DIETARY TREATMENTS IN NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES
In recent years, nutrition has become increasingly important in neurological diseases. Proper nutrition is the cornerstone of successful treatment of all chronic diseases. Studies have shown that schizophrenia, epilepsy, autism, attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity (ADHD), etc. It shows that nutritional changes will have an effect on diseases.
Nerve cells are most densely located in the intestine after our brain in our body. The interaction between these two systems has become increasingly important in recent years and is called the 'brain-gut axis'.
KETOGENIC DIET
The most classic example of the relationship between nutrition and neurological diseases is undoubtedly the ketogenic diet. In the 1920s. Dr. Russel Wilder from Mayo Clinic has created a diet to reduce the frequency and intensity of seizures in children, and today the ketogenic diet has become a part of routine practice rather than an alternative treatment method. Some experts suggest that the ketogenic diet may be the first choice of treatment even in devastating childhood epileptic conditions such as West syndrome. Our brain primarily prefers sugars for energy production. However, in case of hunger, ketone bodies formed by the breakdown of fats can also be used as an alternative fuel in the brain. It has been shown that the main metabolites formed when the brain uses sugar and other carbohydrates can trigger epileptic seizures. However, in a fasting state or under a ketogenic diet, the brain uses ketones, and it is known that in this new metabolic order, nerve stimulation decreases and the brain's epilepsy production regresses.
The ketogenic diet keeps carbohydrate intake at a certain minimum level. Protein intake is carefully measured to ensure sufficient protection and repair. The rest of the diet consists of fat. The diet list should be prepared individually for each patient by an experienced dietitian. It is recommended to keep a three-day food record of the patient before starting the diet, in order to determine food preferences and prepare a list suitable for taste.
GAPS DIET
The effect of ketogenic diet treatment has been investigated by scientists on other neurological problems. This has led to the tendency to use diet treatments in apprenticeships. Gaps (Intestinal and Psychology Syndrome) diet is an example of this. It is known that irregularities in the intestinal flora lead to the production of effective harmful toxins in the brain. We see that especially in patients with autism, the intestinal flora is disrupted compared to healthy children, and constipation, nutritional problems, restricted nutrition and weight problems occur.
The purpose of the Gaps diet is to purify the body of sick children from toxins, to remove the toxic fog on the brain, allowing it to develop and function properly. is to allow. For this, it is necessary, firstly, to clean and improve the digestive tract, to eliminate the biggest source of toxicity in the body and make it the source of nutrition as it should be, and secondly, to cleanse the toxins accumulated in different tissues.
Nowadays, it is becoming difficult to reach healthy food. Extensive additives are mixed into foods, which damages the intestinal integrity of children. Most of the time, families give children intensively harmful foods that they think are healthy.
In the Gaps nutrition protocol; All processed foods, starchy vegetables, milk sugar lactose, starchy vegetables including soy, and all grains are among the foods that should be avoided.
The diet consists of three parts. Entry diet, Full GAPS Diet, Exit GAPS Diet. In severe cases, it is necessary to perform all stages regularly. After 2 years of hard work, you will see that many disease symptoms related to your child regress or disappear.
GLUTEN-FREE - CASEIN-FREE DIET (GKD)
Another treatment method for patients with autism is a gluten-free-casein-free diet. At least 95% of autistic patients have impaired digestive functions due to heavy metals and toxins. For this reason, large molecules in the structure of casein (milk curd, cheese, the dehydrated part of yoghurt), gluten (wheat protein) and soy protein cannot be broken down into smaller units, amino acids, while being digested. In this way, they pass into the blood and disrupt the functioning of the immune system and brain. When undigested protein fragments of food pass into the blood, they have a morphine effect, producing small amounts of free morphine in the body. They increase the amount. With diet, the blood level of these morphines decreases and the clinical findings alleviate at the same rate. Up to 80% of autistic patients benefit from a casein-free-gluten-free diet.
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