Three anti-epileptic diets that can change your life…

Three anti-epileptic diets that can change your life… | November 17, 2025

Just when you feel like all is lost and you’re about to give up on your medications, there is another option. (Actually there are three!)

They may not beat your epilepsy (although some people say they do!)

But they can help reduce your seizures and the amount of medication needed.

The ketogenic diet – one of the oldest treatments for epilepsy.

There are many people for whom epilepsy medications such as Lamictal, Depakote, and Zarotin are not effective in controlling or even reducing seizures.

These medications, especially in combination, can also cause unpredictable and serious side effects.

That’s why many have turned to alternative therapies for seizure control.

Because ketones appear to have an anticonvulsant effect, one of the most promising and least invasive alternative treatments for seizures is the ketogenic diet.

The diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that works by fasting, which in turn creates ketones, which are byproducts of the fat-burning metabolism that takes place during fasting.

And during this time, the body enters a state known as ketosis, which has an anticonvulsant effect.

The attacks often decrease or disappear during these fasting periods.

With careful and proper monitoring, the ketogenic diet has been shown to reduce seizures in two-thirds and eliminate seizures in one-third of all people for whom anti-seizure medications are ineffective.

And if it is successful, it is usually continued for two years.

During this time, people are often gradually able to reduce or stop the amount of medication they take for seizures.

And interestingly, many seem happier and more alert on the diet, even before the medication is significantly reduced.

The Atkins diet may reduce seizures in people with epilepsy.

In addition to helping some people shed unwanted pounds, the popular low-carb, high-fat Atkins diet may also play a role in preventing seizures in people with epilepsy.

That good news comes from the prestigious Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

In a limited study, patients 12 years and older received the Atkins regimen for at least four months.

Two children and one young adult were seizure-free and were able to reduce their anticonvulsant medications.

The study’s findings also showed that seizure control can be long-lasting with diet… up to 20 months.

The researchers caution that the Atkins diet should not lead to routine use in people with epilepsy, nor should it be used to replace the ketogenic diet – the rigorous high-fat, low-carb diet that has already been proven to reduce or eliminate difficult-to-control seizures in some patients.

The common elements in both diets are high-fat, low-carbohydrate foods, which alter the body’s glucose chemistry.

The ketogenic diet mimics some of the effects of starvation, with the body producing ketones, a chemical byproduct of fat that can inhibit seizures.

The Atkins diet, while slightly less restrictive than the ketogenic diet, also produces ketones.

In the short term, the Atkins diet could be used by select patients as a “trial run” for those considering the ketogenic diet in the future.

In the Johns Hopkins study, five of six patients achieved ketosis within days of starting the Atkins diet and maintained moderate to high levels of ketosis for periods ranging from six weeks to 24 months.

MAD – Modified Atkins Diet – easier to use.

Although it’s called “MAD,” the Modified Atkins Diet is actually the best of both possible worlds.

This modified version of the popular high-protein, low-carb Atkins diet can also significantly reduce the number of seizures in adults and children.

Providing a new lifeline for patients when medications and other treatments fail or cause complications.

It is a less restrictive dietary therapy for epilepsy, with a higher protein and carbohydrate content, for those who would otherwise use the ketogenic diet.

So far, it has been used and researched for the past five years, with results similar to the ketogenic diet.

Recent data have also suggested that this valuable new therapy, if effective, leads to rapid improvement in seizures.

It is not known exactly how ketones reduce and eliminate seizures, or why the diet works for some and not for others.

Researchers are particularly interested in why some people remain seizure-free after stopping the diet.

Further research is needed as the modified Atkins diet has only been used since 2004.

But it is promising to note that clinical research has shown that about half of patients experienced a 50 percent reduction in the frequency of their seizures on the first visit to the clinic.

About a third of patients halved the frequency of attacks by three months.

Side effects related to the diet, such as an increase in cholesterol or triglycerides, were mild.

In general, the modified Atkins diet is recommended for: adolescents, adults, and younger children who have difficulty maintaining or starting the ketogenic diet… families with limited time… people who do not have the financial resources to cover the costs associated with the ketogenic diet… and patients in centers with limited dietitian support.

Good news: The modified Atkins diet doesn’t deprive you of rich foods such as butter, peanut butter, mayonnaise, oil, cheese, bacon, eggs, hamburger and whipped cream.

The diet does not cause people to become overweight, and overweight people often lose weight.

But daily supplements are needed to replace vitamins missing from the diet.

Recommended vitamins include: Vitamin B-1…Vitamin B-2…Vitamin B-3…Vitamin C…Folium…Vitamins D…and Vitamin E.

Check your multivitamin to see if these are all present.

Although there are significantly fewer side effects than medications, the modified Atkins diet for seizures can cause dehydration, constipation, and sometimes kidney and gallstone complications.

Side effects may also occur in people who are unable to digest large amounts of fat.

As with all treatments, initial evaluation and careful monitoring by a neurologist and nutritionist are all mandatory.

We do know that the modified Atkins diet for seizures is just as effective, less restrictive, and much easier than the ketogenic diet.

It is an inexpensive alternative treatment option with few side effects that often works when all else has failed.

And that’s good news for all of us who have tried previous diets and given up hope or even strict discipline.

GARD – The Glutamate-Aspartate Restricted Diet – a lifelong elimination diet.

Let me start by saying that the GARD diet is very controversial.

While some claim there are ‘dramatic improvements in the severity and frequency of their attacks’, others find it difficult to maintain.

And if you cheat a little, your attacks will come back.

So consider this a lifetime commitment…or else just skip it.

Essentially, the GARD is an elimination diet, specifying certain foods (including food products and ingredients) that should be avoided.

So strict vigilance is mandatory for this diet to work.

Here is an overview of the banned foods: gluten – usually derived from wheat and grains…casein – protein found in cow’s milk (and most dairy products)…soy…corn – including glucose syrup and corn derivatives…MSG (monosodium glutamate) – a common food ingredient in processed foods, even though it is rarely clearly labeled as such…aspartame – often used as a sugar substitute…glutamate – found in high concentrations in most beans/legumes…and hydrogenated oils.

And if that isn’t depressing enough, there are no clinical studies proving the effectiveness of the GARD diet, only anecdotal evidence.

However, if it works for you, seizure control can begin within days to weeks of starting the diet.

The only good news I can see is that the GARD diet is every carb junkie’s dream come true.

But there are so many other foods and ingredients you have to sacrifice that it hardly seems worth it to me.

To subscribe to Epilepsy Talk and receive the latest articles by email, simply go to the bottom box of the right column and click “Follow!”

Sources:

https://www.webmd.com/epilepsy/the-ketogenic-diet#.1

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/transcripts/1585_epilepsy-ketogenic-diet-and-other-dietary-therapies

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151125083815.htm

https://www.epilepsy.com/treatment/dietary-therapies/modified-atkins-diet

Home

http://dogtorj.com/the-gard-made-simple/.