Welcome to Sadie's Diary

We started this site so we could track our daughter's journey with the Ketogenic diet. We wanted this site to be something she could have and look back on  and also so that other familes that are considering this diet, or need some inspiration can see our story.   Sadie has had Epilepsy since September of 2011.   With very little sucess with medications, 2 MRI's, CAT scan, many EEG's, and a lot of prayers, we decided that this diet was our next step.

Quick Facts on Epilepsy

Approximately 1 in 26 people will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime.

At least 1 in every 10 people will have one seizure in their lifetime.

There are approximately 65 million people around the world living with epilepsy.

There are more than 300,000 Canadians living with epilepsy.

There are approximately 2.2 million Americans living with epilepsy.

Epilepsy is NOT contagious. Epilepsy is NOT a disease. Epilepsy is NOT a psychological disorder.

There is currently no “cure” for epilepsy. However, for 10-15% of people with epilepsy, the surgical removal of the seizure focus – the part of brain where the person’s seizures start – can eliminate all seizure activity. For more than half of people with epilepsy, medication will control their seizures. Additionally, some children will outgrow their epilepsy and some adults may have a spontaneous remission.

These facts from the Epilepsy NS website.

What is the Ketogenic Diet?

The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used primarily to treat difficult-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Normally, the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is particularly important in fuelling brain function. However, if there is very little carbohydrate in the diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. The ketone bodies pass into the brain and replace glucose as an energy source. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood, a state known as ketosis, leads to a reduction in the frequency of epileptic seizures.^[