I remember thinking this daily when I would weigh my son’s meals on a gram scale, watching the smothered fat drown what little carbohydrates he was consuming. At that time, I felt as though I could see no further. I believed that the diet was helping in some ways even though I wasn’t sure how, as his seizures persisted at that time.
Now, as a practitioner I hear the overwhelming response from parents when they tackle shifting their child and their family’s entire way of eating. I can appreciate and understand how they feel. No, we don’t know, at that time, if the diet will reduce or stop seizures or improve health, focus or energy levels. However, as a parent we do know that it’s worth every effort to try.
The first good news is, with all changes that we take on in life, the transition is the most difficult but is temporary. When the shift is made and a new way of eating (diet) is adopted, it will become the new habit. Parent and adult clients often say to me, at a later date, ‘ I don’t even think about it (the diet) anymore’. It becomes second nature.
The second good news is, a way of eating will help shift the chemistry in an individual’s body. Diet is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach, nor is it ‘one in a lifetime’. Dietary needs will change as a young child develops and even as adults experience different changes in life, requiring different biochemical needs.
There are two types of diet I use in my practice. The first, is a therapeutic diet. This is a ‘there are no exceptions’ diet. It’s strict, based on lab results, personalized and is in effect to help an individual out of a health crisis. No sugar, no gluten, no dairy ,no eggs, or low salycilates, low oxalates, high fat diets are examples. Based on its rigidity, it bears the toughest transition for the individual depending greatly on their starting point.
The second diet is a maintenance diet. This diet is a more relaxed diet, that allows for some ‘give’ in the foods that are consumed. It’s for the person that has recovered from their health crisis but wants to ‘maintain’ their healthy lifestyle and wellness. It remains highly individualized (no wheat, no dairy, for example) but the person may deviate in consuming sugar, a sweet treat, occasionally, or add in a food that they had not been consuming on the therapeutic diet (such as eggs). I refer to this diet as the “90/10 rule”. 90% of the time the percent adheres to a diet/eating lifestyle and 10% they deviate and yet continue to maintain their health.
It is often that a client will begin on a therapeutic diet, begin to feel improved and will have a complete understanding of what potential stressors ‘fill their bathtubs’. They understand that by eliminating foods, consuming a strict nourishing diet, and supplementing when necessary, they initiate their recovery. This is a lifestyle that most want to continue with. At this point, I provide them with tools, how to reintroduce lifestyle changes and foods so that eventually they will transition into the maintenance diet.
How long for a therapeutic diet? It truly depends on the needs of the individual. A therapeutic diet typically needs to be tweaked and refined to reflect lab results and the parent and the child’s commitment (if the child won’t eat nuts than a Paleo diet may not be the best possible diet). Three months is a great starting point to evaluate improvements and tolerance of the diet, once it’s set. The diet may need to be executed for longer than this period if deemed necessary by the family and child. For many of my clients with seizures, they elect to stay on the diet if they see improvements that can ultimately help wean them off of medications. I did so with my son. He remained on the ketogenic diet for 18 months following the cessation of his seizures. My goal was for him to be off of medications first. Our neurologist agreed to do so at the one year mark.
There comes a time, as child mature in age, that they will challenge the dietary restrictions put forth whether they are on a therapeutic diet or maintenance diet. I know, I have 2 of them! Both my children know and understand their limits: for my daughter nitrates/nitrites and MSG and dairy are problems for her. She will avoid nitrates/nitrates at all cost but continues to eat dairy (I buy raw dairy for this reason). My son now is on a maintenance diet but MSG, nitrates/nitrites, wheat and refined sugars are non-negotiable (the latter is sometimes a struggle). Yes, we did need to negotiate.
It’s necessary to weigh the health benefits vs lifestyle benefits to determine if your current diet, be it therapeutic or maintenance, is the ‘right’ diet . Foods, limitations and restrictions often need to be re-evaluated. Know that one diet is not set for life.
Much light,
Lynn
