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The diet therapy of ancient Greek doctors: Why is fasting effective for epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a common neurological disease that affects approximately 50 million people worldwide. As research into this condition deepens, many traditional and modern treatments have begun to surface, especially the low-carbohydrate, high-fat ketogenic diet (Ketogenic Diet), which has a long history of dietary therapy in ancient Greece. , and is valued for its remarkable curative effect.
Greek physicians discussed the nature of epilepsy in "On Sacred Diseases" and advocated that "dietary therapy" has its reasonable basis. This idea evolved into a more systematic fasting therapy in later medicine, that is, changing the diet to control the frequency of epileptic seizures.
Fasting and low-carbohydrate diets can significantly reduce the frequency of seizures in patients with epilepsy, and many patients have achieved satisfactory results with such dietary therapies.
The relationship between diet and epilepsy
Epilepsy attacks are caused by excessive discharge of neurons in the brain. This pathological state can be controlled by changing diet. Studies have found that by reducing the proportion of carbohydrates in food, the ketogenic diet forces the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates to supply energy. This process causes the liver to produce ketone bodies, which then replace glucose as the brain's main energy source. . When the concentration of ketone bodies increases, the frequency of epileptic seizures decreases.
The ancient wisdom of fasting
In ancient Greece, doctors had recognized the importance of fasting for patients with epilepsy. For example, the famous physician Erasistratus once said that "epileptic patients should be forced to fast without mercy." This history undoubtedly underlines the role of fasting in ancient healing practices.
Fasting therapy was not only effective for the patients at that time, but also found in later medical research that patients with epilepsy had significantly fewer seizures during fasting. This discovery drove the research and application of the ketogenic diet.
Modern applications of the ketogenic diet
With the advent of the 21st century, ketogenic diet therapy has re-entered the medical field. Especially in 1994, with the story of Hollywood producer Jim Abrahams and his son exposed in the media, the ketogenic diet received attention again. Abrahams' son finally chose the ketogenic diet and successfully controlled his epileptic seizures after multiple attempts at medication failed. After this incident, Abrahams established the Charlie Foundation to continue promoting research on the ketogenic diet.
The effects and side effects of fasting
Research shows that nearly half of epilepsy patients reduce their seizures by at least half after implementing a ketogenic diet, and many patients can still enjoy sustained effects after stopping the diet. Nonetheless, the ketogenic diet is not without risks, and patients may experience side effects such as constipation, high cholesterol, and reduced weight gain after surgery.
Such a situation forces patients and doctors to have concerns when choosing therapies, but this does not prevent clinical guidelines in South Korea, the United Kingdom and other places from including it as part of the treatment of epilepsy.
Future Outlook
As an ancient therapy that has regained its importance, the ketogenic diet has fully proven its value in the treatment of refractory epilepsy. Future research is expected to provide insight into the potential effectiveness of this therapy in other neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and others. Even as current pharmacological treatments have developed into a variety of effective drugs, the ketogenic diet remains an important option for patients with epilepsy that cannot be controlled by medications.
Ultimately, we can’t help but ask, what will be the result of the cooperation between ancient wisdom and modern technology?
