7-year-old Lucy Murphy’s life was a daily struggle coping with uncontrollable seizures that lasted for hours. She was on powerful drugs until she tried a low-carbohydrate, high-protein ketogenic diet to prevent epilepsy.
The ketogenic diet
It's similar to the Atkins diet – high in fat and low on sweet and carbohydrate content. The “ketogenic” diet has shown to be very effective in treating seizures. It is made up of 80 percent fat - from cream, butter and oils. Diet experts say the diet works as the fat produces ketones that block seizures to the brain.
Lucy’s diet
Lucy's mother Denise Murphy said there has been a big improvement in Lucy’s condition since turning to the ketgenic diet. Lucy eats lots of mayonnaise, butter, oils and drinks heavy whipped cream instead of regular milk. All her food is measured and weighed. Lucy is limited to 20 grams of carbohydrates per day, equivalent to one slice of brown bread.
Her mother is pretty innovative with food and Lucy’s breakfast consists of pancakes, made with a prescribed supplement called Ketocal smothered in butter and lemon juice.
“She has cream with everything,” said Mrs Murphy. “One of her favorite desserts is rhubarb crumble with lashings of double cream — she gets through 100ml of cream a day. When she has a cup of tea she has cream instead of milk.
“Her staple food is aubergines because when you cook with them they soak up every bit of fat.
Effect of the ketogenic diet on Lucy’s life
Lucy’s dietician, Alison Hill from Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, stated that the diet does more than help control seizures in kids. She said: “Children are remembering things that they couldn’t before and saying words that they haven’t said before.
“Lucy has taken to the diet well — she was naturally eating a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet anyway.”
It's not easy for the family, but since it is effective in controlling seizures her mother feels it's worth it. The diet has cut down Lucy’s seizures and her medications. She is now only having fits every couple of weeks despite taking less medication.
Lucy was under medical intervention as a baby because of her drug-resistant epilepsy. She was in intensive care 20 times between the ages of two and three years under the influence of potent drugs to protect her brain.
Mrs Murphy said: "We started the diet about 12 months ago. We lived on a knife edge for years and used to have an ambulance outside of the house all of the time but she has not been to hospital for the last year. She still needs medication but we have not needed the emergency drugs."
Denise said: “It’s given her back some sort of life. She can now participate in activities that her peers do —she loves going to Brownies, ballet and music lessons. She is learning to play the keyboard and violin.”
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