The therapeutic effect of a low-carb ketogenic diet penetrates far beyond the popular misconception spread by the media and so-called health “experts” that it’s only about weight loss. But you and I both know there are some truly remarkable health benefits awaiting people who are willing to implement this effective nutritional strategy for controlling blood sugar and insulin levels, improving HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL particle size, as well as a whole host of other health conditions that the mainstream public is only beginning to take notice of. One of the most exciting areas of health which I first blogged about in January 2006 is the use of a very high-fat, very low-carb ketogenic diet for controlling seizures in people with epilepsy and today’s podcast interview guest is one of the leading researchers on this very important, cutting-edge topic!
In Episode 367 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics Dr. Eric Kossoff who has dedicated his career to investigating and researching the impact of putting young children with epilepsy on a 95% fat diet to control their seizures. Yep, you read that right–a 95% fat, mostly saturated fat, diet! It’s an aggressive medical therapy that has worked wonders for those who have tried it and the parents of these children are excited to find something that will work when all other treatment options have failed them. Dr. Kossoff is the co-author of the definitive work on this topic now in its 4th edition entitled The Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Children and Others with Epilepsy (the #1 bestselling book on epilepsy at Amazon!) and he shares all about the work he is doing treating epileptic patients with a ketogenic, low-carb diet.
Listen to Dr. Kossoff share why he first became interested in ketogenic diets, how the ketogenic diet was created in 1921 (50 years before Atkins came along) as a means for mimicking the effects of starvation, why ketogenic diets are now more mainstream than they were in the 1970s and 1980s, his 2009 review article released on the 15th anniversary of the creation of The Charlie Foundation, why most doctors choose to put epileptic patients on medicine rather than insist on lifestyle changes, what the purpose of a 95% fat diet is, the health concerns of being on the ketogenic diet, why parents don’t worry about the health of their children when they are on ketogenic therapy, a sample menu of a 95% ketogenic diet, how to make a very high-fat diet palatable to young children, his definition of what he describes as a “modified Atkins diet” for seizure control in older kids and adults, how a two-year stint on the ketogenic diet virtually cures epilepsy in most patients, whether parents go on their ketogenic diet with their child, why ketogenic diet is more widely accepted and embraced now than it was before, his optimism about where he sees the low-carb diet heading in the near future, and why he collaborated on a book about low-carb ketogenic diets and epilepsy. It’s always a pleasure to welcome those dignitaries from the scientific community who are examining the role of low-carb diets on health and Dr. Eric Kossoff is one of the best of the best!
There are three ways you can listen to Episode 367:
1. Listen at the new iTunes page for the podcast:
2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site for the podcast:
3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 367 [27:32m]:
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How did you like what you heard from Dr. Eric Kossoff regarding the use of a ketogenic low-carb diet to control seizures in people with epilepsy? Your comments are welcomed to be shared in the show notes section of Episode 367. Pick up a copy of his book The Ketogenic Diet and sign up for his monthly newsletter about ketogenic diets and epilepsy. And in case you missed my August 2009 podcast interview with Dr. Deborah Snyder on this subject of ketogenic diets and epilepsy, CHECK IT OUT! Coming up on Thursday, we’ll hear from an affable and lovable man named John McGran who has a company called DietToGo.com that is seeking to make healthy low-carb living easy-to-follow for people living busy lives. If that’s you, then you won’t want to miss this conversation! THANKS for listening to “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!”
