What Is the Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy?
The ketogenic diet is an extremely high-fat diet that requires a child to eat four times as many fat calories as calories from protein or carbohydrate. A meal might include a small portion of chicken, a little bit of fruit, and a lot of fat, typically butter or cream. Frankly, it’s a difficult diet to swallow. Your child may start the diet in the hospital, so nurses and doctors can observe the first few days. Your child will probably need to go without any food for 36 to 48 hours before beginning the diet. After that, food is gradually increased over a few days. This diet does not provide all the vitamins a body needs, so your child will probably have to take sugar-free vitamin supplements.
