Category: A Life change

Ketogenic Diet and other recipes

Eating healthy for some comes easy for others its hard. As there are many diets people have talked about are ketogenic diet. The Ketogenic Diet is a high fat, low carbohydrate, controlled protein diet that has been used since the 1920s for the treatment of epilepsy. The diet is a medical treatment and is usually only considered when at least two suitable medications have been tried and not worked. With the ketogenic diet, the body mostly uses ketones instead of glucose for its energy source.  The diet is not for everyone but is suitable for many different seizure types and epilepsy syndromes, including myoclonic astatic epilepsy, Dravet syndrome, infantile spasms (West syndrome), and those with tuberous sclerosis. If you or your child has feeding problems, or has a condition where a high fat diet would cause problems, the diet then probably isn’t suitable please consult your doctor or nutritionist.

Here I want to discuss some great recipes to try. Even if you do not want to do the Keto diet. These are great to try as I will have other post that have great recipes to try out and are healthy and easy to make. Here is a link for try for Ketogenic Diet or as others just say Keto diet recipes.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/22959/healthy-recipes/keto-diet/

One the food I wasn’t sure about in the Keto diet was the Shirataki Noodles I am not sure if its because of the name, maybe cuss its something that I haven’t tried in a long time or not something that I have been interested in. Here I am now re-looking at something that I have tried long ago and didn’t have an issue then just wasn’t what I was use too. Now I am going to try it again as I am doing my best to eat healthier. The noodles are Soy Free, Gluten Free, and Vegan for all those that care about that stuff. For me I care that they contain less than 1 gram of carbs and 5 calories per serving, also Viscous fiber forms a gel that slows down food’s movement through your digestive tract. This can help decrease hunger and blood sugar spikes, making it beneficial for weight loss and diabetes management. This noodles comes in amazing uses and forms Rice,  fettuccine and linguine. I mean who cant use this and make some amazing recipes at more than half the cost to not just your body in what normal noodles do to you but the cost in budget for food. I found a few links on amazon to get them. DID YOU KNOW, you can get a subscription to have things send to you monthly I mean I knew it but i didn’t know you could get it set up for food items such as this. Here is the link I found I would so encourage you to try it out and remember amazon if you do not like it you can send it back no questions asked!

A tofu shirataki noodle salad with a rainbow of veggies and shrimp in a tasty Korean-style dressing that is served cold; perfect for a hot summer day!

Here is the recipe for above image ….

Cooking Directions

Ingredients

For the dressing:

  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or lime juice
  • 1 Tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce (gluten-free or tamari for gluten-free)
  • 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tsp. gochugaro (Korean chili pepper flakes) or aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
  • 2 tsp. sesame seeds, toasted
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp. honey or sugar
  • 1 green onion, finely sliced

For the salad:

  • 1 pkg. House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles, drained and rinsed
  • 8 ounces cooked shrimp, peeled and chilled
  • 4 cups lettuce, shredded
  • 1 cup cucumber, julienned
  • 1 cup carrot, julienned
  • 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
  • 1 yellow pepper, julienned
  • ¼ cup green onion, sliced
  • ½ cup kimchi (optional)

For the dressing:

  • Mix everything together.

For the salad:

Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti

Made from a blend of tofu and konnyaku (or konjac), an Asian yam, Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti contains 10 calories, 3g of carbs, and 2g of fiber per serving. 

Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti is:

  • Gluten free
  • Non-GMO
  • Vegan
  • Keto friendly
  • Great for soups, salads, pasta, stir fry’s

you can buy it here or at local grocery store that carrys it https://www.house-foods.com/products/shirataki/tofu-shirataki/tofu-shirataki-spaghetti

Traditional Shirataki

Made from konjac, an Asian yam, this traditional Japanese noodle contains zero calories. Gluten free, non gmo, vegan and keto friendly

you can buy it here or at a local grocery store https://www.house-foods.com/products/shirataki/traditional/traditional-shirataki

HEALTH AND SEIZURES

How can I decrease my chances of having seizures from stress or worry?

Probably the best way to decrease your seizure frequency is to follow your medication schedule very closely.  The number one reported cause of increased seizures was Missed Medication. When you don’t take your seizure medicine or take less than you should, the levels of medication in your body and brain fall. Your brain may begin to show unusual activity, which can lead to seizures. When stress or worry is a trigger, there are a number of things you could do to lessen the chance of a seizure. 

  • First, look at how stress is affecting you and how you are coping. Is there a way to lessen it’s impact on you? Are there ways to manage stress better? 
  • Are you having sleep problems? Difficulty sleeping is a common symptom of stress and mood problems. Since sleep deprivation is a common seizure trigger, it’s important to pay attention to sleep at these times. 
  • Are you eating normally? Eating habits often get disrupted when people are feeling stress. Some people eat more, others don’t eat or have poor eating habits. Some people find they have more seizures when not eating well or going long periods without eating. Maybe you are drinking too much coffee or caffeinated beverages? This can worsen seizures by disrupting your sleep? 
  • Is alcohol or using ‘recreational’ drugs a problem? Sometimes substance use or abuse is a problem when people have mood problems or are feeling stressed. Not a good idea if you have seizures. Some people are more likely to have seizures during or after alcohol use and many ‘recreational’ drugs can worsen seizures. 
What helps you manage your Seizures?

As above Patty talked about so much nutrition and self and family management. What do YOU do to help yourself? MINDFULNESS!! I have had to learn how to talk about my seizures and nobody ever told me how or how much to talk about or what to say or anything sometimes I said too much, or too little. I hate my seizures but I do not hate myself. I have changed the way I eat and I eat more veggies and more protein less noodles. I go for more walks and even go out and walk around be active with friends so I am not alone doing things I wont realize I have hit my walking steps goal for the day, I am not feeling as depressed as I was the smorning because I am active and hanging out with people I am friends with and we all laughing joking around and hanging out.

Great steak salad dinners full of protean and veggies

A Sudden Change

I have opened to let people message me and share their story if they want and I will go thru and share a story here and there this is the first story that came to me. Please remember we are not alone.

My name is Aaron. I was 25 and did not realize that I have been having different types of seizures for the majority of my life. As a child I had a febrile seizure, heat stroke and suffered from migraines for my adolescent years, however I never went to a doctor and kept a lot to myself. Father’s day of this year 2011, started off with a fishing trip but ended up with me having my first two partial seizures where I had sweet metallic tastes in my mouth which were alien to me. I attributed them to being seasick or having food poisoning so I brushed them off like it was a freak occurrence. That night I had my first grand-mal seizure and went to the hospital in the morning where they prescribed me Keppra. After my tests were completed, it was confirmed that due to an anomaly in my hippocampus, the diagnoses is epilepsy. My world was shattered turned upside down and backwards. I had no idea how to grasp what not even the doctors had much information about and to find out that grand-mals are was not just something to easily diagnose, and here are the meds. There are so many meds to balance out the body and get the right chemical balance to make sure that everything is working and no more seizures happen. I was given so many papers and so many more questions to be asked and so many more that I ended up asking them, alot nobody knew the answer to,so very frustrating. My plans for the summer and future immediately have been put on hold and I am just beginning to see my glass half full again. I have postponed my going to law school to become an IP attorney after seeing how much medication can cost because of patents. This is going to be a road of change and new beginnings, but knowing that individuals like me are out there with similar stories gives me hope that everything will be normal soon. I have since found out I am not the only one and there are so many different kinds of seizures, all seizures leave us in a constant state of wonder. I am glad that I am one of a handful that was able to be diagnosed and have a care team and a plan and a support group.

Thank you for letting me share a little bit of your story. Please remember that there is 1 in 26 people who develop epilepsy in their lifetime. There is many forms of epilepsy but no matter what it is scary for the person that has it and the people who care about the person. A support team is very important. The scariest thing can be not knowing what to do when a seizure happens, or not knowing why, or not knowing that it is a seizure or all of the questions just asked. A care plan is key and after knowing about seizures its great to learn the basics for what to do in case you see someone having a seizure.

For a convulsive (shaking) seizure:

This may last for one to five minutes.

Remember to!

  • Consider your safety first.
  • Keep calm
  • Check the time to monitor how long the seizure lasts
  • Prevent others from crowding round
  • If the person is unconscious, loosen any tight clothing around their neck.
  • Prevent injury by cushioning their head, removing sharp objects, or moving furniture. Only move the person if they are in immediate danger, for example if the person is in water or on a road.
  • Once the episode has finished, aid breathing by placing the person on their side and gently lift their chin, tilting their head backwards (recovery position)
  • Stay with them until they are fully recovered and aware of their surroundings
  • Gently reassure them as they recover

Do not!!

  • Do not try to put anything in the person’s mouth
  • Do not try to restrain the person’s movements.
  • Avoid attempting to move them unless they are in danger
  • Do not attempt give the person anything to drink until they are fully recover

Recovery!

Once the seizure has stopped, many people feel tired or have a headache and need to sleep for several hours.

Other types of seizures

In some seizures the person will not become unconscious, but may look blank, or become confused and disorientated. They may fiddle with their clothing or objects they are holding and may wander around in a confused manner.

For these types of seizures follow the safety advice above, gently directing the person away from danger if necessary. Stay with them, offering reassurance until they are able to return to normal activities, which may be after 10 to 15 minutes.

When should an ambulance be called?

It is often not necessary for the person who has had the seizure to go to hospital. However an ambulance should be called if:

  • You do not know the person or they have not had a seizure before
  • A convulsive (shaking) seizure lasts more than five minutes.
  • One convulsive seizure follows another without the person regaining consciousness in between.
  • The person has injured themselves during a seizure, is having difficulty breathing, or if you are worried about their health in anyway.
Nobody’s Alone No Matter How We Feel -picture taken by Transport Photography

PLEASE IF YOUR READING THIS AND YOU NEED A SUPPORT GROUP LOOK INTO THIS http://www.epilepsynorcal.org/support-groups/

A VIDEO FOR WHAT TO DO FOR SEIZURES WATCH PLEASEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovsw7tdneqE