Atkins Diet May Eliminate Epileptic Seizures in Some Children

More news parents need to hear - but probably never will

Once again, the best free news service in the world, Reuters,
has exposed some recent findings about the high-protein,
low-carb diet that could have massive positive ramifications for
health - specifically children's health. But I'll be a monkey's
uncle if I could find mention of the story in any of the "major"
news outlets. Here's the scoop...

At the recent American Epilepsy Society meeting in Boston, a
team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center in
Baltimore revealed some stunning new research which strongly
suggests that the Atkins diet (or other popular variations on
the low-carb/high protein theme) eliminates epileptic seizures
in some children.

In fact, their research showed that after just four months of
the diet, 50% of the test's subjects were SEIZURE-FREE - and
remained that way for nearly 2 years!

The study's authors conducted the research after noticing that
the modern low-carb diet used by millions of Americans to lose
weight and boost their heart health was similar to the
ultra-specific "ketogenic" diet many medication-averse epileptic
children have for years used for minimizing the incidence of
seizures. However, since the Atkins-type nutritional approach is
much simpler to implement (since it doesn't involve fasting like
the ketogenic plan) and maintain, it's much easier for kids and
adolescents to adhere to over the long term.

The Hopkins-based researchers consider these findings
encouraging because they may offer children who for one reason
or another can't take modern epilepsy drugs a viable alternative
for controlling seizures. But here's my question:

In the presence of multiple treatment options, why does the
medical establishment always use DRUGS as the baseline
treatment? Another way of asking the question is this: If the
low-carb diet does indeed prove to be effective for eliminating
seizures in half of all epileptic kids, do you think
conventional doctors will eventually start trying this natural
approach first - then call in the drugs for the 50% that don't
respond to it?

Probably not. Why? Because not enough parents will hear about
this nutritional option, and so they won't pressure
pediatricians to "prescribe" it. And we all know why this is:
Because the mainstream media cares only for stories about
"miracle drugs" and the poor, suffering throngs of patients who
can't afford them - not boring old natural, inexpensive cures
that anyone can get and that are perfectly safe.

And that's a real shame. If this were common knowledge, a lot of
kids out there could be living more normal lives - without
seizures or the risky, expensive drugs that go with them. So
spread the word, huh? Maybe we can make up in word-of-mouth for
the mainstream's sell-out of silence.

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An obvious solution to an even more obvious problem

Here's one for the "obvious" file: According to modern research,
the more TV kids watch, the more junk food (and less healthy
foods) they eat... 

Well, DUH!

It doesn't take a genius to figure out why, either. On the
average, children are pelted with 20,000 commercials a year, the
vast majority of them for foodstuffs of an unhealthy variety:
Soft drinks, breakfast cereals, candy, chips, fast-food
restaurants, and on and on and on. In just the last ten years,
such marketing has increased more than 55%. Now, kids endure up
to 200 hours a year's worth of this network brainwashing!

Couple this with the free-world-leading 22 hours a week the
average American kid spends planted in front of the boob tube
instead of engaging in healthy, vigorous, rambunctious play
(which could lead to a diagnosis of ADHD - beware) and you've
got a recipe for disaster. Namely, obesity (now 15% among kids),
diabetes, and heart trouble later in life.

The solution? Turn off the TV or computer and whisk those kids
outside into the healthy sunlight - and away from those droning
cereal commercials. Sign them up for sports, send them to camp,
take them fishing, or toss them a book to read. Even teach them
to pitch in and do outside chores (actual work - the horror!).
Anything but the tube, or the computer, for that matter.

And for Pete's sake, feed them plenty of protein, healthy fruits
and vegetables (no starches!) instead of Mountain Dew and Cap'n
Crunch.