The glycemic index is a measure of how a food high in carbohydrates affects blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly and give rise to an abrupt increase in blood sugar have a high glycemic index, whereas carbohydrates that release glucose into the bloodstream at a slower pace have a low glycemic index. A low-glycemic-index diet is a diet that prohibits high-glycemic index foods, such as sugar and processed carbohydrates. A low-glycemic-index diet does not have any significant effect on epilepsy, unless the total carbohydrate amounts is restricted.
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a condition in which there are frequent recurrences of seizures. A seizure occurs when a neuron becomes overexcited and this overexcitement spreads to neighboring neurons and eventually to larger areas of the brain. In a grand-mal seizure, the whole brain is in a state of overexcitement. The rapid surge of electrical activity can lead to convulsions and a loss of consciousness. In most cases, anti-convulsion medicine can prevent or control seizures. When the brain does not respond to conventional medicine, however, changing the brain's metabolism through diet can sometimes reduce the intensity and frequency of seizures.
Brain Metabolism
When you eat, the food breaks into protein, fat and carbohydrates in the digestive tract. Carbohydrates break into glucose, or blood sugar, which enters the bloodstream. Insulin from the pancreas helps transport glucose to the cells for energy use. When the glucose levels drop, the hormone glucagon from the pancreas helps break stored glycogen into glucose. When carbohydrates are limited, the liver can turn protein into glucose. Fat converts into glycerol and fatty acids. Unlike fatty acids, glycerol can be converted into glucose. When both protein and carbohydrates are limited, the muscles can use fatty acids as an energy source. The brain cannot. The brain can, however, use ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are a product of fat metabolism. When the brain shifts to ketone bodies as its main source of energy, the brain is in a state of ketosis.
Seizure Prevention
In the 1920s Mayo Clinic's R. M. Wilder, M.D., discovered that when the brain is in ketosis, neurons are less likely to get overexcited. As seizures develop from over-excited neurons, seizures are less likely to develop in a brain in ketosis. Wilder successfully treated epileptic children using a diet that was intended to induce ketosis. The diet, which is known as "the ketogenic diet," consists in high amounts of fat, the minimum amount of protein required and very low amounts of carbohydrates. The diet is still used today to treat epileptic children who do not benefit from anti-convulsion medicine.
Low-Glycemic-Index Diets
The ketogenic diet is very different from low glycemic-index diets. But they are historically connected. After the invention of the ketogenic diet, physicians noted that ketogenic diets that did not require a set amount of calories were effective in controlling type 2 diabetes and obesity. The late Dr. Robert Atkins popularized a version of this diet as a weight-loss diet. Cardiologist Arthur Agatston subsequently developed a low-glycemic-index diet as a healthier alternative to Dr. Atkins' diet. Agatston's diet is also known as "The South Beach Diet." Agatston's low-glycemic diet restricts sugar and processed carbs but allows good-carbohydrate foods such as whole grain pasta and bread and brown rice. Agatston's diet is nearly as effective in terms of weight loss and diabetes control as the stricter low-carbohydrate diets.
Seizure-Prevention and Low Carbohydrates
While low-carb diets and low glycemic diets are nearly equally effective when it comes to diabetes control and weight loss, they differ in how effective they are in seizure prevention. A diet that effectively prevents seizures must induce ketosis. If the intake of carbohydrates or protein is too high, the body can make glucose for the brain to use, so the brain does not go into ketosis. The Atkins diet has been used in a modified form to prevent seizures. The modified form limits the intake of carbohydrates even further than the standard 20 g. For a low-glycemic diet to be effective in the treatment of epileptic seizures, it will need to limit carbohydrates and protein to ensure that ketosis occurs.
References
- Glycemic Index.com
- Mayo Clinic: Metabolism and Weight Loss -- How You Burn Calories
- Natural Physiques:The History of the Ketonic Diet, by Lyle McDonald
- John Hopkins Medicine: Modified Atkins Diet Can Cut Epileptic Seizures in Adults
- Epilepsy: Ketogenic Diet
- Mayo Clinic: Atkins Diet -- What's Behind the Claims?
- Mayo Clinic: South Beach Diet
- Science Daily: Moderately Reduced Carbohydrate Diet Keeps People Feeling Full Longer
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Berit Brogaard - Dr. Berit Brogaard has written since 1999 for publications such as "Journal of Biological Chemistry," "Journal of Medicine and Philosophy" ...
