Epilepsy and Nutrition

Epilepsy and Nutrition

Why Nutrition is a very important health-care issue, and why Nutrition is finally being recognized for the importance it plays in the maintenance, and promotion of optimum health

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Good Nutrition is part of the key to good health, to a long and healthy lifestyle, and the well-being it creates, and good nutritional habits never get old. Many of us think of nutritional deficiencies in terms of an inadequate diet. This is often the case.  Although diet has been clearly associated with human health it is now also clear that the benefits of good nutrition have been shown to help prevent degenerative diseases. It is now believed, that all chronic diseases are accompanied by nutritional deficiencies and imbalances in the essential chemical elements that make up the body.

Diseases currently cripple our society and clog up our hospital and health care systems. It has been shown that diseases like Heart Disease and Osteoporosis can be avoided by eating nutrient rich foods and avoiding fat loaded, highly refined foods. Heart Disease in particular has been shown by research to be significantly reduced by the supplementation of high doses of Vitamin E.  And that prevention of Osteoporosis in later years starts in early childhood with daily exercise, good nutrition and adding nutritional supplements that contain all the right ingredients in the right proportions that healthy bones need. Just as Folic Acid is essential for helping to prevent neural tube defects in newborns it also helps decrease the risk of osteoporosis.

It is also quite clear that biochemical interventions with dietary modifications are useful at reducing the frequency or intensity of seizures, if not eliminating many entirely.

But as much as 50% of these many important vitamins may be destroyed during storage, food processing and household preparation. The amounts of nutrients in many vegetables are so small that their effects are minute and that supplementation with vitamins and minerals is imperative to ensure that we give our bodies the best chance to fight off, and prevent, disease.

Studies show that a vast majority of people eat less than the RDA of necessary vitamins, minerals, calcium and iron. The RDAs should be more than just the avoidance of nutritional deficiency diseases. More emphasis on what nutrients are important for preventing diet-related disease and promoting optimal health should be considered. And it gets worse as we grow older. It is very important however to continue eating a variety of foods to get necessary nutrients as we age. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all.

Vitamins are essential in supplementing our diet . Due to the poor crop rotation, use of chemicals, and soil erosion, it stands to reason that our soil has become nutrient poor and chemical rich. Hundreds of studies show that our already nutrient depleted crops lose even more of their meagre supply of nutrients by the methods of storage, transport, freezing, methods of processing, and cooking, by the time it gets to our dinner table.

Most people don’t eat a balanced diet and are therefore unable to get all the nutrients they need even enough of those as low as recommended by the “Recommended Dietary Allowances” official handbook. 

The huge amount of new studies that have emerged stating that specific nutrient supplements can prevent, or cure disease, has made many health care professionals notice the error of their diagnoses and come to realize that the Western diet is a major cause of disease. Symptoms of ill health are the consequence of nutritional deficiencies and chemical imbalances in the body. Many current medications including Anti-Epilepsy Drugs (AEDs) deplete nutrients that our body needs on a daily basis. Nutrients that maintain a healthy and disease fighting Immune System.

The medical establishment, and the public at large, is at last awakening to the knowledge that Vitamin Supplements play a huge role in preventing disease and ensuring a long and healthy life. As knowledge about Nutrition and the need for increased potency of Vitamins and Minerals becomes better researched it has become clearer that a high percentage of people believe in taking supplements, and that this proactive approach to their own health, and the prevention of degenerative diseases, will save billions of dollars in health care costs.

Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. In summary, eat a variety of foods, balance eating with physical activity, eat plenty of grains, fruits and vegetables, and be moderate in your consumption of sugar, salt, sodium, and alcohol.

Nutrition is finally being recognized for the importance it plays in the maintenance and promotion of optimum health and it is surprising to see how well the body responds to nutritional correction.

Our family also has to eat "Gluten Free" so having epilepsy and diabetes along with Gluten Free can be quite the challenge.   Good nutrition is so important.

For more information contact brenda.bailey.1@hotmail.com