Fighting Back with Fat: A Guide to Battling Epilepsy Through the Ketogenic Diet and Modified Atkins Diet

This book packs a wallop on many levels, not the least of which is the sheer grit of these two mothers. Not only have they fought the learning curve of understanding and implementing the ketogenic diet along with all the other psychological, emotional, and logistical issues of running families in which a child has seizures, but they also had the heart, compassion, and skill to pull together this book to benefit all the other families struggling with the same issues. They searched, they studied, they tested, they experienced ups and downs, they tried again, they learned, and ultimately they have compiled an impressive array of facts, recipes, tips, and resources that anyone can dig into and take what is most useful to their specific situation.FIGHTING BACK WITH FAT is extremely well written and well organized. It's easy to read from start to finish or, if it makes the most sense for you, use the table of contents or index to find relevant information. Important tips are highlighted in boxes, and all the content is broken up into easy-to-digest sections.Another aspect that I found impressive was the holistic approach in recognizing that every family is dealing with fear, exhaustion, anxiety, guilt, and a wide range of insecurities that can affect their success in using the diet successfully or coping with the situation they find themselves in. By addressing these head-on, the authors have given readers the assurance that they're not alone and are, in fact, part of a wider support community. This is also accomplished by incorporating other families' stories and lots of quotes from those who've "been there, done that."The book is based on solid medical, neuro-chemical, and nutritional research and endorsed by medical professionals at Johns Hopkins Hospital.And last, but not least, in writing this book, Erin Whitmer and Jeanne Riether have given voice to the caretakers of epileptic children throughout the world and, in so doing, have given medical practitioners and researchers critical feedback on what works and doesn't work in real life. It is an important contribution to what is known and understood about diet in treating epilepsy, and it deserves a widespread audience among those who can most benefit.

This book was definitely a game changer for my family and my 3 year old daughter who has autism and who had intractable epilepsy. Over the course of a year, we had tried and failed 5 different anti-seizure medications and we had done testing to see about brain surgery as an option. We decided that prior to brain surgery, we would give the diet a real shot--we had nothing to lose. This book was recommended to me by another mom and it really gave me the courage to even try to implement the diet---the first hand stories from other parents were so incredibly helpful and honest. No one is claiming this to be a miracle cure though for us so far it has been, and the stories in the book reflect different levels and degrees of benefit --some families saw a reduction in frequency or severity of seizures and were able to wean off of some but not all meds etc., for us, we were super lucky and after one month of being very strict about the diet, we noticed her seizure count stabilize at 20 a day, then down to 12, then to 4, then to 1 and she has now been seizure free for 2 months and on absolutely no pharmaceutical medications. For several weeks, I would not tell anyone because I was in shock and didn't want to be wrong. We had been discouraged and practically dismissed by every neurologist we saw-- told that diet probably would not help that much and that it would be too difficult to implement. I really cannot figure out why they would not encourage it more...and I will always wish it had been what we tried first, though understand everyone's situation is different when it comes to epilepsy and there may be a need for immediate relief from the seizures (in our case, no medication every stopped them, and some made them worse, which the neurologists said was unlikely but not impossible). I honestly feel that this book saved my daughter's life.

Good book.

My son has been on the Low-Glycemic Index Treatment (LGIT) keto diet for about 7 weeks now, and I stumbled upon this book through the Charlie Foundation website. I am nearly 3/4 of the way through the book, and I can already attest that it is a MUST READ!! It is extremely well written, with tons of information and considerations for parents embarking on this journey. I felt like I was pretty well informed, and, being an organized person, thought i had covered most everything. There are several considerations I completely missed...and would have had to learn the "hard way" had i not read this book.I love that, in addition to the straight talk, there are personal stories, perspective stories, and that this is written by two moms who have fought in the trenches in the battle against seizures.I cannot recommend this book enough! If there were 10 stars...I would give all of them!Thank you SO MUCH Erin & Jeanne for creating such a valuable resource for all us parents who have been somewhat blindly struggling through this. Now we have more reinforcements and are better equipped!

Great!

I found this book a really interesting read as it contains valuable tips and information surrounding the Keto and Atkins diets with regards to Epilepsy. Providing accounts from individuals who have different types of seizures and still on these diets gives hope to myself and other Individuals with this condition

Very informative and good from a parents perspective. A very honest account.

Good product - received quickly