on a ketone diet .

The ketone diet drastically reduces the intake of carbohydrates at the expense of fat. Moderate protein intake is allowed. Of this type is the famous Atkins diet .

With a limited intake of carbohydrates in the body, conditions similar to starvation are created , in which the release of ketones begins. In this way, the body compensates for the brain's need for energy, replacing glucose as an energy source. The ketone diet is especially effective in children with uncontrolled drug-induced epilepsy because it has anticonvulsant properties.

At first, the sick child found it difficult to accept the change in his diet, which excludes any sweet treats, until the family found an adequate appetizing substitute for him - cream cheese. The ketone diet excludes the consumption of carbohydrate foods, not only pasta, but also carbohydrate- rich fruits and vegetables, and focuses on eating mainly fatty products such as cream, whole milk, cheese, butter ... According to the mother the girl eats a kilo of Philadelphia cheese a week.

Two months after the compromise in nutrition, the little girl said her first word - mom. The doctorsnote that the child's condition, both mental and physical, improves progressively. Fields already speaks, using much more complex and long words to the delight of his family.

The effect of the ketone diet is generally being studied in other diseases other than epilepsy .

A Child Speaks Thanks To A Ketone Diet

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