My epileptic child had 80 seizures a day — until I put him on the keto diet

A woman whose child suffered from seizures as a child claims a keto diet helped control them.

Susan Hall says her son’s rare form of epilepsy “grew out of control” in 2000 when he was just 18 months old; he suffered up to 80 seizures a day with anticonvulsants barely helping.

Desperate, Hall turned to the ketogenic — or keto — diet, which claims to help control seizures in children.

“Research has found that about half of children with epilepsy who go on a keto diet see a 50% reduction in their seizures and 10 to 20% of kids’ seizures were reduced by 90% or more,” Hall tells Insider, citing a report from the Cleveland Clinic. “Outside of treating epilepsy seizures, doctors do not recommend the keto diet for children and teens.” 

Hall’s son was out on a diet that consisted of 80% fat, consuming around 800 calories a day.

The keto diet centers on fat — which supplies as much as 90% of daily calories — aiming to force your body into using a different type of fuel.

According to Harvard Health Publishing, instead of relying on sugar (glucose) that comes from carbohydrates — such as grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits — the keto diet relies on ketone bodies, a type of fuel that the liver produces from stored fat.

Hall says she consulted Judy Tomer, a dietitian who headed the University…