I just spent a few days in Phoenix (actually Scottsdale) at a conference for the ketogenic diet, which is a nutritional therapy for epilepsy. One of our pediatric neurologists is starting this program at my hospital, and I am the dietitian for it (in addition to my usual duties as the pediatric dietitian)! This has been in the works for quite a while, but it is really starting to get rolling now.
I will try not to get too into the details since this diet as it is pretty complex. It is certainly controversial in that it really goes against what you think of when you think of a "healthy diet". This is a VERY high fat diet and very low carbohydrate, so that that brain has to use ketones(from breakdown of fat) for energy instead of glucose. This diet for use with seizures was discovered because it has been known since Biblical times that fasting can stop seizures, and this diet is doing the same thing with metabolizing fat for energy. It is very mathematical and can only be for families who are truly motivated and compliant. It doesn't 100% cure every kid who tries it, but half of them have a 50% reduction in their seizures, which in itself can be a huge success. 10% of those who try the diet will become completely seizure-free and medication-free. And the most awesome thing is that once they wean off the diet, they don't usually go back to having seizures. Magical!! There has been a lot of research on this diet, and continues to be more and more. It's not just a gimmick like it might sound.
The conference I attended was sponsored by The Charlie Foundation which was started in the 90's to raise awareness of the diet as a treatment for pediatric epilepsy. It was started by Jim Abrahams, who is the writer and director of the movies Airplane!, Hot Shots, Hot Shots Part Deux, Naked Gun 2 1/2, Naked Gun 33 1/3, and Scary Movie 4, among others. He has also directed a lot of other movies, including Big Business. Jim's son, Charlie, developed epilepsy as a toddler. He was having 100's of seizures a day and then 2 days into starting the diet, he stopped having seizures. He was also able to go off medications while he was on the diet, and after a couple of years, weaned off the diet and has continued to be seizure-free ever since, and he is 17 years old now. He is definitely the best case scenario, but his story and others much like it are so inspiring! We heard many stories over the course of the conference. Jim and Nancy Abrahams and Charlie were there and participated throughout the whole conference. Charlie even gave a brief speech in front of everyone. He introduced his friend Julie, who is also 17, and also had her seizures cured by the ketogenic diet when she was little. She gave a speech and sang a song. The tears were flowing!
The conference was so helpful in being able to hear from many of the big-wigs in the ketogenic diet medical community. I also thought it was great that the conference was relatively small, and that the doctors who spoke were participating in everything, even though it was geared toward dietitians and nurses, and they were very friendly and available for questions at any time. It was also helpful as a newbie in this field to be able to network with other dietitians at other centers and see how other programs function. At my hospital we are still trying to figure out some of the details of how we will make it work for us. There are lots of details!
A great perk of going to this conference was that my good friend Joy went as well. She and I used to work together, but after she had her first baby almost 2 years ago, she decided to work at another hospital much closer to her home. They happen to be working on starting a ketogenic diet program as well, so it was a wonderful opportunity for Joy and I to spend some quality time together. It's fun to have someone close to me also learning about the same thing and that we can learn from each other too.
I didn't have a lot of free time while I was in Arizona, but the last night Joy and I met her sister and her friend (who both happened to be at a conference in Phoenix as well) for dinner. We went to a restaurant that served local and seasonal foods as much as possible. The next morning Joy left to go back home before I did. I had a few hours, so I went to the Desert Botanical Garden, which was cool. I also did some shopping at the fancy mall in Scottsdale. It has a bit of a reputation for being hoighty-toighty. I could see why. It is fun to people watch outside of my usual realm.
I had a great time. It was very exciting to learn more about the ketogenic diet. I am really getting excited for our program to get going. I am excited to know what kind of difference this could make for many families, and that I could have a huge part in helping them make that happen.
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